A British man known to the public as the “Brighton Cat Killer,” was sentenced to 5 years in jail for stabbing 9 cats to death, but attacked a total of 16.
As reported by The Independent, authorities said that Steve Bouquet, 54, stabbed about 16 cats between October 2018 and May 2019 in Brighton, killing more than half. He was caught by an owner, who set up a security cam and caught him in the act. Police then tied Bouquet to other local cat murders after they discovered two photos of cat corpses on his phone. “He had also viewed numerous dog killing cat-related videos,” said Detective Inspector Chris Thompson. “And two photographs of a dead cat in a front garden, taken at different times of the day, were recovered from his devices and believed to have been taken by him.”
They also found feline DNA on a knife discovered at his home. Bouquet denied the allegations all the way through his trial, saying he was “no threat to animals.” Even still, he was charged back in June with 16 offenses of criminal damage to cats and possession of a knife.
“I was completely distraught,” said one of the owners Emma Sullivan, who discovered her cat bleeding to death outside her home. “I was wailing in tears, completely inconsolable.” During Bouqeut’s final sentencing, Judge Jeremy Gold QC described Bouquet’s behavior as “cruel.” “It was sustained and it struck at the very heart of family life,” he said. The names of the nine cats were Hendrix, Tommy, Hannah, Alan, Nancy, Gizmo, Kyo, Ollie and Cosmo.
