Security Guard From Brighton, UK Was Found Guilty Of Stabbing 16 And Killing Nine Cats Warning: Animal Cruelty

Steven Bouquet, 54, has been found guilty of the "savage" stabbing of 16 cats, which left nine of them dead and seven others injured. The crime spree that took place in Brighton, East Sussex, started in October 2018 and lasted for nine months.

The trial took place at Chichester Crown Court. Bouquet, who ironically works as a security guard, pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of criminal damage and knife possession, but the court found him guilty.

The eight-day trial was not easy on the jurors, as they had to hear testimonies from distraught pet owners recounting their horrifying experiences of discovering their injured cats bleeding on their doorsteps. Many of the pet owners were also left with very high veterinary bills they had to pay. Pexels

Steve Bouquet, 54, has been found guilty of the "savage" stabbing of 16 cats

Sussex Police

Bouquet managed to elude the police for months before they eventually apprehended him. The arrest was made possible by CCTV footage of Bouquet recorded in May 2019.

The footage shows him petting and then stabbing a young kitten named Hendrix, CNN reports. Unfortunately, the poor cat did not survive this attack. The attacker was arrested just two days later, and the police found a knife with cat DNA on the blade.

The footage of the attack:

Sussex Police

"[Hendrix's] owners discovered a trail of blood leading from the passageway to their home and then noticed a CCTV camera nearby. This camera had been set up by a neighbor whose own cat had suffered a similar fate, having been stabbed and killed a year before," Detective Inspector Chris Thompson told reporters.

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"We examined the footage and discovered that it had captured Bouquet stooping to stroke the cat before taking something from his rucksack and making a sudden jerk towards it."

The police added that they found additional evidence on Bouquet's PC, which included videos about dogs attacking cats and web searches about lost cats in the region.

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