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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Teenagers who tortured and killed two kittens sentenced
A teenage girl and boy who tortured and killed two kittens have been sentenced after one animal was 'completely ripped open' and found hanging from a tree. The 17-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched the 'sadistic' attack on the animals on 3 May near Ickenham Road, Ruislip, in north-west London. The kittens were found cut open with ropes attached to them, and 'dead pieces of flesh and fur appeared to have been burnt off them', a court heard. The hearing was told the boy had also dreamed of killing a human and 'getting away with murder'. Police analysis of his phone showed he had researched 'sacrificing animals to Satan' and watched a 'significant amount of videos of animals that have been mutilated and people that have been beheaded'. The court heard a note on his device read: 'I have got close to satisfying my urges. I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.' The police officer also told the hearing there were 'a few images of kittens that had been quite badly mutilated' on the phone of the girl, who was aged 16 at the time, as well as videos downloaded from a 'gore website' in the months leading up to the incident. The defendants appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in May and pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by 'mutilating and killing' them. They also both admitted to one count of possession of a knife at Ruislip Golf Course. The boy was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order, and the girl was sentenced to a nine-month detention and training order, both at the same court in London on Monday. District judge Hina Rai described the case as 'deeply shocking and concerning', telling the teenagers: 'Without a doubt, these are the most awful offences against animals that I have seen in this court.' She said their 'clearly premeditated' actions would have caused 'immense suffering' to the 'vulnerable and unable to escape' kittens. Describing the case as 'barbaric and deeply disturbing', DC Rebecca Rickhuss said the cats were both strays, which the defendants had bought from a woman on Gumtree who was attempting to rehome them. The court heard members of the public had seen the pair walking on a footpath in West Ruislip after picking up the kittens. The teenage boy was holding a black bag, which 'was seen to be moving slightly as if something alive was inside it'. The hearing was told members of the public became concerned when they later saw him and the girl running from the scene, which was described as 'horrific' by one member of the public who warned another to avoid it. Prosecutor Valerie Benjamin told the court police were alerted to the two 'dismembered' kittens left in a wooded area. Officers found a 'small black kitten hanging from a branch' by a red rope at the scene, she said. 'Its body was completely ripped open and its eyes were bulging out,' she added. The other animal 'had been cut open and had rope attached to it' when its body was discovered on the ground nearby, she told the hearing. Knives, blowtorches and scissors, with what appeared to have blood on them, were also found at the scene, the hearing was told. The prosecutor described how the animals were killed as 'sadistic'. Ms Benjamin told the court evidence from the boy's phone showed he had spoken about killing cats and dogs, suggesting a degree of planning for the attack, and had even searched how to kill a human. '[He] questioned how easy it would be to get away with murder, killing homeless people,' she said. DC Rickhuss had been involved in reviewing the boy's phone and detailed what she found on the device from the start of April until his arrest in May this year. She read out to the court a note discovered in his phone, which was written in May after the crime was committed. It stated: 'I really wanted to murder someone, and every day I was researching how to get away with murder. I have got close to satisfying my urges. I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.' She told reporters outside court after the sentencing hearing: 'Something like this doesn't randomly happen… [It's] very much the case that they got some kind of inspiration from somewhere else.' She cited online groups that are 'encouraging people to go out mutilating kittens and cats'. Ms Benjamin told the court the girl had said she had carried out the attack because she was 'interested in biology and had done a dissection at school'. Both had no previous convictions. The court also imposed a lifetime ban on both defendants from owning or keeping animals. Following sentencing, DC Rickhuss, who led the investigation, described the case as 'deeply distressing'. She added: 'If you suspect cruelty to animals, please report it. In some cases, it can be an early warning sign of something far more dangerous.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Prison service was on verge of collapse over space of nine months
The prison service was on the verge of collapsing on several occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, an independent review has found. The review by Dame Anne Owers was published today, August 5, and shows the potential collapse came as a symptom of a systemic problem which led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years. The review, commissioned by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood in February this year, details the damaging impact on prisons, probation, prison escort services and the courts up and down the country. It details how senior officials in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probations Service (HMPPS) were meeting daily at times to document, monitor and attempt to resolve the capacity problems at the expense of other aspects of prison strategy and policy. At the height of the prison crisis, frontline staff spent most of their time moving prisoners around and implementing ever-changing release schemes. READ MORE: Girl, four, dies after incident at water park READ MORE: State Pension age to rise in 2026 for people with these birthdays During the crisis, the cost of holding prisoners in police cells reached over £70 million, and construction costs for new prisons nearly doubled, to £10.1 billion Successive governments have been forced to implement last-minute emergency release measures as a result of the crisis. The population pressure has also affected prisons' capacity to operate safe environments, Dame Anne, who previously held the role of Chief Inspector of Prisons between 2001 and 2010, has now said there needs to be a move from crisis management to a strategic approach, this is to ensure the entire prison network as well as probation and other community services are able to work efficiently to prevent offending and reoffending. According to the review, at one point there were fewer than 100 places in adult male prisons, with a COBRA meeting being held in May 2025 following the announcement of the general election and concerns the prison system could collapse during the election campaign. On three occasions, the report said, from 2023 onwards, prisons were running very close to capacity, to the point where the use of early release schemes helped to relieve pressure at the last moment. The report said: "Senior officials were so concerned about a potential breakdown in the criminal justice system that an audit was kept of all decision-making and documents, in case there was a public or parliamentary inquiry. "The system in fact limped through the summer of 2024, helped by the knowledge that relief was coming, in the shape of the new government's pledge to reduce the custodial element of most standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40% (SDS40)." Dame Anne Owers said: 'The scale, likelihood, risks and consequences of the prison capacity crisis could not have been signalled more clearly, at every level of government. "The response was last-minute short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions to the underlying problems. This is part of a repeated pattern of prison capacity crises, under successive governments, which have seriously affected prisons' ability to work effectively and safely. 'This report is the backdrop to David Gauke's review of sentencing and Sir Brian Leveson's review of the criminal courts. The Government should now put in place systems that don't just signal approaching problems, but stimulate action to prevent them. "This involves ensuring not only that prisons have the capacity to work effectively, but that there is proper and sustained investment in community provision, to provide effective support to help reduce offending and reoffending.' Dame Anne made the following recommendations: Developing a ten-year strategy for capacity in probation and community services, similar to the prison capacity strategy published by the Government in December. Establishing an independent advisory body to provide advice and external validation of capacity strategies across both prisons and probation, including the impact of any proposed changes to the criminal justice system. A similar body was recommended in the Independent Review of Sentencing. Mandating the HMPPS Board to evaluate the Prison Service, in discussion with the Chief Inspector of Prisons, and to monitor and report on progress on capacity. Involving the Chief Inspector of Probation and the third sector in discussing the design and delivery of community services, including addiction treatment and housing. Reinvigorating the approach to integrated offender management to bring together agencies to deal with repeat and persistent offenders. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: 'This report lays bare the disgraceful way the last Conservative Government ran our prisons. They added less than 500 cells to the prison estate over fourteen years, released over 10,000 prisoners early under a veil of secrecy, and brought our jails close to total collapse on countless occasions. 'This Government is fixing our prisons, for good. Days after taking office, we took the emergency action required to stop our prisons from collapsing. We have already opened 2,400 new cells since coming into office, on track for 14,000 by 2031. And we are reforming sentencing to ensure we can always lock up dangerous offenders and keep the public safe."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Thomas Partey: Ex-Arsenal player charged with rape to appear in court today
Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is due to appear in court today, charged with raping two women. The 32-year-old, who was charged four days after leaving the north London club when his contract expired back in June, faces five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. He is accused of two counts of rape against one woman and three counts against another. The sexual assault allegation relates to a third woman, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. The alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022. The Metropolitan Police said it first received reports of an allegation of rape in February 2022. Partey's lawyer Jenny Wiltshire has previously said the Ghanaian "denies all the charges against him" - and looks forward to the chance to "finally clear his name". Read more from Sky News:Permission granted for UK rocket launch Partey joined Arsenal from Spanish side Atletico Madrid in 2020 and became a regular for manager Mikel Arteta, who last month said he was "100% sure" the club followed the correct protocols. An Arsenal spokesperson previously said: "The player's contract ended on 30 June. Due to ongoing legal proceedings, the club is unable to comment on the case." Partey made 35 appearances for the Gunners last season, scoring four goals. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
