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Steve B. with cat (picture from a surveillance camera)
Photo: cps / dpa
A UK court has sentenced a 54-year-old man to five years and three months in prison for fatal attacks on multiple cats.
Steve B., the so-called Brighton Cat Killer, killed nine cats and injured seven more between October 2018 and June 2019.
The nightly knife attacks had puzzled the police for months.
The owners of the cats reported how they found the bleeding animals in front of their door - or in one case under the bed.
Video recordings show the act
Finally, a private security camera was used to capture the guard.
This was set up by the owner of a cat who had also been killed.
The video showed how B. approaches a cat - and then suddenly stabs a knife out of his backpack.
B. denied everything, but the police found a knife with cat blood in his apartment and a photo of one of his victims on his cell phone.
The location data on his cell phone also linked him to other cases.
What drove B. remained unclear during the process.
Judge Jeremy Gold described his behavior as particularly "cruel".
"It was aimed at the heart of family life," said the lawyer.
B. may have other animals on his conscience.
bbr / AFP / dpa
