#and anyway her sheer prolificness made it clear I was never going to be able to keep this watchful eye on it all

[ravens-crimecollection]

The Croydon Cat Killer

A/N: Now this lovely piece of work here is probably my fifth attempt. Tumble deleted my first draft and its neater version. Then Microsoft crashed on me and took another report which I had re-written twice. Needless to say this report is actually killing me.

 Trigger Warnings: Now as you could probably tell from the title this report focuses on the death of animals. What this guy has done to his targets is pretty gruesome in all aspects. I’ve tried to include in the tags all trigger warnings involving animal harm and death, however, if you want any other warnings included please contact me as soon as possible. I understand that whilst there may be some aspects of true crime that you are ok with, there are others that may trigger you.

 So now, lets be on with the strange and unusual case of the animal killer known as:

 The Croydon Cat Killer.

It was Easter 2017 when I first heard about the Croydon cat killer.

 I was back home from university for the holidays along with all my siblings so the house had been chaotic to say the least. I ended up retreating to my phone when the Twins began fighting again, unwilling to deal with their bickering so soon.

 I know, terrible elder sibling - but they argue all the time.

 Anyway, it was whilst I was on Facebook that I first mention of the Croydon Cat Killer.

 Again, I know what you’re thinking.

 “Raven, a Facebook post? Those things are usually full of shit.”

 And yes I do realise this, however this friend was trustworthy, factual, someone not likely to share fake posts seeking to incite panic.

 Also it was a link to a report written by a reputable newspaper.

 No not the Daily Mail

 Anyway, it was from this report that birthed my interest in the case, in is sheer absurdity and the audacity of the Cat Killer.

 And its really what began this blog, on the stranger lesser known crimes around the world, for this is undoubtedly an unknown case by many, but those who do know of it all share the same fear.

 That one day this Cat Killer will turn his attention to Humans.

  The Initial Suspicion:

 The rise in Cat mutilations and deaths was first noticed by Co-Founders Tony Jenkins and Boudicca Rising of the South Norwood Animal Rescue Liberty Charity, or SNARL for short.

 (Remember them, they’ll come up a lot.)

 More and more calls were coming in from the South London areas concerning strange cat deaths which often shared the same characteristics.

 FINAL WARNING FOR DETAILS OF ANIMAL DEATH

 These cats, discovered in increasing numbers in the South London areas, were mostly found in public areas.

 Public streets, high traffic grassy areas, and a few times in people’s own gardens, and even on the front steps of their owners’ homes. A most notable case was when a cats paw was left on her owners front step.

 These cats were found without their heads and tails, and later other body parts, but alarmingly there was often an absence of blood at the scenes, and any blood found was minimal and congealed. They were often laid out, displayed.

 Later forensic tests done by forensic specialists and veterinarians would show bruising consisted with death by bludgeoning. It is believed by many that the decapitation and mutilation occurred afterwards, though some disagree.

 Most shockingly however, was the fact that several of these cats were found with raw chicken in their stomachs, obviously eaten a little while before their deaths. The owners were insistent that none of them fed their cats anything of the sort before hand.

 A clear sign of luring? Of malicious intent?

 At the time of the initial reports however only the mutilation was known about, and the rising numbers of reports and the way the bodies appeared immediately raised suspicion in Boudicca and Tony. They began collecting reports, and even brought the bodies personally to their vets and third party vets to understand what could have occurred.

 They also began to heavily petition the police for investigation.

 With the families and SNARL working together to raise awareness about the Cat Killer, even reporting the incidents on Facebook, the case soon garnered attention across the country.

 Pets are undoubtedly important members of families. Any sane human being that owns a pet loves them unconditionally.

 Not one of you who own a pet can deny use of the baby voice when talking to whatever animal you own. I once watched a friend coo over their pet snake whilst rubbing its head.

 Pet owners are a weird lot, but our pets are our family, and unfortunately vulnerable members of our family at that.

 Animals have their advantages against humans. But smaller ones like cats, especially those trusting of humans, are always at risk of cruelty and harm.

 Serial killers, and I will count this man as a serial killer of a kind for ease despite the fact his victims are only animals, have always been cowardly by nature. They have always gone for the easier targets, ones that won’t cause too much trouble, too frightened or scared to attack a man or woman that could beat them. They relied on tricks, the good nature of others, and the fact their targets were often smaller and less confrontational than them. Blitzing them, or surprising them so they were incapable of fighting back.

 It is probably why the Croydon Cat Killer selected cats as their main targets. Much smaller than most dogs, less able to fight back, an easier target.

 It is his targets that also brought out such an outrage as well, and led to the quick creation of Operation Takahe.

 Operation Takahe:

 The investigation into the Croydon Cat Killer began almost astonishingly quickly considering the victims were cats, but the sheer number of animals beginning to be attributed to this Cat Killer, in the hundreds already, the mutilation that occurred and the attention the case was receiving meant the Police were quick to establish an investigation.

 This investigation was codenamed Operation Takahe. Boudicca and Tony’s initial suspicions about the reports began in January 2015, and by the summer of the same year Police investigation was already underway.

 The Investigation would last three years, until the August of 2018, and in that time multiple facts became known about the Cat Killer.

 1.       The fact the cats were bludgeoned to death and several were fed raw chicken shortly before death became known through forensic testing and study.

2.       It was shown, and is mostly believed, that the decapitation of the head and tail occurred after death.

3.       The initial victim, the apparent first cat killed by the cat killer, was discovered. It is still believed, though with some uncertainty, that a cat killed in Croydon in early 2014 was one of the killers first victims, maybe even the first. This and the fact he worked mostly in the South of London gave him the name the Croydon Cat killer.

4.       The cats missing body parts mostly remained missing, but horrifyingly a few were returned in other areas  at a later date. Causing the owners further distress to say the least.

 Later facts would show just how expansive the killers range was.

 5.       Reports of similar mutilations began to come in from as far south as the Isle of Wight and possibly as far North as Brighton. Many attacks seem to occur in areas near a motorway known as the M25, a road which circles London and connects the city to other major roads leading out all over the country. This lead him to be known by a new name – The M25 (Cat) Killer.

6.       Foxes and rabbits were also starting to be discovered, in the same conditions as the cats killed previously. This lead SNARL and others to refer to the killer as the UK Animal Killer.

7.       The kills were also shown to happen in under-surveilled rural areas, and urban areas with little traffic.

 Whilst this all occurred the case garnered more and more attention, the Cat killer became a mystery figure. Profiles of the killer were made, and descriptions of his appearance.

 He was described as a white male in his 40’s, with short brown hair, dark clothing, and acne scaring on his face based on sparse witness reports as he was never caught on camera. They also declared he could be wearing a headlamp.

 His personality profile was as such:

 1. He often travelled, possibly for work.

 2. It was eventually believed he lived in Addiscombe, considering the amount of attacks occurring there.

 3. Profilers and psychologists also theorised his hated for cats in particular could have stemmed from a hated or fear of women, and the mutilation of the animals after, and the distinct need to leave these animals in the open and for their owners to find, was for sexual gratification.

  Celebrities and politicians alike were drawn to the case, tweeting descriptions and drawing attention to the case in hopes of an arrest.

 All the information together seemed to present the idea of a prolific sadist, a human one.

 A suspect was arrested but released.

 A man who was on the sexual offenders list for raping an older woman had his home searched.

 Which is why it is so shocking that in September 2018, the Police shut down Project Takahe with news that the killer had been found.

 The common Fox.

  The End?

 Police revealed that they had seen a few images of foxes carrying the missing cat parts away from scenes. They also found fox DNA on the corpses as well.

Stephen Harris, a retired professor of environmental sciences at the University of Bristol who had studied fox behaviour for fifty years, asserted that there was no killer.

 He asserted the lack of blood or its congealing, as well as the lack of heads and tails, and other body parts was absolutely due to car collisions. Other say it was a moral panic.

 He does not go on to explain how the cars could have put a cat paw print on their owners front porch.

 He also explains that foxes commonly chew of the head and tails of their prey as well. Nd yes he was called in on a case prior involving the death of cats in the late 1990’s in London, and confirmed they were Foxes.

 SNARL and many other could only react in disbelief. I myself included.

 Cats laid out, obviously dissected, and they call it the work of cars and foxes.

 Cats in accidents leave massive amounts of blood in the road, of which I have been unfortunate witness to, and the foxes scavenger nature (especially London) which could easily explain why foxes were seen with cat parts.

 This theory leaves many things unexplained:

 1.       The display of the animals in open areas, the repeat of pattern, the openness these cats were found in.

 2.       The sudden increase of cat death as a whole, enough to make those who recorded such things suspicious.

 3.       The animal parts returning at a later date, especially the paw that appeared on their owner’s door step.

 There is also the fact that shortly before the closing down of the investigation a man was arrested for arson AND cat mutilation and gave up his fellows as well, claiming there was still someone who was out there committing crimes.

 It is the opinion of many that this is a vast oversight by police, nearly negligent in fact.

 I myself have, as you do, spoken with several of my friends on this topic. Some who work in civil service and are of the heavy opinion that this closing of the investigation was due to budgeting by the higher ups who probably withdrew funds due to the cases length and the victimology.

 Many believe that this may be another group, a single man with possible copy-cats, or simply one man.

 Very few appear to believe it is a fox.

 The believe not looking to catch this killer now is a grave mistake, and not just for animals.

 Because there is one main worry that still persists amongst people who worked on or who have looked into this case.

 That this man, whomever he is, will one day turn his attentions to people.

 Animal killing and mutilation are a precursor to killers after all, most notably serial killers.

 But here’s hoping it’s a fox, I hate to think what would happen otherwise.

 And please, have a lovely night.