Norman Joseph Gosselin pleaded guilty Monday to two charges under the Criminal Code — one for killing a black and white kitten on Feb. 1, 2023, and the other for causing suffering to an orange tabby on March 9, 2023
Calgary cat abuser Norman Joseph Gosselin, who abused two of his girlfriend’s kittens, killing one, told a cellmate he had one regret — he didn’t unplug the video cameras that captured his crimes.
Gosselin pleaded guilty Monday to two charges under the Criminal Code, one for killing a black and white kitten on Feb. 1, 2023, and the other for causing suffering to an orange tabby on March 9, 2023.
Crown prosecutor Samina Dhalla told Justice Mike Dinkel she is considering seeking a six-year prison term for the Calgary resident, but will wait for a psychiatric report’s preparation before making a final determination.
Defence counsel Moira McAvoy, who requested the assessment, told the Calgary Court of Justice judge she will likely seek a two-year sentence when submissions are made this fall.
Reading from a statement of agreed facts, Dhalla detailed the abuse the unnamed kittens suffered at Gosselin’s hands, which was captured by security cameras his then-partner, Millie Holeton had installed in their home.
The prosecutor said Gosselin, who has been in custody since his June 24, 2023, arrest, told a cellmate at the Calgary Remand Centre last February about his involvement in the feline abuse.
The cellmate, identified by Dhalla by the initials A.L., went to police a month after speaking with the offender.
“A.L. indicated that the accused told him that he killed his wife’s cat in the basement of their house and when he did so he was wearing steel-toed boots,” Dhalla said.
“He told A.L. that he stepped on the cat’s head, picked it up and then twisted and broke the neck of the cat.”
Gosselin indicated to the cellmate “there was no way the cat wasn’t dead, but that it wasn’t caught on video due to his position,” Dhalla said.
“The accused told A.L. that he ‘f—— hates cats’ and that he doesn’t care that he did it. The accused told him that his only regret was that he would have unplugged the camera.”
The videos of the attacks, made an exhibit but not played in court before Dinkel, were reviewed by veterinarian Dr. Margaret Doyle, the prosecutor said.
Doyle viewed what appeared to be both traumatic brain injury and significant spinal injuries.
“Dr. Doyle indicated that traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury were likely to be fatal in a kitten this young even if emergent care had been sought.”
Gosselin also told police he “disposed of the kittens in the compost bin” and “he believes that cats are soulless beings, that he feels bad but does not care and that it wasn’t his house or his cats so it wasn’t his responsibility.”
A date for sentencing submissions, likely at the end of September, will be set Tuesday.