Cat Found Decapitated, Head Still Missing; Likely Victim Of Serial Cat Killer

KEY POINTS

A 10-year-old pet cat in Dorset, England was found decapitated in a garden
The death, which authorities claimed was done deliberately, was linked to the so-called "Croydon cat killer"
Police have launched an investigation and urged people with any information to come forward

Authorities in Dorset, England have launched an investigation after a local 10-year-old cat was found decapitated in a garden, which was allegedly the handiwork of a supposed cat serial killer.

The Christchurch feline, Alley, was taken to Natterjacks Vets in Bournemouth after a resident found the animal beheaded, local newspaper The Bournemouth Daily Echo reported.

"I was absolutely distraught. I didn’t think it could have been an accident — her head was still missing," Alley's owner, Emma Jane Blehs, was quoted as saying by The New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times after she was informed of her pet's death Tuesday.

The staff at Natterjacks Vets discovered Alley's tail had been cut off and that the feline's injuries were "clean cuts," so they were not caused by an animal attack, according to Blehs.

The clinic later reported the incident to police after conducting X-ray scans on the deceased animal.

Authorities, who received the report Tuesday, believed Alley was killed "deliberately," a Dorset Police spokeswoman said.

Police have urged people with any information regarding Alley's death to come forward and speak out.

Tony Jenkins, the founder of cat rescue and rehabilitation organization South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL), reportedly told Blehs that the circumstances surrounding Alley's death all pointed to it being the work of the "Croydon cat killer" — a feline serial killer that the Metropolitan Police claimed in 2018 did not exist following a years-long investigation.

"I suspect this poor lady’s cat in Christchurch was a victim of this awful person. It bears all the hallmarks of their vile work. Its head and tail being cut off, the body discovered in a garden with the head missing – these are all things the Croydon cat killer does," Jenkins said.

Jenkins, who believed the 1,000 cat killings he previously investigated were the work of the feline serial killer, claimed a cat in Southampton was also killed in "very similar circumstances" a week before Alley's death.

Carshalton and Wallington parliament member Elliot Colburn last year called for the investigation into the Croydon cat killer to be reopened following a series of mysterious pet deaths in his constituency.