British man dubbed 'Brighton cat killer' sentenced to 5 years for stabbing 9 cats to death
Steve Bouquet attacked at least 16 cats before getting caught
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A British man known as the "Brighton cat killer" was sentenced Friday to five years in jail for killing nine cats.
Steve Bouquet, 54, stabbed 16 cats between October 2018 and May 2019 in Brighton, killing more than half of them, authorities said. He only stopped when an owner of one of his victims set up a security camera and caught him in the act.
"He made a single mistake but that was all that was needed to expose him," Prosecutor Rowan Jenkins said, according to the Independent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Jan. 23, 2020 photo, Steve Bouquet leaves Brighton Magistrates Court, south east England. The former security guard who knifed nine cats to death in night-time attacks in the English seaside city of Brighton was sentenced Friday July 30, 2021, to more than five years in prison. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP, File)
Police were able to tie Bouquet to the crime thanks to photos of two of the dead cats on his phone and feline DNA on a knife discovered at his home.
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Police arrested him and he stood trial earlier this year, with a court convicting Bouquet in June on 16 offenses of criminal damage to cats and possession of a knife. Bouquet continued to deny the allegations during the trial and claimed he was "no threat to animals."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some of the owners of the deceased cats were in court to hear Bouquet’s sentencing at Hove Crown Court. Judge Jeremy Gold QC described Bouquet’s behavior as "cruel" for the "sustained" campaign.
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The nine cats were named Hendrix, Tommy, Hannah, Alan, Nancy, Gizmo, Kyo, Ollie and Cosmo.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pet owners spoke during the trial about how they discovered their cats bleeding out on their doorsteps, the BBC reported.
"I was completely distraught," said Gizmo’s owner Emma Sullivan. "I was wailing in tears, completely inconsolable."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Neither police nor prosecutors could determine or establish a cause for Bouquet’s attacks.