An Oxford court found Scarlet Blake, better known by the nickname Cat Killer, guilty this Friday of brutally attacking the Spaniard Jorge Martín Carreño and then throwing him into the river where he finally drowned. The sentence will be announced next Monday.
The crime occurred on July 25, 2021 at night, when the young woman, a 25-year-old transsexual woman, met Carreño in Radcliffe Square in Oxford. According to the ruling, the canary had gone out for a drink with his co-workers and, while he was trying to get home, she got lost and that is when the encounter occurred.
From there, they walked together until they reached Parsons Pleasure, a known place where men bathe naked. It was then that the woman hit the victim with a vodka bottle, leaving him unconscious. She then strangled him and pushed him into the water of the Cherwel River, where he eventually drowned.
At the trial, the prosecution pointed out that the girl had "an extreme interest in death" and obtained sexual gratification through violence and killing cats - hence her nickname - to the point of even recording the crimes on video.
In giving evidence, Blake denied that he was looking for a victim that night. The detainee stated that she had only gone out to clear her head because she couldn't sleep, and that was when she met Carreño and they decided to go together to Parsons Pleasure.
What's more, Blake assured that he left the canary there still alive. "I don't know how he died. I assumed he drowned. It wasn't something I did. As for how, I still don't know, I wasn't there," he told the jury. However, an empty bottle of vodka was found in the river and near the shore was the cap, which had traces of the accused's DNA.
Before the trial, Blake already had a charge of criminal damage and was also found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. A video Blake filmed of the cat being killed was deemed so graphic that it was decided not to be shown in court unedited.
As stated by Thames Valley Police, the police force in charge of the case, the detainee "has proven to be a character lacking empathy and who has lived life in fantasy, devoid of reality, with a total lack of remorse or compassion."
Likewise, the senior investigative officer of the Major Crimes Unit, Jon Capps, said that "the acts for which Blake has been convicted are barbaric and chilling. The murder was premeditated with total indifference and disregard for life."
Jorge Carreño Martín, 30, worked as an electrical engineer at the BMW automobile plant in Oxford, where Mini vehicles are manufactured. His family released a statement this Friday, through the Oxford Police, in which they paid tribute to him.
"We, as a family, want to pay tribute to Jorge, our dear son and brother, an extraordinary being full of passion and kindness. Jorge was not only an exemplary boy, but also an exceptional being. He was distinguished by his incredible affection, kindness and his ability to give himself fully to others," they said.
"His life was filled with a love of music, photography, reading and sports. He played the guitar skillfully and radiated kindness and humor to all who were lucky enough to know him," the family added.
