Dar Kabatoff's In Town

Usenet has the tendency to provide a public forum for those who would normally be scribbling in a closet. For example, take Daryl “Shawn” Kabatoff. For the last few years, he’s methodically gathered “statistics” from various sources, ranging from local newspaper obituary pages to the food court of the Saskatoon Midtown Plaza mall. With all the raw data he’s collected, he’s attempting to prove daily that our full names are in “mathematical harmony” with our birthdays.

His rants normally focus on a single individual he’s met or read about, starting with calculations related to their birthdate and full names, blending in whatever other personal information about their family members, spouses, birthplace, and career he’s been able to glean. From there, it descends into a mix of numerology, religious zealotry, and personal torment. I’ve never seen anything like it.

With all the prime numbers, Fibonacci sequences and biblical references, it’s like reading the notebooks of Maximillian Cohen and John Nash combined. Unsurprisingly, several posts unfold to reveal a history of painful mental illness. If you have some time, take a look. I’ve detailed his posting history and a several sample posts below.

August 9, 2004: The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix published an article about Daryl and his encounter with one woman.

September 22, 2004: Does anyone have a photo of Kabatoff? If so, please e-mail me.


Usenet Posting History:

  • January 27, 1999 to July 5, 2000 as [email protected]
  • December 9, 2000 to May 4, 2001 as [email protected]
  • Oct 30, 2001 to Oct 31, 2001 as [email protected]
  • January 20, 2002 to April 17, 2002 as [email protected] (original posts have been removed from Google Groups archive)
  • April 26, 2002 to Present as [email protected]

    Selected Posts:

    Tessa Lynne Smith

    Dastageer Sakhizai and Helen Smith

    Brett David Maki

    Andrew Meredith Cotton

    Kathryn Lee Hipperson

    Amanda Dawn Newton

    Mona Marie Etcheverry

    Tony Peter Nuspl

    Lisa Charlene McMillan

    Grant Allyn Wood

  • Comments

      scarier still is that saskatoon is my hometown, though not my current residence. and every single place he’s mentioned in his posts (most notably nervous harold’s and the roastary) were either places i’ve been (as it’s a small city of 200K) or hangouts, ie. the two places mentioned. chances are i could email some friends back home and find out if they know of him, they (my friends that is) being of the broadway-centred slacker ilk. myself, too, until i got out of there. eh, anyways. thought it odd to see all this.

      midtown mall. i ate my meals there, whilst waiting several days in line for star wars episode one, at the theatre across the street.

      Fascinating. It’s like he’s trying to take chaos and bind it into whatever rules he can find, religious, logical and otherwise. Numbers and math have a reliable pattern, something that can always be proven to true or false. People and religion do not.

      It reminds me of Darren Aronofsky’s movie Pi. It’s the story of an paraniod genius who is trying to find a pattern in Pi. A group that takes interest in his work is convinced that the existence of Pi, a number whose existence can be proven but no quantified, is proof of the existence of God.

      Kabatoff’s hunt for patterns in something as random as name selection is a way to reconcile his deeply logical thought process with his conflicting religious views.

      Exactly. I probably shouldn’t have, but I e-mailed Daryl yesterday, asking him if he’d be willing to create a numerological analysis for me. I also asked him if he had seen either Pi or A Beautiful Mind, and what he thought of them. If he replies, I’ll be sure to post it.

      I baked many pumpkin pies for Shawn (he likes pumpkin pies). I rubbed pumpkin pie all over my breasts for him, and my breasts turned orange. I am a pumpkin for Shawn.

      Shawn once went to a funeral for a Jehovah Witness that shot himself and the lemon tarts were very bad, they were not only sour but were rubbery as well. Shawn said that the guy was some kind of Jehovah Witness prophet, he saw in advance that the lemon tarts at his funeral were to be very very bad, and so he shot himself. Shawn said that he never ate pumpkin pie at a funeral but would like to some day. Shawn likes pumpkin pie and so I have been practicing to make very good pumpkin pies.

      Oh… I almost forgot…

      I didnt spend thousands of dollars a day tormenting Daryl…

      We got a deal on tormenting that fiscal year, it only came to about 37cents a day….

      Mr. Kabatoff attempts to portray himself as a victim, but in fact he is a violent predatory pedophile who is well known to his local law enforcement.

      In his post to multiple newsgroups with the subject “Collecting Mail For The Coming Anti-Christ”, he encourages mothers to send him photos of their naked daughters. Mr Kabatoff explains, “I personally did not want photographs being mailed to (the coming Ant-Christ) that were of underage children unless the parent was signing consent.”

      He is banned from virtually all the shopping malls in his community because he stalks young people and sexually harasses them. He has an extensive arrest record which includes sexual molestation charges. He’s been hospitalized in mental institutions several times because he likes to accost “nubile cuties.”

      He writes about his contact with young girls in many posts. Search newsgroup archives for posts by him containing the word “nubile”. As part of his harrassment, he provides personal details in a public forum, such as the real names of real children, in these and other posts.

      About one girl he met at a mall, he writes, “I wanted Callie in my bed or I wanted her and her sister dead.” http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Daryl+Shawn+Kabatoff+dead+or+in+my+bed& hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=asqm35%24tjq5j%241%40ID-136124.news.dfncis.de&rnu m=4

      He not only curses children and prays for their death in his posts, he also enjoys attending the funerals of young people:

      “And so, since nubile sweeties are found in greatest abundance at the funerals of high school students, then it is the funerals of high school students that make the very very best funerals, especially if there is food… I stuff my face (and my pockets) with all the good food and look at all the pretty nubile sweeties and have the time of my life…” http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Daryl+Shawn+Kabatoff+nubile+sex&hl=en&l r=&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&selm=LfXN8.63042%24R53.25142039%40twister.socal.rr. com&rnum=1

      Many of his posts are sent to alt.teens.advice. However, he liberally spams, floods and crossposts his off-topic threatening and offensive missives to countless newsgroups.

      Some people HAVE problems and some folks ARE problems. Don’t dismiss Mr. Kabatoff as a harmless nut. When he sends these posts to any newgroup, please help by reporting him to his ISP.

      Thanks.

      I knew of him when I was attending the University of Saskatchewan. He’d hang out in the Arts computer lab and all you’d see is screens of numbers racing by on his laptop. I have an original copy of his “Collecting Mail for the Coming Anti-Christ” pamphlet, and have seen him be hauled away by campus security on more than one occasion.

      My friends and I refer to him as “Crazy Number Man”.

      I’ve been posting to (and about) Shawn for over two years with big gaps in between. He has seen Pi and didn’t like it and didn’t think it resembled him at all. (Wrong, it fits him to a tee) He doesn’t have total recall and has stated that he travels with a lap top to notate items. Also, he uses “cut n’ paste” a lot if you read all the way through his ramblings. He is anti-social as shown by his angry statements towards those who, by his own admission, have been kind (but not kind enough) to him. Still, he’s intelligent and seems to be able to “take a joke” on occassion. That’s where I came in.

      Wow, I was given some literature and some disks by this “crazy” (I’m trying not to judge here) fella when I was working in S’toon. I was kind to him over a cup of tea where I worked (he didn’t bother me). . . until the police asked for the stuff he gave me as evidence. I thought I was just being friendly to an odd (yet metaphysically-minded) nut.

      Now I find my name posted on the internet. I didn’t have time to read anything he gave me but I feel nothing but pity for him. To draw so much from so little–I really had hardly any contact at all with him and he seemed quite normal. His mind must truly be on a different plane.

      I do admit that I am grateful I had no further contact with him. I hope he finds some sort of peace and does no more harm to himself and others.

      I live in a different place, under a different name, so I am not afraid of being found. Has anyone been able to help this man–or at the very least keep him from obsessing about people he doesn’t know?

      Well, this freak has now posted about a friend’s recently deceased daughter:

      One down, two to go, you people are the shit of the earth and I rejoice at the death of your daughter!!!

      what to do???

      this man makes me utterly disgusted after reading his comments on many of his posting on the internet. having been personally affected by his ‘words of wisdom’, yeah right, i cannot bare to see this man pass by me so often on broadway anymore. it is unbelievable how sick minded he is and how nothing has been done to stop him from saying the horrible things he says. I personally know SEVERAL people in our community who cannot wait to smile once this guy’s going to be regretting commenting on a friends tragic death. no one deserves to read this and no one deserves to have anything written about them such as your sick comments. Im sure MANY people out there agree with me.

      I did not know about any of this stuff daryl was supposedly responsible for before I read this. I’ve known this guy for about a year and he seems like a regular guy to me. Sometimes I don’t agree with his views but whatever people disagree at times. He never appeared to be threatening or dangerous to me or my friends. I am NOT going to believe these things that are said about daryl unless someone has proof (my e-mail should be on here). I think Daryl is very interesting person, I am interested mathematics too, mainly chaos math and the game theory is very interesting for me.

      Ps. Daryl has the RIGHT TO FREEDOM of speech no matter what he says that is absolute and fundamental!!! Remember it’s only words!

      I have known Mr. Kabatoff for over 2 decades. Not very well, but well enough to assure you he is clinically psychotic. I never really thought he was all that harmful. A bloody damned nuisance to be sure. He’s a classic Troll from before the internet defined this. His game, aside from his fascination with numbers, is about inciting passionate reactions. To this end he has earned himself more than one punch in the snoot and a whole lot of time locked up, usually in the psych ward.

      In person he’s a charming man and there have been times I shook my head in pity that such an intelligent and charming fellow was so utterly insane and beyond all hope of ever being tolerable as companion to anyone except maybe a long suffering dog.

      I asked him, out of what I thought was some level of mutual respect and kindness, to do me the favour of not posting my name or information publicly. He refused. I asked him 3 times. He refused all three times. I have given him my most terrible “punishment” I ever give anyone. Not much, but it’s enough for me. I will not speak to him nor regard him with friendliness again nor ever again lend him any assistance or kindness.

      So far as I’m concerned, that’s as bad as it gets. I do regret that people like this exist. I don’t think he actually suffers. I think what suffering he displays is part of his game, I think he is too psychopathic to actually feel any negative feelings and only expresses same when it suits his agenda of inciting emotions in others.

      This website is doubtless his proudest achievement to date.

      One day Daryl Shawn Kabatoff asked me if I wanted to ‘play a game’ when I was having a coffee in a cafe. he collected personal info, and then after his trees/ antichrist/ penis tirade, refused to give up the info he had coppied down. Now there are posts on the net slandering me in all kinds of ways and he claims he is seeking to ‘marry’ my ‘nubile’ little sister, etc. I didn’t acted very low-key around him, and polite that day, realizing too late that he was dangerous, and fearing that he would get violent when I asked for the paper with my personal info on it.

      I’m amazed that you spent the time creating this little corner of the web dedicated to this freak. Makes me wonder who the freak really is.

      why is he even being discussed? – it just inspires him to post stuff on the internet even more.

      He’s a good boy and many poeple tell lies about him. And those lemon tarts you get are made in crappy warehouses anyway.

      ok this is crazy,why isnt this guy in jail??

      My big sister 21 now met his guy at a coffee shop or something in saskatoon and i guess he asked her a bunch of questions about her and now theres a page on the web about my whole family!this is screwed up and scary someones gotta do something about this,

      Kabatoff has been arrested and lobomized seversal times. he is banned from several places in Saskatoon.

      To this day, he still hounds people for their personal info and posts it on the net, without their consent. I post to him on Usenet sometimes, but he ignores anyone who speaks he truth.

      He prays for the DEATHS of children. He has been recently writing about how he wants them smashed on rocks.

      I doubt he will ever get psychiatric treatment voluntarily. therefore I doubt he will ever get mentally better any time soon. He twists the facts to suit himself. He thinks he is in the right and everyone else is wrong, and I just don’t have the time to try to reason with him anymore.

      BTW, anyone defending Kabatoff is usually him. so jebus_babe_us is kabatoff.

      I remember Shawn Kabatoff from my days in Saskatoon in the early to mid 80’s. I recently wondered what happened to the him, so I did a google search. and discovered what he’d been up to.

      I remember him from his political career, before the days of the Internet’s popularity. He ran for Student Council President on a negative campaign, and got upsetted when it was reported by the campus and local media as a negative campaign. He then ran for the provincial legislature. Under a pseudonym. Then he ran again. Under a different pseudonym. Then he got upsetted when he wasn’t taken seriously.

      That is the only thing I can add that hasn’t already been stated here.

      Well, chalk me up as another victim. He started up a conversation with me, took down personal information on my family, and posted it on usenet. What can I do? I really don’t understand his reasoning.

      This same individual was at a local festival in Saskatoon for street performers and alternative arts (‘Fringe Festival’). He charged me a fee to connect my name to my birthday with numerology.

      now my personal details as well as those of my family are posted on the internet.

      Has anyone contacted law enforcement about this guy? Surely something can be done about this mencae! It would take me weeks to read all of his postings though. I just don’t have the time.

      In addition to 2 runs at provincial politics, he also apparently ran for Mayor of Saskatoon once.

      I spoke with someone who knew him from local ‘hang-outs’ and said he once saw him get slapped by a young girl and he cried for an hour like a baby.

      This man is the definition of insane.

      does anybody knw if he is employed? And if so, where? He surely couldn’t be insane at his place of work, could he? I would like to visit his place of work and turn the tables on him!

      wow – this guy has just made our local paper – the Saskatoon Star Pheonix, thus exposing his penchant for sharing personal information over the internet…. I had never heard of him before and just spent the last hour catching up on his “story” via his various usenet and groups postings…

      What I am really dissappointed about however, is the apparant defeatist approach our local law enforcement agency has taken on this issue. It was reported in the paper that they think there is little they can do to stop his internet postings. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR RECENT PIPEDA LEGISLATION??!?!? (http://www.privcom.gc.ca/fs-fi/index_e.asp)

      It is my understanding that no person or business (which is what MR. Kabatoff was in fact running at the fringe) can collect personal information without prior disclosure regarding their intent to use or disseminate said information AS WELL AS subsequent consent from the client. Kabatoff is at least breaking our newest privacy legislation and should be accordingly charged.

      This whole episode is really starting to scare me.

      Over 2 years old and this post has continually generated comments. Keep up the good work Andy.

      Over 2 years old and this post has continually generated comments. Keep up the good work Andy.

      The Saskatoon StarPhoenix published another story on August 10, 2004 about Daryl Kabatoff. The link for it is http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/story.html?id=00249052-fbc4-4892-88da-08d990b6eba9

      However, this will not be good for long as the StarPhoenix does not keep its stories online. So I am pasting the story here:

      Busker’s mom wants police to pick up son

      Man ejected from Fringe ‘very ill’

      Sarah Gibb

      Special to The StarPhoenix

      Tuesday, August 10, 2004

      The mother of a busker ejected from the Fringe Festival for posting personal information of Fringe visitors online has appealed to the police and doctors to have her son picked up because he is “very ill.”

      Daryl Shawn Kabatoff has recently posted angry Internet messages, saying he wants local children to die and has revealed that he’s trying to obtain guns, the StarPhoenix has learned.

      He is now under police investigation, said Insp. Jeff Bent, spokesperson for Saskatoon Police Service.

      Kabatoff’s posts, which are full of references to religion, sex and death, contain the names, birthdays, descriptions and workplaces of dozens of Saskatoon residents and their families, including in some instances their deceased children.

      He obtained some of the information from children’s obituaries published in the StarPhoenix. The busker says in some posts that he hopes the other children in the families die too.

      Kabatoff, who sat on a Mexican blanket at the intersection of 11th Street and Broadway during the Fringe, recently offered on a bulletin board to trade one of his trademark numerological name analyses for a rifle or shotgun.

      In another post, he says he is acquiring a firearms licence.

      In response to the contents of Kabatoff’s posts, obtained by the StarPhoenix, Insp. Bent said: “(We) are going to assign some investigators to this immediately . . . I appreciate your call because after the fact people say, ‘Why wasn’t something done?’ ”

      The balding, pony-tailed 46-year-old man, who stood for mayor in 1982 and 1985, is a well-known figure in Saskatoon’s shopping malls and coffee shops.

      Kabatoff believes people’s names are given to them by God and are harmonized with their dates of birth. He says he can reveal this relationship using mathematics and for years has asked passers-by to let him analyse their names.

      An online search has revealed Kabatoff has posted around 1,000 highly disturbing messages on Usenet sites since 2001.

      Usenet is a system of worldwide bulletin boards, also called newsgroups, where people post messages and correspond about shared interests.

      Kabatoff’s messages contain the personal details of scores of Saskatoon residents, often teenage girls he refers to as “nubile sweeties” after meeting them in the food court at Midtown Plaza, the Mall at Lawson Heights, the Broadway Roastery and Starbucks.

      Kabatoff is notorious in the Usenet community. One site calls him “one of Usenet’s most elusive and creepy psychopaths.”

      Another user asks: “At this stage, what can be done under law to stop him getting a gun from any source?”

      Several Usenet members implore someone to alert Saskatoon police to Kabatoff’s posts seeking a firearm.

      A post dated June 15, 2004 from a Daryl S. Kabatoff using a Shaw e-mail address and Saskatoon box number, states that he is looking for: “A) a rifle for deer hunting this fall, B) a shotgun for the early deer-hunting season, C) a .22-caliber (sic) rifle for improving my shooting skills during the summer.”

      The post, entitled “Wanting firearm” and sent to the calgary.forsale newsgroup, continues: “I’ll offer you a trade . . . I will show you gorgeous harmony between your name and birthday and numbers in the Bible . . . In exchange for your unwanted firearm I’ll provide you with a short essay that you will treasure far more.”

      The next day, June 16, the same post appeared on the talk.politics.guns newsgroup, this time called “Trade for Gun.”

      Kabatoff says he’s in the process of obtaining a gun licence.

      A June 2004 Usenet post from him states: “I am in the process of applying for and obtaining a license (sic) to acquire a rifle . . . for hunting animals and not people. If somebody . . . trades a gun for my work before I obtain the license (sic), that gun will be received by a friend who is legally allowed to possess such . . . ”

      Attempts to reach Kabatoff for comment were unsuccessful.

      In a telephone interview Monday, Kabatoff’s mother, who asked not to be named, sobbed as she begged doctors and the police for help.

      “He is not being treated at all. The doctors say they can’t force him . . . When he is well, he is a likeable person (who) is so nice. But when he’s ill, he’s very ill. He needs . . . the police or somebody to take him in for treatment.

      “He did go to a hospital a number of times. He just absolutely refuses the treatment. Shall I pack up and leave or put my head in the sand or what, because I just can’t take any of this anymore. I wish he would just be picked up.” She added that she does not believe her son is dangerous.

      Kabatoff’s long and angry posts contain names, birthdays, physical descriptions of people, where they work and the names and birthdays of their family members. The details are freely given to Kabatoff by his unsuspecting customers when he offers to analyse their names.

      His most recent post, dated Aug. 8, names a 24-year-old woman he met on the first day of this year’s Fringe Festival. He refers to her and her friends as “cheap, filthy assholes.”

      Kabatoff also trawls through obituaries, mainly in the StarPhoenix, looking for details of teenagers who have recently died. He posts the information on bulletin boards along with his analysis of the deceased’s name, sometimes adding that he is glad the young person has died and that he hopes the family loses their other children too.

      He claims to attend the funerals of these teenagers so he can meet “nubile sweeties” and eat free food.

      One of his posts reads: “(S)ince nubile sweeties are found in greatest abundance at the funerals of high school students, then it is the funerals of high school students that make the very, very best funerals, especially if there is food . . . I stuff my face (and my pockets) with all the good food and look at all the pretty nubile sweeties and have the time of my life . . .”

      Kabatoff writes in a post dated July 22 this year: “I was busking . . . at Five Corners on Broadway Avenue. (Name withheld) stopped to provide stats . . . He said he had no money for me . . . You people have absolutely zero respect for me . . . I in turn have zero respect for you and so don’t require your permission to post these stats on the Usenet. Furthermore I am on my knees and begging God to . . . terminate the lives of these children. If I find any of these family members in the obituaries I will cheer with utter glee . . . and I will post your stats again.”

      Kabatoff appears to keep an elaborate cross-referencing system on his laptop computer of the families whose “stats” he obtains, so he can compare the names with published obituaries.

      A recent post based on a StarPhoenix obituary begins: “Oh dear. (Name withheld) hung herself in her basement bedroom at her parent’s home on (date withheld). Her brother (name withheld) provided stats on May 9th 2002, he hangs around Broadway Avenue, the street in Saskatoon with the poster poles shaped like penises. I first met him about 10 years ago.”

      The post ends with Kabatoff calling the family and the rest of the community, “the God-damned shit of the earth.”

      Some of Kabatoff’s most disturbing posts are based on the obituaries of children. Several of the families he has targeted lost their children at birth. His posts mock the parents and their grief.

      A message dated July 6, 2004 to the parents of a deceased 14-year-old Saskatoon girl states: “I am crying out to God against your family and am requesting that He . . . terminates the lives of your other children . . . If I see any other (name withheld) in the obituaries I will cheer with utter glee and post your stats again.”

      A post to the parents of a 15-year-old boy killed in an accident reads: “Well now I shit on you, I rejoice in your loss of (name withheld) and pray for the loss of (your daughter).”

      To the parents of another young Saskatoon resident who died, Kabatoff writes: “What you God-damned filthy assholes paid for (your son’s) funeral could have supported me overseas for months.”

      Kabatoff, who claims to have worked in the 1980s as a social worker in Whitecourt, Alta., and says he has a degree in anthropology, was reported to police during this year’s Fringe Festival by a woman who gave him her personal details before being warned by passers-by that Kabatoff would post them.

      Nancy (not her real name) told the StarPhoenix: “This man is preying on people. The public needs to be warned.”

      After the StarPhoenix ran a story Saturday about Nancy’s experience, Kabatoff’s Fringe busking licence was withdrawn.

      Readers wanting to check whether Kabatoff has posted their names can go to http://www.google.com, enter his surname or his signature line “God gives you your name,” then click on “groups.”

      Kabatoff himself moderates a newsgroup at alt.dear.whitehouse.

      His mother says she has lived with this turmoil for years. She asks for understanding.

      “Heaven help you and your children if they ever have mental health problems,” she said.

      © The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004

      i caught this guy talking to my two little sisters (ages 10-14 at the time) in the midtown mall food court. i was suspicious and quickly found a way to get them away from this stranger, and scolded them both for speaking to him. he told me the meaning of all this questions was ‘harmony’. after reading the front page article in the saskatoon star phoenix today, august 10th, i talked to them again and realised that it wasn’t just their names they gave out, but mine and my other sister’s, our last name and birth dates, address, everything. now i’m trying to search up his late posts in fear that he does have information on myself and my family. this man deserves to be locked up.

      also, in the article it states that he says something about the suicide death of a young girl by hanging. i know this family, i knew the girl he spoke of and her family of which he calls ‘the god damned shit of the earth’. this man deserves to be put somewhere dark and by himself.. saskatoon should no longer be plagued by this fanatic.

      In the late ’80s or early ’90s he posted posters on lampposts and utility boxes in Saskatoon full of numerological weirdness. These included a cartoon character logo that was a modified version of “Cran Berry,” a mascot character the Meewasin Valley Authority here in Saskatoon was using at the time. As I remember them they were of a quality level that indicated they were cooked up on a computer before being photocopied or however he had them printed. Some discussed a young man who disappeared while attending university elsewhere, claiming he was eaten by Satanists, as Kabatoff has claimed tens of thousands of other people have been.

      There was another article in today’s star-phoenix and Leaderpost. He is dangerous, the story read as follows:

      Police watching busker who says children must die

      Sarah Gibb

      Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News Service

      Tuesday, August 10, 2004

      SASKATOON — A busker ejected from the Fringe Festival for posting personal details of Fringe visitors online has posted angry Internet messages saying he wants local children to die and is trying to obtain guns, The Saskatoon StarPhoenix has learned.

      Daryl Shawn Kabatoff is now under police investigation, said Saskatoon Police Insp. Jeff Bent.

      The posts, which are full of references to religion, sex and death, contain the names, birthdays, descriptions and workplaces of dozens of Saskatoon residents and their families, including, in some instances, their deceased children.

      Some of the information was obtained from children’s obituaries published in The StarPhoenix. The busker says in his posts he hopes the other children in the families die, too.

      Kabatoff, who sat on a Mexican blanket at the intersection of 11th Street and Broadway during the Fringe, recently offered on a bulletin board to trade one of his trademark numerological name analyses for a rifle or shotgun.

      In another post, he says he is acquiring a firearms licence.

      Kabatoff’s mother made an emotional appeal through The StarPhoenix on Monday for local doctors or police to have her son picked up.

      In response to the information obtained by The StarPhoenix, Bent, spokesperson for Saskatoon Police Service, said: “(W)e are going to assign some investigators to this immediately … I appreciate your call because after the fact people say, ‘Why wasn’t something done?’ ”

      The balding, pony-tailed 46-year old, who stood for mayor in 1982, is a well-known figure in Saskatoon’s shopping malls and coffee shops. Kabatoff believes that people’s names are given to them by God and harmonized with their dates of birth. He says he can reveal this relationship using mathematics and for years has asked passersby to let him analyse their names.

      A Google search has revealed that Kabatoff has posted around 1,000 highly disturbing messages on Usenet sites since 2001.

      Usenet is a system of worldwide bulletin boards, also called newsgroups, where people post messages and correspond about shared interests.

      Kabatoff’s messages contain the personal details of scores of Saskatoon residents, often teenage girls he refers to as “nubile sweeties” after meeting them in the food court at Midtown Plaza, the Mall at Lawson Heights, the Broadway Roastery and Starbucks.

      Kabatoff is notorious in the Usenet community. One site calls him “one of Usenet’s most elusive and creepy psychopaths.”

      Another user asks: “At this stage, what can be done under law to stop him getting a gun from any source?”

      Several Usenet members implore someone to alert the Saskatoon police to Kabatoff’s posts seeking a firearm.

      A post dated June 15, 2004, from a Daryl S. Kabatoff using a Shaw e-mail address and Saskatoon box number, states that he is looking for: “A) a rifle for deer hunting this fall, B) a shotgun for the early deer hunting season, C) a .22 caliber (sic) rifle for improving my shooting skills during the summer.”

      The post, entitled “Wanting firearm” and sent to the calgary.forsale newsgroup, continues: “I’ll offer you a trade . . . I will show you gorgeous harmony between your name and birthday and numbers in the Bible … In exchange for your unwanted firearm I’ll provide you with a short essay that you will treasure far more.”

      The next day, June 16, the same post appeared on the talk.politics.guns newsgroup, this time called “Trade for Gun.”

      In a telephone interview Monday, Kabatoff’s mother, who asked not to be named, sobbed as she begged doctors and the police for help.

      “He is not being treated at all. The doctors say they can’t force him … When he is well, he is a likeable person (who) is so nice. But when he’s ill, he’s very ill. He needs … the police or somebody to take him in for treatment.

      “He did go to a hospital a number of times. He just absolutely refuses the treatment. Shall I pack up and leave or put my head in the sand or what, because I just can’t take any of this anymore. I wish he would just be picked up.” She added that she does not believe her son is dangerous.

      Kabatoff’s long and angry posts contain names, birthdays, physical descriptions of people, where they work, and the names and birthdays of their family members. The details are freely given to Kabatoff by his unsuspecting customers when he offers to analyse their names.

      His most recent post, dated Aug. 8, names a 24-year-old woman he met on the first day of this year’s Fringe Festival. He refers to her and her friends as “cheap, filthy assholes.”

      Kabatoff trawls through obituaries, mainly in The StarPhoenix, looking for details of teenagers who have recently died. He posts the information on bulletin boards along with his analysis of the deceased’s name, sometimes adding that he is glad the young person has died and that he hopes the family will lose their other children too.

      He claims to attend the funerals of these teenagers so he can meet “nubile sweeties” and eat free food. One of his posts reads: “(S)ince nubile sweeties are found in greatest abundance at the funerals of high school students, then it is the funerals of high school students that make the very, very best funerals, especially if there is food … I stuff my face (and my pockets) with all the good food and look at all the pretty nubile sweeties and have the time of my life …”

      Kabatoff appears to keep an elaborate cross-referencing system on his laptop computer of the families whose “stats” he obtains, so he can compare the names with published obituaries.

      A recent post based on a StarPhoenix obituary begins: “Oh dear. (Name withheld) hung herself in her basement bedroom at her parent’s home on (date withheld). Her brother (name withheld) provided stats on May 9th 2002, he hangs around Broadway Avenue, the street in Saskatoon with the poster poles shaped like penises. I first met him about 10 years ago.”

      The post ends with Kabatoff calling the family and the rest of the community “the God-damned shit of the earth.”

      Some of Kabatoff’s most disturbing posts are based on the obituaries of children. Several of the families he has targeted lost their children at birth. His posts mock the parents and their grief.

      A message dated July 6, 2004, to the parents of a deceased 14-year-old Saskatoon girl states: “I am crying out to God against your family and am requesting that He … terminates the lives of your other children … If I see any other (name withheld) in the obituaries I will cheer with utter glee and post your stats again.”

      To the parents of another young Saskatoon resident who died, Kabatoff writes: “What you God-damned filthy assholes paid for (your son’s) funeral could have supported me overseas for months.”

      Kabatoff, who claims to have worked in the 1980s as a social worker in Whitecourt, Alberta and says he has a degree in anthropology, was reported to police during this year’s Fringe Festival by a woman who gave him her personal details before being warned by passersby that Kabatoff would post them.

      Nancy (not her real name) told The StarPhoenix: “This man is preying on people. The public needs to be warned.”

      Attempts to reach Kabatoff for comment were unsuccessful.

      Readers wanting to check whether Kabatoff has posted their names can go to http://www.google.com, enter his surname or his signature line “God gives you your name,” then click on “groups.”

      © The Leader-Post (Regina) 2004

      I have had a similar experience with this guy at the coffee house I worked in. He did the numerology bs, then proceeded to bring me presents (for my birthday) & some computer disks that I should “check out”, labelled something like “the black pussy followed the white mouse into the hole”. I thought it was strange, but never even looked at the disks (2 sets, in case I had a macintosh instead of a pc). I was too old at the time to worry about being the victim of a pedophile, however my son could be a target. whoever thinks this is funny must be as crazy as he is. thanks for the input.

      Continued from first e-mail:

      I was telling you about my experience with Daryl and accidently erased it(I think). I have called the police-the more they know about this guy the better. I feel like e-mailing him but what do I say!! Anyway, my daughter ‘fessed up when I found her name on his site (he didn’t say nice things about her–which is very frightening) but the information she gave about her dad was wrong (he has a different last name and wrong birth year) so all his rants about his numerology crap are all BULLSHIT!!

      How do you stop a man like this when the police tell you there hands are tied? How much more does he know about his “victims”–like addresses, etc.

      I am afraid–but I’ll be damned before I will let this man get away with what he did to my family. So I am letting as many people know to please be aware of this dangerous individual-and just in case something happens to me!! We don’t know what he’s capable of until he seriously hurts someone–he’s on his way to doing just that. How can he be allowed to continue this madness? It’s easy to be in fear and hate this person–fear of the unknown is probably the worse fear ever!!

      I would like some advice about this!! What should I do or don’t do?

      First e-mail:

      I just found today that I am another “victim” of Daryl Kabatoff!! Back in February, he came to me daughter’s workplace (my daughter and I work for the same organization but in different departments. I remember that day quite well–my daughter came to me on her break to tell me there was some guy doing her co-worker’s numerology charts, but that he was a little strange. I asked her if she gave him any information–she said “no”. So, that was that, until this week when there was a write-up about him in Star Phoenix. I asked her if this was the same guy she had met in February and she said yes. I went to my computer and typed her name in the engine search and her name came up. I have always taught my children to be leery of strangers and to not give out any personal information–my daughter is a follower, so of course she did what her co-workers were doing.

      Anyway, she of course ‘fessed up that she had shared all the family’s information with this person. I have never met this man-but I’m sure if he came to that day I would have told him to get lost!! (Thank goodness I’m too old–but this is why his “preys” on young girls(my daughter and her co-workers are all young pretty girls). He must have had a hayday at our workplace because on his post he claims to be there three days in a row. (it makes me sick to my stomach to think of this)

      During the mid to late nineties while I was attending the U of S, I also was a busker in Saskatoon. One day I was approached by Kabatoff and he offered to do some numerology for me instead of giving me a tip. I felt vaguely uncomfortable about him, but gave him my name and birthdate, figuring that no harm could come of it (I was only 21 and stupid!). I thought he would leave the park bench where he was watching me play if I humoured him. After some time he gave me a long sheet of mathematical figurings and went away. However, the following day, he showed up again, giving me two Mac computer disks entitled something very strange like “The Black Cat Followed the Mouse At Night” and written in black marker. I have met many strange people while busking and never thought anything of them, but I felt unreasonably uncomfortable and scared. I immediately threw the disks away as soon as he went around the corner and packed up my case. After that he tried to talk to me once but I left as soon as possible. I never supposed that he was still doing the same thing. I really do believe that gut feelings are right and this is a person who is not stable or safe. If you have children, please talk to them about not giving out personal information of their own or family members! I also have contacted the Saskatoon police in hopes that the more calls they receive from different people, the more seriously they will take this.

      I only heard about this dude today and I’ve been reading about him for a few hours now. He is very twisted and I think I know why people have a very negative gut feeling about him.

      Gathering from the way he acts and talks about God, I’d have to say that he is OBVIOUSLY demon possesed. It’s as simple as that. The way he talks about death, suicide, children, haveing many wives, churches and his twisted views of the bible are just demonic.

      I’ll be praying from him and if I ever meet him (and I hope I do) I’ll know exactly what to do (don’t worry it’s nothing violent).

      Watch out Daryl, I’m comin’ to get ya!

      I am a close friend to the girl referred to in the StarPhoenix story regarding Kabatoff. Kabatoff got the birthdates from the girls brother. As young as he was, he gave the wrong dates, so Kabatoff’s numerology reading on her is all wrong anyway. Being that he gets this info from young children, most of them likely are wrong.

      This Daryl Kabatoff, or should i say, “KD” is one messed up character..

      Im from Saskatoon as well, and have been approached by this guy on a couple occasions, as i was walking down broadway ave.. but i told him to bugger off, because i didnt have time for his shinanigans, nor do i care how my name is related to my birthday, “numericaly”.

      anyway, there is this underground music forum on this website called “Saskpunk”, and he would rant and rant about just ridiculous stuff. He would constantly harass people, call them names, and just act like he was an attention-starved 12 year old.

      no one could ever figure out who that guy was. For months he would piss people off, and would never say who he was.. But now, after reading about all this, it totally fits.

      there is no place on this planet for someone like that. His own mother wants him put away for petes sake.

      anyways, this was kindof a pointless post, but it was a nice time killer.

      this city is known for having the best of the mall creeps and weirdos, but he takes the cake.

      Time for bed.

      sincerely,

      ticked off.

      There has to be something done !! My daughter talked to him and we now have information posted on the net. This is not right… He is not right… This is obvious. What does he have to do before something is done to stop him?!?

      Another concerned person/Mom

      I urged Kabatoff to get psychiatric help before police get involved. He really should have listened to me.

      I then quit Usenet. Now I find out that he is in his local newspaper. Hopefully now people will not be giving him their personal data.

      By the way, Kabatoff is now using a new email adress: [email protected], so if you use Usenet, killfile that one too. He was probabaly kicked off his old ISP (thats happend many times).

      I hope the Kabatoff dilemma gets resolved and fast.

      This sicko needs to be stoped, violating other people like he does should not be tolerated. if you ever run into this ass on the street. let him ask you . then violate him with your fist he deserves no less.

      Frank, it would appear as though he has some mental condition. Why would you want to beat up someone who is ill? Mental illness, in the end, is just an illness. I think what people need to focus on is getting him some help and not on hurting him.

      This guy does sound nuts and what he’s doing is really wrong… But since when does everyone give out their personal data to any random stranger who asks? Are you people fucking retarded?

      I live in Saskatoon, and was somewhat aware of this man, but didn’t know his name, or paied any attention to him. After reading one of his most recent “articles” on one of my best friends who died recently, getting the information from his obituary, where he praises his death, a declares that god brought it on him, and wishes death on the rest of his family. Also reading some of the other articles he’s posted online. I’ve pretty much lost any and all sympathy i could have had for this man. There is a point where certain people need to be locked up for the safety of others and the community.

      Yes this man is mentally ill but does that mean we have to be understanding about what he does? I don’t care what your problem is, I do not want you taking advantage of children to get what you want and that is one of the things we can accuse him off because he is guilty of it. Unfortunately there seems to be nothing that can be done to get him off the streets and in to a institution. It seems the only thing we can do is to get the word out and warn our children and others not to give out any info.

      Don’t get me wrong, I am a very compassionate person but this guy needs to be locked up, medicated to the point where he can’t do any harm and left there. I don’t need to hear from any supporters of his saying I am a bad person for thinking this because I have dealt with children who have been messed up by people like him. Anyone that can harm a child, either by their actions or their words does not deserve the freedom of a sane person.

      I have not heard anymore on him since the end of August but I do know he is still out on the streets of Saskatoon. As long as he and others like him cannot be forced to get the help they need then we must be aware.

      Warning for Saskatoon People – Especially Students

      Most people who live and or/go to school or work in the Nutana and downtown areas of Saskatoon likely have seen this nut case around. He’s a little taller than average and thin but not skinny. He’s got long brown hair that he usually wears tied back in a ponytail or some sort of attempt at a braid. It’s a rat’s nest kind of hair if he doesn’t have it tied back. He often wears a blanket-style coat that’s like a poncho and carries a shoulder bag that looks somewhat like a big purse. He also often wears a rather distinctive-looking hat. If you live in Saskatoon, keep an eye out for him. You’ll likely see him around. Keep away from him, point him out to your friends and family. If you have kids, keep them safe from him. If everyone knows about him, he’ll have nobody to bother because everyone will keep away from him.

      I know that he’s banned from malls but that doesn’t stop him from going to other places like the public library. The fact that he’s allowed to go there makes me mad. Lots of students have to go there to do their homework. Now that school is back on there will be lots of students there for him to be looking at and trying to bother. In a month or so we’ll start getting school assignments and we usually have to go to the downtown library to use microfilm and magazines. My friends have seen him at the library already since school has started.

      He’s a weirdo. If you see him, keep away from him.

      If this person frequents the Broadway area, chances are that he lives not too far away from it. Maybe he lives in Nutana, Varsity View, Queen Elizabeth, Holliston, etc. It makes me wonder if maybe the dog killings in Holliston aren’t related to this man’s problem. After all, there was media footage of younger teenagers crying about their dead dog. This sounds like it’s the sort of thing that is “up his alley”. I hope that the police are looking into this. We don’t need this man to make the cross-over from talking about killing people to actually doing it.

      Now he’s saying he has a gun. On September 1 2004, he sent the following post to a newsgroup:

      “And just so you people know, I have a gun and have access to other guns. I am not intending to use my gun for “violent” acts, I’ve had the gun for the last decade and am a responsible gun owner. I encourage the police to try to find my gun. -Daryl Shawn Kabatoff”

      So this guy gets kicked out of malls and some sort of street fair thing. Why can he still go to the library? And what’s this with the gun? If it’s a legal one, don’t the cops have to know about it? If not, don’t the cops have a reason to press charges? It sounds like this is a guy who should be locked-up.

      Well let see’s I first met him while working a Robin’s Donuts on Broardway and 8th. One of my regular custumers came in and this guy was with him.I didn’t know anything about him and I gave him my info.I haven’t seen anything yet about me on here.I’ve seen my name.But he also got my friend and that’s scares me soo much b/c i’m not in the same province with her to protect her.She’s having a baby and I don’t need anything happen to her.But she gave him certain info and yet he knows everything about her and her family.I’m scared for us and for everyone else out there.Please BECAREFUL!!

      On the news it says that poisoned meat was found in Massey Park on Albert and 9th street. Crystal just said that she served Kabatoff at the Robin’s on Broadway and 8th. Those two locations are only a stone’s throw away from each other.

      Does Kabatoff hang around at Aden Bowman? Or, does he just find teenagers that hang around on Broadway and downtown?

      I do hope that people who have information about this man and/or the dog deaths report it to the local police. I am very worried about the safety of children and animals in Saskatoon. Hopefully something really bad doesn’t have to happen before something is done about Kabatoff. It sounds like he needs a massive amount of help.

      I have been aware of Shawn Kabatoffs mental illness for many years. My heart goes out to his family. The focus should be on mental health care in Sask. Shawn sounds as though he could be Bi-polar. How is it that he has gone untreated for so many years? Where are your Social Workers, Psychiatrists & Mental Health Care Facilities? Medical treatment is the best solution before it gets any worse!

      I’m 21, and I’ve known Daryl Shawn Kabatoff for about 7 years. He used to harass my friends and I at a park in my neighbourhood. The first thing he ever said to us was “get down off that shed! if you fall down you will die without ever having had sex!”

      I have never given him any information about me. Through other people, however, he has gotten my numbers, and the numbers of all my family and many of my friends.

      I’ve had hundreds of run-ins with Daryl. I can’t go into detail because I don’t want him to know who I am.

      I’m sure you’ll read this Daryl, and the reason that I don’t want you to know who I am is this: I’m looking for you. If I find you I am going to make you pay for the cruel things you have done to me and people I care about. I normally wouldn’t agree with vigilate justice, but in this situation I feel I have no choice. I would not feel bad in the least about beating you within an inch of your life and leaving you for dead down under the Broadway bridge.

      Know too, that I am not the only person in Saskatoon who feels this way.

      I’m sure you can dream up some crazy conspiracy theory about why we would want to hurt you, but the simple fact is this: you have been a really big asshole. Such a big asshole, in fact, that you really deserve to be severely, severly beaten.

      I hope you do have that gun, Daryl, because you’re going to need it.

      My daughter gave her info to this guy a few years ago, I have been all over the net from one end to the other and back again getting our family info off these sites! This has been going on 3 years now!! How can this go on?? I am speechless….except to say thank you to those who are on top of him and won’t let it go! I’m there with you… Mom

      someone please tell shawn that the reason why there are crosses on top of all the christian churches in the world is because the cross represents jesus’ crucifiction; ere’goes the famous saying “he died on the cross”. Please just think about it dude, i’m sure the christian community picked the cross as their “emblem” if you will, because of it’s past representation in the egyptian language of the word for penis. hahaha, please do laugh at your juvenile joke, along with all the other elementary students studying ancient history and coming across the same piece of information. I’m sure the anti-christ would love to hear about how pathetic your vendetta against mankind has been so far.

      My dad punched “Shawn” out in 95′ for disturbing a church service (haha). Unfortunally I was to young to remember him and I gave him “stats” downtown in 03′ and he found out where I was working and left a letter for me stating which usenet group my info was in. He had everything about my family on the site. I went to the police and they did nothing they were like “join the club”. I was very worried about my saftey when I saw the article in the star phoenix on how he is looking for a gun because well my dad punched him in head and he knew where i was working at the time. Nothing happened Thank God!! I havent seen him anywhere in the city latly so maybe hes dead and if hes not I hope maggie gets that motherf****r cause if she doesn’t i will.

      First of all, someone needs to get those stupid ‘bot comments, or whatever they are, down.

      Several years ago at the Fringe in Saskatoon, Kabatoff was lurking around my place of work on Broadway. My boss knew who he was and gave him the boot. He has also posted insane and horrible rants about friends of mine. I pity the fact that he is a mentally tormented individual, but I also feel that he is dangerous, and the things he has done really piss me off. I haven’t seen him the last couple of summers. I wonder what’s happened to him. Hopefully, he stays away, or where ever he is.

      this freak posted shit about my brother after he died, and i really didnt appreciate it, he said he hoped i died too, and said some personal shit about my family that i really didnt appreciate. So i think everyone who has ever been harassed by this guy should file a complaint, make them do something about this guy, he is probably going by some other name now. but it shouldnt be too hard to figure out who he is. what really pisses me off is why they dont remove his posts from sites. i mean other members of my family have read that post he wrote, and were very upset by it, the loss of my brother caused enough pain, we didnt need this shit. thanks alot daryl, shawn, or whatever the fuck your real name is you freak, just leave people alone and get yourself some fucking help. i am sooooo mad

      oh my fucking god, this guy should be fucking shot in the head… he better have some damn good protection cause one day he will be found for slipping up and i wouldn’t be suprised if you get your death wish…. alls i know i want that fucking shit written about me off the fucking internet.. so somebody had better take it off right fucking now… and if this asshole is so high and mighty why doesn’t this pussy stand up and come say it to my face. too scared of a girl… that was fucking rude for my dad to have to read that… you wanna fight you sick prick fucking bring it on, i’d like to see how tough you are face to face

      I agree that Shawn does have some issues surrounding mental health, and in-turn has become a street urchin asking payment for fantasy. He has degraded and made a spectical of a good friend of mine. She was denounced as a whore as per the fact that she had been a single mother, who’s daughter is now on the honour role in high school. He chastised a sister to an old friend of mine who died from an overdose. It is clear that one who had their wits about them would refrain from this kind of dialogue, though we know he is ill. It seems that he had a lot going for himself at one time, and appeared to have forsight concerning affordable housing and other social issues. He had good intensions and sadly enough these intensions have become swallowed up in the madness of his paranoia. He likes to fixat and revert to similar objects. Cars and women- two most unattainable objects for Shawn as he searches for a submisive girl to marry. It is obvious that he is intimidated by most men, cutting Sam. His parents did the best they could with him, like any parent would, love him unconditionally. We should not take mental illness lightly or try to combat it with aggression. He airs his dirty little secrets, and really leaves us nothing else to question. Don’t talk to strangers. Love the sinner, hate the sin.

      I have much experience with him, he had a temporary job at a place I used to work at. Apparently nobody knew who he was, I sure didn’t. He was hired off the street to do odd jobs. He said that he had computer experience and could draw out plans and such, so they gave him a chance. He set about ordering almost a room full of computer paper for himself and a few computers. Of course the bosses refused and he called us all “shit upon the earth” and we would be layed out like dung or something like that, screaming and cursing. This was after he had already had enough time to collect personal information on us all, and my name and birthday were analyzed by him in detail. I did not approve of it being posted on the net as well. I could tell more stories about that situation but there’s more. I volunteer at the Fringe as security, and one particular year a group of young girls ran up to me begging me to do something about a man who was doing some inappropriate things, and lo and behold, its Shawn again. I had the police come, I knew the history regarding the “nubile sweeties” that he once told me that were supposedly being collected for the anti-christ. I had also seen his capacity for outbursts and I know that he is not as gentle as he seems…whatever you do, do not give him your name and birthday if you value your privacy. I treated him like anyone else, and so did everyone around him at the time. Yet he violated our privacy and made the women feel very uncomfortable. He burned some bridges, so to speak. I know that mental illness does these things, but he is more than a repeat offender. It seems that everyone is ignoring him and hoping he will go away…

      What is his diagnosis anyway? Schizo affective disorder bipolar type?

      I feel bad for him and his Mom.

      met_Daryl – Don’t feel bad for him. He has a problem for which he obviously does not want help. My deceased brother is one of his victims and he has spewed out hate about him that can be found as easily as a search for my brother’s name. I dread the day my parents see what he has written about their son. I’m pretty sure they’ve suffered enough. This person needs to be taken off the streets so he can never harm anyone again. I’m not sure why nothing has been done yet. It’s very disturbing.

      This man is still at it, posting his ravings on a political site warning of our impending doom and his oppression at the hands of the Hindu’s. His writings while bizarre are very well written, a cross between a prophet of doom and Stephen King.

      I too had suffered a big ordeal in the hands of the people I love and are family. I know what it feels for family members or society to treat you like you done, when God said you are not, and God loves me. I know how Darryl felt because he had been hurt. He in turn, hurt my feelings and those whom he find are truthful. Talking bad of his behavior also show how sick society is as he is. I forgive you Darryl for writing about me, and I do care about you and everyone else. I wanted to offer something for his work. Even thou God only knows if he is right or wrong. You have done like he did and you also need his forgiveness who had hurt him without a cause. God said love your enemies. Not hate your enemies.

      I too had suffered a big ordeal in the hands of the people I love and are family. I know what it feels for family members or society to treat you like you done, when God said you are not, and God loves me. I know how Darryl felt because he had been hurt. He in turn, hurt my feelings and those whom he find are truthful. Talking bad of his behavior also show how sick society is as he is. I forgive you Darryl for writing about me, and I do care about you and everyone else. I wanted to offer something for his work. Even thou God only knows if he is right or wrong. You have done like he did and you also need his forgiveness who had hurt him without a cause. God said love your enemies. Not hate your enemies.

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