UK teen jailed for 'sadistic' kitten torture and killing; confesses to having urges to kill

London: A UK judge has sentenced a 17-year-old boy to one year in a detention centre for the "sadistic" torture and killing of two kittens. The court heard disturbing evidence that the teenager also harboured desires to kill a human and had actively researched methods to "get away with murder."

The two black kittens were discovered in a park in northwest London in May, brutally mutilated with ropes attached and apparent burn marks on their flesh and fur. Police found a cache of knives, blowtorches, and scissors at the scene. The boy, along with a 17-year-old girl who will be sentenced later, pleaded guilty to possessing a knife and causing unnecessary suffering to the animals. Their identities are being withheld for legal reasons.

District Judge Hina Rai described the offences as "without doubt the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court," highlighting that the boy's actions were "extensively planned" and "clearly premeditated." Notes recovered from the boy's phone chillingly revealed his intent: "I really wanted to murder someone. Every day I was researching how to get away with murder. I have killed cats to reduce my urges."

As per AFP reports, prosecutor Valerie Benjamin told the court that the teenager's actions demonstrated a high degree of planning, from finding the animals to taking them to a public place and committing the killings in a "sadistic manner." The teen reportedly told police he suffered from "depression, anxiety, hallucinations and self-harm."

UK police are also investigating potential connections to a broader international online network where users share and film footage of cat torture and killings, according to the BBC. This case comes amidst a concerning trend of animal cruelty in the UK, with the British charity RSPCA reporting 1,726 incidents of intentional harm to cats in 2022, equating to roughly five cats being harmed every day.

With inputs from AFP