Winnipeg couple plead guilty to animal cruelty after killing cats, birds, axolotl for videos they sold

WARNING: This story contains details about the torture and killing of animals.

A Winnipeg couple have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of animal cruelty after being arrested last year for making videos of animals being tortured and killed and selling them on a messaging app — a venture that included more than 90 animals, ranging from kittens to birds to an axolotl.

Irene Lima, 56, and Chad Kabecz, 41, were arrested in October 2024, following an anonymous tip to Manitoba's provincial veterinarian about a Telegram group with over 100 members called Goddess May Barefoot Premium Crush, which shared and sold videos of animals being crushed to death, Crown attorney Boyd McGill told a Winnipeg court on Friday.

Police previously said the content had been posted on the dark web — online content that doesn't show up through regular searches and can only be accessed with a special browser.

McGill said the Telegram group had a price list for animals that could be killed, ranging from a baby mouse for $5 to a three-kitten family for $180.

Lima would crush the animals under her bare feet, while Kabecz filmed the videos — which McGill said often had a sexual component.

"The content of the videos is proof of the animal cruelty counts. It is impossible to watch these videos and conclude that the animals are not suffering and in pain. Ms. Lima crushes them alive," McGill told Court of King's Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris.

McGill said the evidence prosecutors reviewed "shows more than 97 animals being tortured and killed by Mr. Kabecz and Ms. Lima," including more than 60 cats and kittens, seven birds, six rabbits, six hamsters, three goldfish, a frog and an axolotl.

Lima and Kabecz, who are both in custody and pleaded guilty to six counts of animal cruelty each, were brought into court in shackles and sat in separate prisoner's boxes, listening silently as the details of the case against them were read.

McGill said after seizing electronic devices from the couple, police found a "trove" of videos showing the killing of many animals, and communications between Lima and Kabecz "discussing these videos and discussing plans to escalate their behaviour. "

Entries in Lima's diary, which was also seized, described "how much she loved killing things with her feet and the pleasure that it brought to her," he said.

PayPal records showed the videos made a profit of about $2,800 from May to October 2024, McGill said.

'They're not the monsters … people think': lawyer

Before Lima and Kabecz entered their guilty pleas Friday, a small group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse, holding signs with messages including "keep killers in jail" and "lock up these monsters and throw away the key."

Among them was Kristy Zamonsky, who has been coming to court for Lima and Kabecz's appearances in the case from the beginning — something she said was spurred by the severity of the case and how many animals were involved.

Now, Zamonsky says, she hopes to see the couple handed "the harshest punishment they can get."

Lawyers for Lima and Kabecz both said the case went beyond any other animal cruelty situations they'd worked on before, with Lima's lawyer, Mike Cook, saying there was "about two feet of disclosure" and large amounts of video and photographic evidence to sift through.

Kabecz's lawyer, Ethan Pollock, said he understands why people are angered by the details of the case.

“The facts are obviously disturbing, but I'm a defence lawyer — and sometimes these are the things that we have to do on a daily basis. [It] can eat away at us too," he said. "We’re all human, you know."

Cook said he also understands that, but "as a father, as a citizen, as a human being you want to protect the most vulnerable." However, he said, he hopes details expected at sentencing will give people a better understanding of the case.

"People do things for a reason. And I think when we have the sentencing, you'll have more clarity as to why things happened, and look at both Mr. Kabecz and Ms. Lima with some compassion. They're not the monsters that a lot of people think they are."

Lima and Kabecz are expected to be sentenced at a later date, following the completion of court-ordered pre-sentence reports. McGill said prosecutors plan to recommend the same sentence for both, but did not say what that would be.

WATCH | Winnipeg couple plead guilty after killing animals for videos they sold online:

Winnipeg couple plead guilty after killing animals for videos they sold online

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A Winnipeg couple have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of animal cruelty after being arrested last year for making videos of animals being tortured and killed and selling them on a messaging app — a venture that included more than 90 animals, ranging from kittens to birds to an axolotl.