Edmonton man jailed for killing and cooking family’s cat

EDMONTON — A 20-year-old Edmonton man found guilty in the killing, dismemberment and cooking of a family’s beloved cat was sentenced to six months in jail this week.

Wendell Mah, 20, and two other young men, stole, cut up and cooked a cat over a fire in the river valley in February 2014.

Mah’s sentence also includes 18 months probation, and a prohibition from owning pets for five years.

“The circumstances are horrific,” said Provincial Court Judge Elizabeth Johnson as she handed down her decision.

The judge referred to an assessment by a psychologist who determined that though Mah was unlikely to reoffend and does not have sadistic tendencies, he does possess “socialization deficits.”

Mah fiddled with the hem of his suit jacket and stared straight ahead as he stood next to his lawyer listening to the delivery of his sentence.

The Crown had argued for 18 to 24 months of jail time and a lifelong ban on owning pets, while Mah’s lawyer had proposed a conditional sentence, or, if jail time was deemed necessary, a sentence of four to six months.

“It actually breaks my heart,” said Derek North, whose family owned the cat, after the sentencing. North was three years old when the cat, Pudge, was brought home to live with his family. Cat and boy grew up together: while delivering a victim-impact statement to the court in June, North described the 17-yearold tabby as a “brother.”

North said the sentence left him “unbelievably disappointed,” and said he and his family had hoped Mah would be given at least a year of jail time.

“Three people did the most brutal thing you could imagine,” North said.

Mah, Zachary McKinnon and a youth who cannot be identified hatched a plan to steal Pudge from North because McKinnon was mad at him.

On Feb. 13, 2014, McKinnon and Mah chatted with each other on Facebook while Mah was at school. Court heard McKinnon told Mah he wanted to “kill someone that day” and he asked Mah if he knew “how to cook cat.” They agreed to meet later and come prepared with sharp knives.

Court heard McKinnon and the youth took Pudge from the North home to Mah’s house and the cat was put in a pet carrier. Mah then grabbed a frying pan and the trio walked to the Mill Creek ravine.

All three took turns poking, stabbing and jabbing the cat with knives and McKinnon finished off the animal and skinned and eviscerated it. They then built a small fire and began cooking it.

A civilian reported the blaze. The trio had fled the scene, but police found them nearby.

M cK in non ,21, was given 10 months in jail on Oct. 7, 2014, after earlier pleading guilty to killing an animal and theft. He was also placed on probation for three years and banned from owning pets for 10 years.