Two London teenagers were sentenced to 12 months and nine months of detention over the horrific torture and killing of two kittens in a wooded area in the region.
The defendants were two 17-year-olds, one boy and one girl. The boy said that he dreamed of killing a human being, but instead tortured and killed a small black kitten before hanging it with a rope near Ruislip in May this year.
Teens Sentenced Over Animal Cruelty
Judge Hina Rai said that the tragic killings were "without a doubt the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court." She added that the teenage boy's actions were "extensively planned" and "clearly premeditated."
The judge told the defendant that he seemed to have decided to target the kittens because "they have emotion and you would have power over them." She continued to say that the teenage boy apologized during his interview with the police. Still, she argued that reports showed he struggled to show empathy for the kittens he killed, according to The Guardian.
The teenage boy, whose name was not revealed because of his age, said he had a desire to "get away with murder" during a hearing at London's Highbury Corner magistrates' court on Monday.
Officials found notes on the defendant's phones, which revealed that he "really wanted to murder someone. Every day, I was researching how to get away with murder." He also said that he had come close before but chose to kill cats to reduce his urges.
Causing Unnecessary Harm to Animals
On May 21, 2025, the two teenagers in the case pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animals by mutilating and killing them. The case was initially brought to attention after a member of the public found the dead kittens on May 3, BBC reported.
Authorities found the black kittens with ropes attached to them, and they were cut open. They also discovered several items at the scene, including blowtorches, three knives, and a pair of scissors.
One of the animals was hanging from a rope and was completely ripped open, and had its eyes bulging. Officials also found a significant amount of blood and fur alongside the tools that the teenagers allegedly used.
It was believed that the two teenagers viewed or searched for gore online in the months before actually killing the kittens. On top of this, the 17-year-old boy messaged an unknown TikTok user talking about sacrificing animals to Satan, as per MyLondon.
