'Single mistake' led police to Brighton Cat Killer
Steve Bouquet has been jailed for more than five years for a string of knife attacks on felines
Police spent months chasing after a faceless and nameless cat killer who was finally exposed after he made a single mistake, prosecutors say.
Security guard Steve Bouquet was able to move through the city of Brighton undetected, preying on cats in a gruesome spree that left nine of the creatures dead and others injured.
As well as leaving owners traumatised at finding their beloved pets bleeding on their doorsteps, the string of attacks prompted fear and confusion in the East Sussex city.
In the end, it was a CCTV camera set up by one such owner that captured Bouquet on video - evidence prosecutors say was "pivotal" in finally bringing the bloody campaign to an end.
Convicted at trial of 16 offences of criminal damage and possession of a knife, 54-year-old Bouquet was jailed for five years and three months at Hove Crown Court on Friday.
Speaking to the PA news agency, district crown prosecutor Sally Lakin said the case was "highly unusual" with cats being attacked at a rate she had never seen before.
She said:
"When we deal with cases that concern injuries or death to animals it's usually the actual owner being responsible for inflicting suffering on their own animal, but of course this was a very different case.
"Steve Bouquet preyed on a large number of cats from his local area and inflicted horrendous harm and suffering on them and a great deal of trauma to their owners, who ultimately discovered their cats injured.''
Ms Lakin said Bouquet "certainly wouldn't have been caught so quickly'' had it not been for the CCTV which appeared to capture one of his attacks on camera.
Even so, with so many incidents it took police and the CPS "well over a year'' to investigate and authorise charges.
After arresting Bouquet, police were able to use mobile phone data to link his movements to many of the attacks.
But even now, nearly three years after the first attack in October 2018, the motives behind his offending remain a mystery.
Ms Lakin added:
"I think it's a shame for the owners of the cats that they don't know why he did it.
"It's such an unusual offence and extremely traumatic.
"You could guess all day long as to why somebody would do something so heinous.''
With Bouquet now facing a prison sentence of five years and three months, Ms Lakin says she hopes the convictions give the owners and the wider community "some peace and comfort'' and stressed that offending of this type is "extremely rare''.