Two teenagers have been detained for the 'sadistic' torture and killing of two kittens found cut open and hung in a wooded area in London. The pair, a 17-year-old boy and girl, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by mutilating and killing them.
The boy, who said he had dreamed of killing a human, butchered a small black kitten and hung it with rope near Ruislip in north-west London in May. Judge Rai described the killings as 'without a doubt the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court', stating the boy's actions were 'extensively planned' and 'clearly premeditated'.
Notes on the boy's 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.' Prosecuting, Valerie Benjamin told the court the boy's actions showed a degree of planning and a 'desire to go on to killing humans'.
The boy was handed a 12-month detention and training order, while the girl was sentenced to nine months in custody. Both also admitted possession of a knife at Ruislip golf course. A month after their arrest, the pair were reported missing and later found at a bus stop with a bag containing clothes, toiletries and tins of tuna.
