Man who pleaded guilty to killing three cats dies before sentencing

A Winnipeg man awaiting sentencing after admitting he strangled three cats to death and dumped two of their carcasses under a city bridge, has died, the Free Press has learned.

Randy Jensen, 25, pleaded guilty on May 13 to one count of wilfully causing injury or suffering to animals in connection to the 2024 killings.

He was scheduled to be sentenced in January.

“That’s not something that anybody wanted,” said Kristy Zamonsky, founder of Project Artemis Animal Advocates. “We were all hoping for justice through the courts.”

Zamonsky said Crown attorney Patrick Benjamin, who prosecuted the case, confirmed Jensen’s death to her by email on Aug. 31.

“In this situation the charges are going to be dropped. That’s how the process works in Canada,” Benjamin wrote in the email shared with the Free Press. “This is obviously not what anyone wanted. This is sad news.”

The Free Press could not confirm how Jensen died.

Benjamin and Jensen’s lawyer, Brett Gladstone, did not respond to a request for comment.

Jensen disposed of two of the animals underneath the Summit Road bridge, not far from his home, court heard in May.

An area resident was out for a walk on Dec. 27 when he saw a dead cat under the bridge and assumed it had been killed by an animal, court heard. The man discovered a second cat under the bridge a day later and called police.

Rejeana McIvor met Jensen through a Kijiji ad she placed while she was seeking homes for her two cats, Nami and Nero. Jensen choked one of the cats at his home that same day. She said his death offers no closure.

“When I first heard of his passing, I was just very angry,” she said.

McIvor had drafted a victim impact statement, but now she’ll never get to read it with Jensen in court.

Zamonsky said she plans to host a vigil for the cats on Sept. 13. It will take place at the bridge at 4 p.m.

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca