Brighton cat killer Steven Bouquet jailed for stabbing 16 pets

UK security guard killed nine felines in a series of gruesome night attacks

Steven Bouquet leaves Brighton Magistrates Court during his trial earlier this year. PA

A security guard from Brighton was jailed on Friday for at least five years for stabbing 16 cats.

Steven Bouquet's gruesome night-time attacks took place between October 2018 and June 2019 and resulted in the deaths of nine cats. He became known as the "Brighton cat killer" as a result.

The effects of Bouquet's actions were revealed by the victims' owners prior to sentencing.

"I was completely distraught. I was wailing in tears, completely inconsolable," said Emma Sullivan, whose cat Gizmo was killed by Bouquet.

Another owner revealed attempts to save her uninsured cat Cosmo had cost £5,000 ($6,973)in vet bills.

"Cosmo was very much part of the family, I had had him eight years before he was killed," she said.

"I feel a definite sense of guilt over my decision to let him outside."

Bouquet's deadly spree came to an end after he was caught in the act by a security camera.

His final victim was Hendrix, who the camera showed was stroked and then stabbed.

When police arrested Bouquet, his phone was found to have pictures of two of the attacked cats, and a knife with feline DNA was recovered from his house.

The judge who sentenced the "Brighton cat killer" said his actions had been cruel and "struck at the very heart of family life".