Man found guilty of stabbing 16 cats in Brighton, UK

Convicted Brighton cat killer Steve Bouquet, 54, who was found guilty of stabbing 16 cats. Photo / Sussex Police

A man has been found guilty of the "savage" stabbing of 16 cats during a nine-month crime spree, which left nine animals dead.

A British man has been found guilty of a string of "savage" cat stabbings, which left nine dead and seven other animals injured.

Steven Bouquet, 54, attacked 16 cats in Brighton, East Sussex, over nine months beginning in October 2018.

The Brighton security guard pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of criminal damage and possession of a knife, but was found guilty at Chichester Crown Court this week.

During an eight-day trial, jurors heard from distraught pet owners, many of whom discovered their horrifically injured cats bleeding on their doorsteps and were left with hefty vet bills.

Cats named Hendrix, Tommy, Hannah, Alan, Nancy, Gizmo, Kyo, Ollie and Cosmo were killed in the attacks, the BBC reported.

Bouquet got away with the stabbings for months before police eventually tracked him down.

Police closed in on Bouquet in May 2019 after he was caught on CCTV petting and then stabbing a young cat called Hendrix, who died of its injuries, CNN reported.

The footage marked a breakthrough in the police investigation and led to Bouquet's arrest just two days later, when he was found with a knife with cat DNA on the blade.

A cat attacked by convicted Brighton cat killer Steve Bouquet. Photo / Sussex Police

"[Hendrix's] owners discovered a trail of blood leading from the passageway to their home and then noticed a CCTV camera nearby. This had been set up by a neighbour whose own cat had suffered a similar fate, having been stabbed and killed a year before," Detective Inspector Chris Thompson said at the time.

"We examined the footage and discovered that it had captured Bouquet stooping to stroke the cat before taking something from his rucksack and making a sudden jerk towards it."

Police said they found further evidence on Bouquet's computer that included repeated web searches about lost cats in the city and videos of dogs killing cats.

Photos of two of the deceased cats were also uncovered on his mobile phone.

Bouquet told officers in an interview that he was "no threat" to animals and that he liked cats.

He will be sentenced on July 12.