A 17-year-old boy has been detained for the “sadistic” torture and killing of two kittens which were found cut open in a wooded area in north-west London.
The kittens were found with ropes attached to them and had been cut open near Ickenham Road, Ruislip, on May 3.
A member of the public who found them warned another passerby not to go down the footpath because “there is something horrific down there”.
There was no reaction from the teenager as he stood in the dock at London’s Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court and was handed a 12-month detention and training order.
District judge Hina Rai told the youngster the killings were “without a doubt the most awful offences against animals I have seen in this court”.
The court heard the teenager had also dreamed of killing a human and “getting away with murder”.
The boy, along with a 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had previously pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by mutilating and killing them.
The pair also each admitted one count of possession of a knife at Ruislip Golf Course.
The girl has yet to be sentenced.
A small black kitten which was found hanging from a red rope and was completely ripped open and with its eyes bulging out, the court heard.
The other kitten was on the ground with ropes attached.
Both kittens were dead and there were pieces of flesh and fur which appeared to be burned off them.
Knives, blowtorches and scissors were also found at the scene.
Earlier a passerby had seen the boy holding a black animal carrier with netting at the end which was “moving slightly as if something live was inside it”, the court heard.
In sentencing the judge told the boy that his actions were “extensively planned” and “clearly pre-mediated”.
The judge told him: “You said sorry in your (police) interview but reports also show that you struggle to show empathy and realise that the kittens would suffer.”
She added: “It seems you chose the kittens because they have emotion and you would have power over them.”
Notes on the boy’s phone detailed his desire to get away with murder, reading: “I really wanted to murder someone. Every day I was researching how to get way with murder.
“I have come close. I have killed cats to reduce my urges.
“I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.”
The boy, who may have ADHD and autism which has yet to be diagnosed, had no previous convictions.
Earlier prosecutor Valerie Benjamin told the court the boy’s actions “showed a degree of planning in terms of looking for animals and researching in terms of killing animals and his desire to go on to killing humans and how it would be to get away with murder and killing a homeless person”.
The horrific scenes were not a “spur of the moment” event but involved planning in “finding the animals, taking them to a public place and killing them in such a sadistic manner”.
The boy admitted his role in the animal cruelty during his police interview.
Ms Benjamin also told the court: “He gave a prepared statement saying he was sorry for what he had done and took responsibility saying he was in a bad state of mind.
“He said he suffered depression, anxiety, hallucinations and self-harm.”
