Who cracked cat torture case? $10,000 at stake

Woman's Web site led to crucial tip

Humane society balks at reward

by Nick Pron, Courts Bureau, Toronto Star, August 13, 2003

Katie Woodward was lauded by newspaper columnists as the animal-rights champion whose determination led to the capture of a man wanted for making a snuff video of a cat killing.

A Toronto police officer recommended she get a civilian citation, noting her efforts were responsible for finding the man, hiding out in Vancouver.

But when the 21-year-old resident of the Haliburton region recently went to the Toronto Humane Society to collect the $10,000 reward, the door was slammed in her face.

"It sucks," said a downcast Woodward, whose love of cats prompted her to set up a Web site with the suspect's photo in hopes of assisting in his capture. She recalled in hindsight how society officials started giving her the cold shoulder in April during his court case.

Matthew Kaczorowski, who was arrested in Vancouver in March, had been fleeing Toronto police ever since he and two others snatched a cat off the street in Kensington Market in May, 2001. The trio strung the helpless animal up by the neck, then tortured and killed it.

Their crime was videotaped, purportedly for an "art project." The brutality shocked Toronto, not to mention animal lovers from around the world. Courtroom onlookers sobbed when the video was played in court.

While investigators quickly nabbed two of the three culprits, Jesse Power and Anthony Wennekers, finding "the third man" -- known only as Matt -- proved to be more difficult. His grinning face, taken from the video, was pasted on wanted posters issued by the Toronto police force. The humane society also posted his image on its Web site.

Those postings would alter fuel the controversy over who should get the reward: Woodward or an anonymous tipster in Vancouver who has never come forward to claim the cash.

Both Crown Attorney Robin Flumerfelt and Detective Gordon Scott in charge of the case, credited Woodward for helping with the arrest.

"Matt was identified after somebody saw her Web site, recognized him and called police," Flumerfelt said.

However, officials at the Toronto Humane Society don't quite see it that way.

While thankful for the efforts of Woodward and other activists who kept the case alive, society president Tim Trow said she was not the person who turned Matt in to the police.

"We owe the money to this person who saw this fellow and called the police," Trow said in an interview, adding he doesn't know why the tipster has never come forward to claim the cash.

"Matt was in custody before she (Woodward) even knew about his arrest. He was turned in by somebody else, and it is that person who deserves the reward."

All three men pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals and mischief. Kaczorowski was sentenced to a day in jail, Power received a 90-day term, while Wennekers was sentenced to time served, which amounted to nearly 11 months. The punishments were criticized for being too lenient and prompted calls for tougher laws.

Flumerfelt said his office received more than 1,000 angry emails about the case, some from as far away as Australia.

For a time, it seemed as though everyone in Canada knew Matt's whereabouts. He was spotted sightseeing at Niagara Falls and dining at a bistro in Montreal. One jail guard even claimed that Matt lived in her rooming house in Kingston.

Over time, the trail grew cold as the police moved on to other crimes.

But Woodward and others refused to give up. She set up her Web site, www.findmatt.org. She kept checking with the police for updates, hounding reporters to write more stories.

It was during one of her many radio interviews that one listener thought that she knew Matt, a court was later told.

The eventual tipster, whose identity has never been revealed by the authorities, went to Woodward's Web site, saw Kaczorowski's picture and called the police. The humane society's Trow said when the agency put out the reward, it was for "information leading to the arrest and conviction."

"Maybe we should have honed our language more precisely," he said. "But the fact is, someone else turned Matt in and they deserve the money."

Detective Scott said there is a way out of the whole mess. "The money should be split 50-50."