Walter Eugene Brantzeg’s estranged wife told him that she was seeking sole custody of their daughter, aged 13. He decided to kill his wife and daughter with a crowbar. He also decided that he’d give himself up and plead guilty at trial to all charges. As consequence he decided that there would be ‘no one around to feed’ his cat so he killed her.
He followed through on his decisions except that his daughter survived. His older was not at the house. He is now facing the rest of his life in prison. He is 55.
One of the charges against him is for aggravated animal cruelty, a class A misdemeanour. This must relate to his cat. We don’t know how he killed her.
Comment: all the victims were innocent. The cat was the most innocent; a innocent bystander to a dispute between people over the ‘possession’ of their child. How many times have we read about child custody disputes leading to violence against the family cat as a means for one to hurt the other? A lot. A retaliation. It is interesting that Mr Brantzeg had a cat. I mean you wouldn’t think it would happen bearing in mind his violent nature. It confirms what we know, namely that cat owners aren’t necessarily intelligent, independent, single women.
Clearly he gave little thought to re-homing his cat. He must be a very bitter, revengeful man, deeply hurt too. He was lashing out and destroying everything he holds dear it seems to me.
Location: Salt Lake City. Time: Last Thursday at trial. Source: deseretnews.com.
Just really a sad story. What kind of evil possessed Walter Eugene Brantzeg to take these innocent lives because he was angry and despondent? And yes, the cat was an innocent bystander. If this man had any chance of receiving a reduced sentence, that will not happen now. So unfair…😱😠😭