‘Sadistic’ teen had looked up satanic cat rituals before torturing two kittens to death

One teenage boy who had fantasies of killing a human and getting away it has been detained after he tortured two kittens to death.

A boy and girl, both aged 17, were found guilty of the ‘sadistic’ killings of two kittens found cut open and hanging in a wooded area in north-west London.

District judge Hina Rai said: ‘It is not clear who took the lead but from what I have read you were both equally responsible.

‘Without a doubt these are the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court.’

There was no reaction from the boy as he stood in the dock at London’s Highbury Corner Youth Court and was handed a 12-month detention and training order.

The girl, who was sentenced separately on Monday, received a nine-month detention and training order.

The boy had dreamed of killing a human and ‘getting away with murder’ while there were sinister items on the girl’s mobile phone of mutilated pets and she had a fascination with dead human bodies, the court heard.

A search of the boy’s phone found he had looked up satanic cat sacrifices and had a video of a man being beheaded.

The kittens were found with ropes attached to them and had been cut open near Ickenham Road, Ruislip, on May 3.

A member of the public who found them warned another passerby not to go down the footpath because ‘there is something horrific down there’.

The teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by mutilating and killing them.

They each also admitted one count of possession of a knife at Ruislip Golf Course.

A small black kitten was found hanging from a red rope and was completely ripped open and with its eyes bulging out, the court heard.

The other kitten was on the ground with ropes attached.

Both kittens were dead and there were pieces of flesh and fur which appeared to have been burned off them.

Knives, blowtorches and scissors were also found at the scene.

Earlier a passerby had seen the boy holding a black animal carrier with netting at the end which was ‘moving slightly as if something live was inside it,’ the court heard.

The pair were later chased by a concerned member of the public who took photographs which helped identify them. CCTV images were also released and the police appealed for information to find them.

In sentencing the judge told the boy that his actions were ‘extensively planned’ from sourcing the kittens to purchasing equipment and were ‘clearly premediated’.

The judge told him: ‘You said sorry in your (police) interview but reports also show that you struggle to show empathy and realise that the kittens would suffer.’

She added: ‘It seems you chose the kittens because they have emotion and you would have power over them.’

Notes on the boy’s telephone detailed his desire to get away with murder, which said: ‘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 boy, who may have ADHD and autism which has yet to be diagnosed, was described by the judge as a ‘bright, articulate, and capable young person but this is a deeply shocking and concerning case’.

The judge told the girl she had ‘the potential for a bright future which makes this case shocking and extremely concerning’.

The girl had accepted she had been ‘cold and cruel’ in her actions but this came after she had ‘distanced’ herself from the offences.

The judge added: ‘It was clearly premediated and there was evidence you may have been the instigator and more willing to cause the kittens suffering for attention from the mental health agencies.’

The girl had placed messages on Gumtree to buy three kittens because ‘she did not want them to be lonely’, the court heard.

In the months before the killings the girl, who was described as having a borderline personality disorder, had downloaded images of badly mutilated kittens.

Earlier prosecutor Valerie Benjamin told the court the boy’s actions ‘showed a degree of planning in terms of looking for animals and researching in terms of killing animals and his desire to go on to killing humans and how it would be to get away with murder and killing a homeless person’.

The horrific scenes were not a ‘spur of the moment’ event but involved planning in ‘finding the animals, taking them to a public place and killing them in such a sadistic manner’.

The boy admitted his role in the animal cruelty during his police interview.

Ms Benjamin also told the court: ‘He gave a prepared statement saying he was sorry for what he had done and took responsibility saying he was in a bad state of mind.

‘He said he suffered depression, anxiety, hallucinations and self-harm.’

Both teenagers were also banned for life from being in charge of animals and were also ordered to pay a £41 victim surcharge. The court also ordered that the girl’s pet rabbit be taken away from her.

Neither child had previous convictions.

Stephen Hancock, senior crown prosecutor for CPS London North later described the killings as ‘an unimaginable act of cruelty on two defenceless animals which caused immense shock across our community’.

He said: ‘The manner in which these teenagers left the kittens was deeply disturbing and distressing.’

An RSPCA spokesman said the organisation was ‘deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific and completely unnecessary attack on these young animals by two teenagers’.

He said: ‘Generally, it is very concerning that many more young people are exposed to animal cruelty than previous generations – and we are troubled by the impact this is having on how animals are valued by society.’