CONVICTED (2009) | Michelle ‘Shelly’ Porter, born 22/09/1988, of Heather Bank, Cleator Moor CA25 5HW – let one dog starve to death and left another fighting for his life
Mother of two Shelly Porter was jailed after leaving her dogs to starve
Heroin addict Michelle Porter admitted causing unnecessary suffering to Staffordshire bull terriers Zelda and Diesel.
RSPCA officers found the carcass of five-year-old Zelda, when they went to Porter’s home. Zelda’s son, one-year-old Diesel, was emaciated.
Diesel was skeletal when rescued by the RSPCA. Happily he recovered and was rehomed.
It is believed both dogs had been left to starve for three weeks, despite a large bag of open dog food and six tins of dog food being only two metres away from the cages the dogs were kept in.
Peter Sharp, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told the court that Zelda’s hips, ribs and spine were clearly visible when she was found by an RSPCA inspector and the floor was sodden with urine.
Presiding magistrate David Wilson told Porter the offences were so serious that only custody could be justified.
Diesel recovered and was rehomed.
Sentencing: 120 days in a young offenders institute for each of the four animal cruelty charges, to run concurrently. Banned from keeping animals for life.
CONVICTED (2009) | Ricky Jefferies, born 05/04/1979, previously of Edgeworth in Yate and as of 2020 of Stanshawe Crescent, Yate, Bristol BS37 4EW – kicked a hedgehog repeatedly in the street
The court heard that Jefferies kicked the hedgehog after discovering his fiancee of seven years was having an affair with his best friend.
Police saw Jefferies run towards the hedgehog and kick her six or seven metres, then kick her again.
Jefferies admitted inflicting unnecessary suffering to a wild animal when he appeared before North Avon magistrates on 02/07/2009. He was fined £140, ordered to pay £55 court costs and £15 towards the Victim Support Fund.
#MostEvil | serial cat killer Anthony John Docherty, born 31 December1985, of 4 Woodburn Avenue, Glasgow G76 7TZ
In January 2009 Docherty tortured, mutilated and killed several cats, which he had stolen from houses in his neighbourhood of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire.
He is known to have killed three cats. All were decapitated, two were scalped, and one had its tail pulled off.
Three cat skulls were also found in his garden.
Dozens of pets had gone missing in the area and many cat owners feared their pets had fallen into evil Docherty’s hands.
The court heard psychiatric reports that Docherty’s behaviour could escalate towards humans.
He was banned from owning, keeping or taking charge of animals indefinitely.
In 2010 Docherty had his jaw broken in an apparent revenge attack. He was walking along the road when he was jumped and battered by two strangers — before a well-meaning passing motorist regrettably stopped to help him.
Sentence: jailed for eight months. Indefinite ban on keeping animals
CONVICTED (2009) | Jordan Ashley Proctor, born 16 April 1990, of Thorburn Drive, Whitworth, Rochdale OL12 8UJ – stabbed a pug to death
2020 photo of Jordan Proctor
In May 2008 violent career criminal Jordan Proctor stabbed to death an 18-month-old pug named Morgan following an argument in the local pub with the dog’s owner, Eloise Crossley.
During the row Proctor threatened to “do something” to Morgan. He then left, walked to Miss Crossley’s home, entered via the back door and used a kitchen knife to deliver a single stab wound to the defenceless animal.
Morgan was rushed to an emergency vet where she was treated for shock and blood loss, but couldn’t be saved.
The court heard that Proctor had been using drugs and drink at the time of the attack.
In June 2009 father-of-one Proctor pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and was sent to jail.
Sentencing: jailed for 150 days and banned from keeping animals for five years (expired 2014).
#MostEvil | Amersham horse trader James John Gray (05/09/1963), wife Julie Cordelia Gray (24/05/1967) and daughters Jodie June Gray (12/09/1982) and Cordelia Gray (29/05/1988) and James Gray junior (23/01/1993) – left more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys to starve among the rotting carcasses of other animals
Clockwise from top left: James Gray Sr, Julie Gray, Cordelia Gray, Jodie Gray, court protestors, James Gray Jr
In a case veterinary expert witness described as the worst case of animal cruelty they had ever seen, 31 equines were found dead at Spindle Farm, Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, Amersham. Some 111 other horses, ponies and donkeys were rescued.
The massive rescue was co-ordinated by Thames Valley Police, Trading Standards and the RSPCA with help from the Horse Trust, the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), Redwings Horse Sanctuary and the Blue Cross
James Gray Sr is banned for life from keeping equine animals
Hooves and body parts of horses that had been left to die were scattered around and a grotesque mound made up of bones and skulls was discovered.
The horror scene was uncovered when RSPCA inspectors were called to the farm, where a horse-trading business run by the Gray family was based.
James Gray Jr
There were 140 animals at the farm and many were left with little food or dry bedding, were crammed into pens and ankle-deep in their own faeces.
Jodie Gray, aka Jodie Keet, with son Tommy Gray
In total 115 animals, some severely emaciated, had to be rescued and removed from the farm during a huge operation in January 2009.
Robert Seabrook QC told the court how two RSPCA inspectors visiting the farm in January 2008 were confronted with a “grotesque and distressing state of affairs”.
He said a number of horses were discovered in “disgusting pens”, some were tethered individually and others were loose in the paddocks.
The most extraordinary aspect he said was that many horses were next to carcasses in varying states of decomposition and the smell of rotting flesh was “over-powering”.
He added: “A number of animals that were found had plainly been dead for a number of days and as it turns out, some for many months.”
Julie Gray
The court heard in one pen three severed hooves were found alongside the bodies of two other horses.
James Gray Sr was convicted of nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and two charges of failing to protect animals from pain, injury, suffering and disease.
His son James Gray Jr was convicted of identical charges although two were later overturned on appeal.
Gray’s wife, Julie, and daughters Cordelia and Jodie were found guilty of the two charges of failing to protect the animals.
No member of the family showed any sign of emotion as the judge passed sentence.
RSPCA inspector Kirsty Hampton described the conditions the horses were kept in as “grotesque”.
Speaking after the sentencing, Hampton said: “The RSPCA is pleased the district judge has recognised the extent of the cruelty, neglect and the suffering endured by the animals in this case.
“We see the disqualifications from keeping horses as an effective measure to prevent animals suffering in future.”
Sentencing: James Gray Sr was sentenced to six months in prison and banned from keeping horses, ponies and donkeys for life. He was also ordered to pay £400,000. Gray was given a further two months after absconding from court. Two of Gray’s convictions were overturned in 2010, but Gray was ordered to pay £600,000 towards the RSPCA’s legal costs and faced financial ruin. A later appeal against what Gray claimed were disproportionate legal costs was rejected.
James Gray Junior was given an 18-month supervision order. He was banned from keeping equines for 10 years with right of appeal after five (ban expired June 2019).
Julie, Jodie and Cordelia Gray were each given 150 hours of community service. They were also banned from keeping equines for 10 years, with the right of appeal after five (bans expired June 2019).
Julie Gray was ordered to pay £750 in costs, and Cordelia Gray and Jodie Gray £500 each.
James Gray and Cordelia Gray, 57 Narcot Road, Chalfont St Giles HP8 4DF Julie Cordelia Gray, 15 Weller Road, Amersham HP6 6LQ James Gray Jr, Chalk Hill Farm, Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, Amersham HP6 5SA Jodie June Gray (also known as Jodie Keet), 14 Middle Meadow, Chalfont St Giles HP8 4QS
Update September 2021
The Bucks Free Press reported that James Gray was let off £200,000-worth of fines due to bankruptcy.
Gray was ordered to pay more than £1million in fines and court costs and has served jail time since he was convicted of multiple animal welfare offences in 2008.
He attempted to appeal the convictions at London’s High Court in 2013, but although two of his 11 original convictions were overturned, he was ultimately unsuccessful and had another £200,000 added to his legal bill.
In August 2021, Gray, of 57 Narcot Road in Chalfont St Giles, had £223,453-worth of fines written off.
Documents attached to the court listing state that the amount was remitted due to Gray being bankrupt, having served prison time, and the RSPCA refusing the money.
In 2014, Gray was hauled back before the courts and was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he fleeced pensioners out of thousands of pounds for cowboy building works.
In an attempt to raise funds to pay off his fines and court costs, Gray conned an 88-year-old former British Library academic out of £20,000 for work which experts valued at just £150.
He drained £18,000 out of another 80-year-old victim’s account, leaving him with just £300 after repeatedly demanding money from him. This victim died just months after the money was found to be missing.
Gray, who had done this work under the fake name ‘Joseph De Paula’, admitted two counts of fraud by false representation before he was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court.
#MostEvil | Steven Appleton, born 02/12/1985, previously of Trethomas, near Caerphilly, and more recently (2019) of Hood Road, Newport NP19 7GZ – stamped on a rabbit repeatedly until she died.
Steven Appleton
The grey rabbit, who belonged to Appleton’s former girlfriend, suffered multiple injuries during the attack including fractures to the skull, jaw, shoulder blade and pelvis and internal bleeding.
A post-mortem showed that she had suffered a painful death. Her body had attempted to heal some of the injuries before she died.
Body builder, manipulative and predatory animal abuser
A psychiatric assessment of Appleton, who participates in body building competitions, described him as “manipulative and predatory” and noted that he showed no remorse for his actions.
In June 2009 Steven Appleton was sentenced to six months in jail and banned from keeping animals for ten years (expired 2019).
CONVICTED (2009) | Daniel Grant Winspear, born 18/11/1990, of 44 Arncliffe Gardens, Hartlepool TS26 9JF – smashed a tortoise to pieces with a baseball bat
Drunken Daniel Winspear, who was aged 18 at date of conviction, carried out the attack on the defenceless creature – which is a protected species – at a house party.
Winspear was found in the conservatory in the early hours of May 23, 2008, with the bat in his hand and the dismembered tortoise next to him.
An RSPCA statement said: “This was an act of gruesome, sadistic cruelty and the magistrates sentence, including the disqualification, reflected not only the magistrates’ disapproval but society’s disapproval of such acts.”
Winspear had been invited to the party by a cousin who was already there. But on arrival he was “very drunk.”
John Ellwood, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said: “While at the house he took a small baseball bat and smashed a tortoise to death.”
The teenager who lived at the house then came into the conservatory and saw “the mess everywhere” and asked what had happened.
Mr Ellwood added: “Mr Winspear appeared to have the baseball bat in his hand and was smiling and accused one of the other boys of having done it.
“On further inquiries he admitted he had done it and was told to leave.
“The young man and his friends tried to clean up the mess and put the tortoise in the bin.
“Unfortunately they kept finding bits of the tortoise splattered about the conservatory and the smell was truly grim.”
The pet’s owners rushed back from their holiday in Blackpool after hearing about the sickening act, and they immediately called the RSPCA.
A vet from the charity said the tortoise had not died instantly but “suffered between the repetitive blows.”
In interview with RSPCA inspectors, Winspear said he was too drunk to remember doing it.
The chairman of the magistrates’ bench, Katie Brown, said: “The photos we saw made sickening viewing and you really should have faced up to what you did.
“You committed this while under the influence of alcohol which is indicative of the perils of alcohol abuse.”
Winspear was allowed to appeal against the ban on looking after animals after five years.
Sentence: 18-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work; costs of £1,652.71 to cover RSPCA, vet and solicitor bills; banned from keeping animals for 10 years (expired March 2019).
#MostEvil | Christopher Dennis Collyer, born 12/09/1983, with a last-known address of Aldcliffe Court, Morecambe LA4 4TW – strung up an ‘unwanted’ springer spaniel by his lead and left him to slowly choke to death.
Father of multiple children Collyer was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Charlie by hanging him from a pipe inside a stone bunker in woods in Keighley, West Yorkshire, leaving him to strangle to death.
Dog killer Christopher Collyer’s victim Charlie
Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told the court the vet who examined Charlie after his death confirmed his death would not have been ‘instantaneous’ and said he was also suffering from a chronic skin condition.
Ian and Mandy Collyer now of West Byland, Halifax. Mandy Collyer allegedly told her son to “get rid” of Charlie.
The court heard that Collyer had been given the dog by his parents, Mandy and Ian Collyer, who were moving house and could not take Charlie with them.
The dog was found hanging in a concrete bunker in Hainsworth Woods, Keighley, by a member of the public on June 10 2008.
A prosecution witness had previously placed Collyer there on June 7.
Mr Monaghan said: “This was appalling cruelty. It was a deliberate and what appears to have been a premeditated act by the defendant.
“What followed was what can only be described as a tissue of lies.
“In court he maintained his story that he had taken the dog for a walk, met a woman and given it to her.
“It is difficult to think of a worse example of animal cruelty given the degree of suffering he must have been subjected to.”
Collyer’s parents, Mandy Collyer and Ian Collyer of West Byland, Illingworth, Halifax HX2 9JU admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the animal by failing to provide veterinary care for Charlie’s skin condition.
Mandy Collyer
Speaking about the case, the RSPCA inspector who found Charlie said it was the worst case he had seen in 15 years.
CONVICTED (2009) | Barry Rock, born 27/04/1973, most recently of Osprey Drive, Dudley DY1 2JS, and his then wife Leanne Rock (now Priest), born 18/09/1978, currently (September 2020) of Cressett Avenue, Brierley Hill DY5 3XY – left a dog with multiple fractures, including a broken leg, plus burns on her body, smashed teeth and blindness in one eye
Dog abusers Leanne Priest and Barry Rock
The Rocks each admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and a third count of not taking reasonable steps to ensure the needs of an animal in their care between May 2 and 20, 2008.
The couple’s terrier-cross Britney had multiple fractures including rib and hip injuries, a broken leg and burns on her body when she was examined by vets in May 2008. One of her eyes was so badly bruised it had turned blue and she had lost all sight in it.
The court heard Britney was presented to a PDSA vets practice by a relative of the Rocks who said the dog had trouble standing up.
X-rays revealed a series of fractures which had taken place over a prolonged period of time. Further examinations revealed a further seven fractures of teeth, swelling to her temple and a deformed ear. The vet alerted police.
Barry Rock told officers it was feasible Britney could have sustained the injuries herself because “she was always getting stuck behind things”. But Mr Nick Sutton, prosecuting, told magistrates this explanation was “inadequate”.
Mr Richard Burch, defending, told the court the couple had four children aged between 10 months and eight years, one of whom suffers with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. They simply “could not cope” with looking after their children and their pet, Mr Burch said.
The dog has since been rehomed in Cradley Heath and is battling back to full health with her new owners, who have renamed her Millie.
Sentencing: 12-week prison term, suspended for two years. Lifetime ban on keeping animals.
CONVICTED (2009) | Sebrina Carty, aka Sebrina Buttimer, born 03/12/1987, of Milner Gardens, Richmond Hill, Leeds LS9 8NW – threw a puppy off a three-storey high balcony during an argument with her boyfriend.
Seven-week-old Jack Russell Rocky was thrown from the balcony in his dog carrier after drunken Carty became enraged during the argument. Despite Carty’s wicked intentions, the tiny dog survived the plunge.
The court heard how police were called to domestic disturbance in Carty’s previous address in Appleton Square, Leeds, in October 2008.
They found the smashed pet carrier and Rocky collapsed nearby.
He was taken to a local vet who found he had soft tissue damage and bruises but no broken bones.
Carty pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the puppy and was given a community sentence and a measly two-year ban on keeping animals.
RSPCA inspector Dave Holgate said: ‘This was a sickening case of deliberate and sadistic cruelty.
‘The puppy was only a few weeks old and must have been terrified. It’s a miracle that he wasn’t seriously injured or killed.
‘The sentence passed reflects the serious nature of this incident and serves to show that this kind of vile cruelty cannot and will not be tolerated.’
Rocky made a full recovery and now lives in a new home
Sentencing: 100 hours of unpaid work; £250 costs; two year ban (expired 2011).
