Who Is The Croydon Cat Killer? New Details About The Theory That A Man Is Killing Cats In London
Police have closed the investigation, but thousands insist that a murderer walks free.
Getty Images On Thursday, Sept. 20, the Metropolitan Police in South London, England announced that they were dropping the case of the alleged Croydon Cat Killer citing a lack of evidence.
The case has been a topic of debate since it was opened in 2015 following the mysterious deaths of many cats in the area. By 2018, residents had found nearly 500 mutilated cats, prompting some to believe that the case’s closing is premature.
Police, however, disagree. Due to a combination of CCTV footage and post-mortem investigations on animal bodies, they determined that the deaths were all caused by normal phenomena including predatory scavenging and blunt force trauma from moving vehicles.
According to the UK Metropolitan Police website, CCTV footage from three of the locations where mutilated cats were found showed foxes carrying the dismembered heads, limbs and tails of cats to the locations where they were eventually found (one of which was a school playground).
Police also cited a lack of consistency among the cases. They also said that the growing number of reports was partially caused by the media’s sensationalizing of the case, with headlines indicating the “Croydon Cat Killer” or the “M25 Cat Killer.”
“We understand the reason for this - people trust the police to help them when they suspect others have done wrong, fear for their own safety or simply are facing situations that they are unable to handle themselves,” said Frontline Policing Commander Amanda Pearson of the reports.
“We will always assist the public in an emergency, but I would urge people to report concerns relating to animal welfare in the first instance to the RSPCA.”
According to Wired, the South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) has been especially outspoken regarding the existence of a human cat killer in Croydon. The organization’s initial findings largely helped convince the police and the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to take the case seriously and open an official investigation.
It began with multiple reports of residents finding their cats dismembered in their yards and gardens. Boudicca Rising, a member of SNARL, commented on the organization’s dismay regarding the closing of the case.
“We are deeply concerned by the police’s decision to close the investigation. Their new evidence does not take into account the returned collars, body parts returned six months later, or any of the behavioral aspects of the case,” she said.
She and a colleague later posted an official statement online detailing specific examples of evidence that pointed to the presence of a human cat killer.
In the statement, which was posted on Facebook, SNARL detailed their decision to continue their own investigation of the case. They also noted similarities among several cat mutilation cases, including the return of upright, in-tact heads to the owners’ gardens. They also disputed the police department’s claim of predatory foxes, saying, “a cat’s collar was returned five months after the cat was killed. That’s not foxes.”
According to The News Shopper, one of the cats’ owners agrees with SNARL in their continuation of the investigation. Samantha Glass’s cat, Harley, was brutally killed on April 11th. She told The News Shopper that she finds the closing of the case “unbelievable.”
“This is a massive police fail on all accounts. We now need victims to get together to march against the police … What else can we do? There is countless evidence from [The Metropolitan Police] saying cats have been mutilated by a clean slice. There have been decapitated heads lying across London.”
Glass isn’t alone in her scrutiny. According to The Croydon Advertiser, a whopping 17,000 citizens have signed a petition for the police to reopen the case. The petition was started by a concerned neighbor of some of the victims, Vinnii West, shortly after the police announced the case’s closing on Thursday.
“These killings were the work of a human. They were all killed the exact same way, with collars posted back through the owners’ letterbox,” she told the Advertiser.
As SNARL continues their investigation and West’s petition continues to garner signatures, time will tell whether there is a break in the case or if the police’s initial determination of natural causes was justified.
Emily is a freelance writer based in Colorado. She covers crime, politics, feminism, and psychology.