‘Not quick kills’: Court hears details about Winnipeg couple accused of making videos showing animal torture

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Peggy

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Details are emerging about a Winnipeg couple charged after police allege they made and sold videos showing animals being tortured and crushed.

Chad Kabecz, 40, and Irene Lima, 55, were arrested on Oct. 9, after police executed a search warrant at a home in Winnipeg’s Lord Roberts area, and charged with numerous offences, including killing or injuring animals and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, Winnipeg police said last week.

During a bail hearing for Kabecz on Tuesday, Crown attorney Sean Sass alleged Kabecz and Lima, who is Kabecz’s girlfriend and goes by the name “Goddess May” online, were the owners and operators of a website on the dark web called Goddess May Barefoot Premium Crush.

The prosecutor alleged the two made videos of animals, specifically cats and kittens, being crushed by Lima using her feet.

“These are not quick kills. As the time stamps seem to indicate, some of these videos are five minutes long. They’re staged, premeditated torturing that result in the death of very vulnerable animals,” Sass told provincial court Judge David Ireland at Kabecz’s bail hearing.

Court heard that in August, a city of Winnipeg animal protection officer notified police about an anonymous tip they got from a user of the “dark web” — online content that doesn’t show up through regular online searches, and requires special software to access. The tipster discovered the Barefoot Premium Crush website, and believed the couple was from Manitoba.

Winnipeg police started investigating and found an account on the social media site Reddit called “Fit Foot Lover,” which they believe belonged to Kabecz.

Tipster flagged content

On the Reddit page, Kabecz talked about Lima’s feet, and made reference to his dark web site.

“For anyone who’s following my girlfriend’s crush adventures, please dm [direct message] me on how to find her newly established group elsewhere,” said one Reddit post.

Sass said the tipster continued to engage with Kabecz on Reddit, and got instructions on where to find the videos and how to pay. The person took screenshots of the exchange and gave them to police, said Sass.

Other screenshots taken by the anonymous source show the graphic nature of the crushing site.

The homepage featured “an extremely graphic image that appears to be of a bare foot on top of some animal,” said Sass. “It’s unrecognizable.”

A caption on the title page referred to it as “a place to exchange barefoot hard crush.”

“Previews of May’s work will be posted and her content will be available for purchase. Each member will be required to provide one barefoot hard crush video prior to entry, dm for details,” the site said.

Court hears gruesome details about accused Winnipeg cat killers

3 hours ago

Duration 2:01

At a bail hearing for one of the people accused of killing and torturing cats and other animals, Crown prosecutor Sean Sass said videos of the animals being crushed underfoot were marketed on the dark web.

Sass said asking customers to provide their own crush videos was a way for Kabecz to act as a gatekeeper.

Other posts on the site allegedly written by Kabecz describe a long history of Lima torturing animals.

“May is 55 and has been crushing since she was a little girl, and does it for her own satisfaction and pleasure,” the site said.

“She crushes barefoot because that’s what she enjoys, as it brings her extreme satisfaction even to the point of orgasm without being touched. She’s one in a million.”

Police who searched the home earlier this month seized a cat carrier, multiple cellphones, a computer, Lima’s diary and a blue Tupperware bin that was seen in videos and was claimed to have cats in it, court heard.

They also took some blood samples that were found in the suite, USB drives and other items.

‘Unacceptable risk’ with release: Crown

At Kabecz’s bail hearing Tuesday, defence attorney Ethan Pollock said his client is innocent until proven guilty.

“This [hearing] is essentially a risk assessment, in us determining whether or not Mr. Kabecz can be released back into the community on conditions,” said Pollock. “It’s the position of defence counsel that my client can be.”

Sass argued releasing Kabecz “would create an unacceptable risk.”

“There’s animals all over the place, there’s squirrels, rabbits, strays, and his comments seem to indicate that they’ll find them wherever, and just start killing them,” the Crown attorney said.

Kabecz was ultimately released on bail with conditions that require him to stay with family, and have no contact with Lima or with any animals. He’s also not allowed to access the internet.

He’s due back in court on Nov. 5.

Lima was in court Thursday, but her case was remanded and is being rescheduled.

None of the charges against either Kabecz or Lima have been proven in court.