Two teenagers have been jailed for the 'sadistic' torture and killing of two kittens in London. The boy, aged 17, and the girl, also 17, pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner magistrates court to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by mutilating and killing them. They also admitted possession of a knife.
The kittens were found cut open and hung in a wooded area near Ruislip in north-west London in May. The boy, who cannot be named, butchered a small black kitten and hung it with rope. Judge Rai described the killings as 'without a doubt the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court' and said they were 'extensively planned' and 'clearly premeditated'.
During the hearing, the court was told the boy had spoken of his desire to 'get away with murder'. Notes on his phone read: 'I really wanted to murder someone. Every day I was researching how to get away with murder. I have come close. I have killed cats to reduce my urges. I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.' The judge noted that the boy struggled to show empathy and realise the kittens would suffer.
The boy was handed a 12-month detention and training order, while the girl received nine months in custody. Prosecutor Valerie Benjamin said the boy's actions showed a degree of planning and a 'desire to go on to killing humans and how it would be to get away with murder and killing a homeless person'. After their arrest, the pair went missing and were found at a bus stop with a bag containing clothes, toiletries and tins of tuna.
The boy had no previous convictions and told police he was sorry, adding he was in a bad state of mind and suffered from depression, anxiety, hallucinations and self-harm.
