#MostEvil | Joel Joshua White aka Joshua Birkinshaw, born 29/08/1989, of Graig Terrace, Senghenydd, Caerphilly CF83 4HN – tormented a 10-week-old kitten whom he eventually strangled to death.
In November 2008 White strangled a 10-week-old male kitten named Pepsi before putting his tiny body in a plastic bag in the freezer.
Aside from a penchant for animal cruelty White is by all accounts a nasty piece of work who used the much older woman with whom he was living – Pepsi’s owner – for money, food and shelter. There is a suggestion that he physically abused her.
The court heard that White was bisexual and that he enjoyed taunting the woman about his sexual exploits with men.
White had bought the kitten, along with two others, for the woman and it was just a few days later when the cruelty began.
2021 image of kitten killer Joel White, who’s now taken to calling himself Joshua Birkinshaw
Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman told how White picked up Pepsi and threw him against a curtain. He then put the kitten into a lampshade “to see if he could do any tricks”. The animal fell down, seriously injured, and started to crawl across the floor. White picked Pepsi up once more and snapped his neck. He then wrapped him up in a pillow case and a plastic bag and put him in the freezer.
Despite the appalling cruelty he had inflicted on the tiny, defenceless animal, White received a pitifully short custodial sentence.
As of August 2018 White runs a photography business with his wife. The latter is standing by her man despite being aware of his history of animal cruelty and psychological abuse.
Sentence: 16 weeks in a young offenders’ institution. Disqualified from owning or keeping an animal for 10 years (expired December 2019).
CONVICTED (2009) | Harry Clay, born 22 September 1989, of Darracott Road, Bournemouth BH5 – tormented a hamster and eventually killed her by throwing her against a wall.
Ever heard the saying “pick on someone your own size”? Well it’s a pity that Harry Clay from Bournemouth and one-time student of fishery management at Sparsholt College in Hampshire didn’t take heed. The tiny creature he tortured to death was a dwarf hamster named Smudge.
Clay began by tormenting Smudge, who belonged to another student, throwing her up in the air several times and catching her, before dropping her to the ground from a height of 15 feet. Another student picked up the stricken hamster, but Clay grabbed her back and threw her against a wall, finally killing her.
Finally he picked up the little corpse and dropped it into a dustbin.
After a three-day trial, Clay was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a hamster under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2007.
The principal of Sparsholt College said that they viewed “any form of animal cruelty with the utmost seriousness”. They did not, however, expel Clay but instead said they would try to ensure that “he re-learns the vital lessons of care and respect for all animals”.
Let’s hope they got through to him.
Sentencing | 12-month supervision order; 150 hours of community work. Banned from keeping hamsters for a year.
#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) | 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).
CONVICTED (2009) | John Michael Bagster, born 14/04/1988, formerly of Stamford , Lincolnshire, and more recently (2019) of Stewart Court, Ransome Road, Gun Hill, Coventry CV7 8NX – subjected a dog to a litany of violent abuse.
Puppy abuser John Bagster originally from Stamford, Lincs, and Minty, the victim of his sadistic violence
Puppy Minty was taken in by Bagster at just 12 weeks old, but suffered a catalogue of sustained cruelty over a 3-week period.
In one early incident Bagster and his friend Thomas Robinson put Minty in a trolley and spun him around. When they took the puppy out he collapsed to the floor, dizzy – something the pair found hilarious.
The cruelty got worse. On one occasion Bagster punched Minty very hard to his hip with a clenched fist. The puppy let out a yelp and from that day onwards had a limp.
Less than one month after being adopted by Bagster, little Minty was subjected to a brutal attack when the yob hit him with a frying pan, repeatedly punched him and smashed him around in a trolley. The pup suffered a pelvic fracture, broken hind leg and a swollen and bruised leg and stomach.
Sentence: 21 weeks in a young offenders institution for each of three charges he faced. The sentences were suspended for one year. Bagster was also sentenced to 120 hours’ community service and ordered to pay RSPCA costs of £700. Bagster was banned from keeping animals for 15 years (expires 2024).
Bagster’s equally cruel accomplice Thomas Robinson of Water Street, Stamford, was prosecuted separately for his involvement in Minty’s ordeal. He was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and handed a 15-year pet ban, 80 hours of community service and ordered to pay £250 in court costs.
#MostEvil | William David Streeter (known as ‘Dave’), born 28/06/1979, of Cloyfin Park, Coleraine BT52 2BL – viciously beat and strung up a Golden Retriever puppy in a terrifying two-day attack.
Dave Streeter’s ban on keeping animals expired September 2018.
Streeter was convicted in July 2008 of seven counts of animal cruelty and one of making threats to kill. He initially appealed against his six-month prison sentence but later abandoned this.
In October 2006 Streeter left Mac (pictured) hanging by his collar, kicked him with steel toe-capped boots and hit him with a boulder. He threatened to kill his wife two days after the dog’s death.
Mac died after Streeter put a choke chain around his neck and hung him from a rafter in his garage.
The dog suffered severe bruising and swelling to his back and head as well as two broken ribs. There was also evidence of bleeding on his brain and lungs.
Speaking to reporters after Streeter dramatically changed his plea, his ex-wife Alison McMonagle, who received overwhelming support from Rainbow Rehoming Centre as she prepared to face her violent husband in court, said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the result. I always said I would put Mac to rest and I’ve done that today.”
Ms McMonagle told reporters how Streeter had changed after they married. She said: “Dave … did not like anything of his things being ruined. Mac would have dug holes. But he was only a puppy.
Ms McMonagle said the violence was sparked after Streeter accused her of spending too much money.
“He started punching and kicking [the dog] and Mac ran behind a wall. Dave lifted a boulder and threw it at him. Then he put Mac in his kennel and put a hose in and told me ‘The bastard will drown’.
“He took him into the garage and tied him by his choker chain to the roof. He came back into the house and he was laughing at me. He was saying, ‘The fucker’s claws are scraping on the ground’.
“He went upstairs and came back down in his steel toe capped boots and went back out saying, ‘The fucker will feel this here’.
“The next day he went out and hung Mac in the garage again. He kept coming back into the house and giving me reports on what was happening. He came in said, ‘That will help him, I have just put a boot in his head’ and then he came back later and told me Mac was dead.
“I didn’t believe him but when I went out to the garage and saw Mac lying there I knew he had suffered a terrible death. You could see the pain in him.”
During the two-day attack, Ms McMonagle made numerous unsuccessful attempts to help Mac.
She said: “At one stage Dave put Mac in the kennel and told me not to go near him. I was really frightened. He used to tell me he knew how to make a person disappear. He told me all he had to do was mince the body and feed it to pigs.
“Dave is a very, very sick man. That part of my life can now be buried.”
Ms McMonagle asaid she took the difficult decision to speak about her ordeal in an attempt to bring an end to domestic abuse and animal cruelty.
Sentence: Six months in jail. A 10-year ban on keeping animals (expired September 2018).
#MostEvil | serial pet abuser Rio Daryle Hall, born 29/07/1987, formerly of Milford Haven, and more recently of Heywood Court, Tenby, Pembrokeshire SA70 8BP – tortured an eight-week-old kitten to death
Hall was banned from keeping animals for life after subjecting an eight-week-old kitten named Angel to a sadistic ordeal. He began by wetting her and placing her on a hot radiator, causing her skin to blister. He then kicked Angel so hard that she fractured her skull. Finally he mutilated the tiny kitten’s ears with scissors.
Hall’s partner and mother of his two children, Caroline Thies, took the stricken cat to the vet who discovered she had fractures to her skull and legs. Angel had to be euthanised to end her appalling suffering.
The vet said the only way the kitten could have received the injuries was by human action, either kicking, stomping or throwing her.
Hall had previously been banned from keeping dogs and cats in 2006, after kicking his dog Benji and breaking his back legs.
Thies, who as at 2018 is still with Hall, received a six-month conditional discharge and was banned from keeping cats or dogs for ten years after pleading guilty to failing to prevent unnecessary suffering to an animal.
As at September 2018 Hall is believed to be living in homeless accommodation in Pembroke. It seems his dopey wife has finally seen the light and chucked the evil get out.
Sentence: Jailed for six months. For his earlier attack on Benji, Hall had been given a 10-year ban on keeping animals. Following his conviction for cruelty towards Angel the ban was extended to life.
#MostEvil | Daniel Devlin, born 07/03/1966, of 33 Greenhead Road, Wishaw ML2 8DJ – stole ex-girlfriend’s dog, poured petrol over him and burned him alive
2018 photo of Daniel Devlin
Deciding he wanted rid of his girlfriend’s cross terrier dog Sam, Devlin stole him, drove to a deserted wood and tied him to a tree with a piece of rope. He then poured petrol over the dog and set him alight.
Sam was found the next day, barely alive and in agony, by a couple out walking
The tiny dog suffered 70% burns to his body and had to be put to sleep.
Evil dog killer Daniel Devlin pictured in December 2017
The court heard how Devlin had callously told a friend “I’ve tortured it, that’s it done”.
The presiding judge noted that Devlin showed no remorse for his actions. It came out later that he had also threatened a witness who was giving evidence at this trial.
Sentence: jailed for seven months. Banned from keeping animals for life.
#MostEvil | Shaun Andrew Furgusson, born 26/04/1981, as of December 2020 living in Spring Bank, Hull HU3 – stole a dog and tortured her over three days. Mongrel Chrissie died from her horrific injuries. Went on to steal another dog who was never found.
Shaun Furgusson and his victim, Chrissie, as found
Shaun Furgusson launched a motiveless attack on mongrel Chrissie, causing her to suffer brain damage, a punctured lung, five broken ribs and broken teeth. Part of her ear was cut off. Tragically she died shortly after being found by her owner.
During a horrific three-day ordeal Furgusson threw Chrissie at a television then kicked her, smashing five of her ribs. He went on to break one of her legs and bound it with wire. He then cut off one of her ears and attacked her with a hammer, smashing her teeth and shattering her skull.
Furgusson’s kitchen was said to resemble a slaughterhouse with blood everywhere.
2018 photo of Hull dog killer Shaun Furgusson
Furgusson denied having seen the dog when asked by her owner, but later called her to say he had found Chrissie in the garden of a derelict house nearby. Poignantly, the dog was still breathing when her devastated owner discovered her next to a blood-stained flag but it was too late to save her and Chrissie died in her arms.
During his trial Furgusson, who at this point had a prior conviction for robbery, absconded from court but was re-captured. An additional two months was added to his four-month jail sentence for the animal cruelty offence.
In November 2007 Furgusson, one of four brothers, started what was described as a “wild west brawl” at a family wedding to which he wasn’t invited. His mother, Teresa ‘Dolly’ Furgusson – an education worker with East Riding – thought her son should be forgiven for torturing a dog to death, but other family members didn’t see it quite the same way. The brawl resulted in Furgusson and his mother being arrested and the bridesmaid and bride’s brother ending up in hospital.
In June 2010 a family with young children pleaded with Furgusson when the 14-year-old dog they’d had as a puppy disappeared after he burgled their home. The dog, named Bruno, was never found.
For the burglary offence Furgusson was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at Hull Crown Court.
2021 police mugshot of Furgusson.
In December 2011 sad case Furgusson attacked his ex-partner from whom he had a restraining order. He turned up at the woman’s address armed with a knife and meat cleaver. He held the meat cleaver to his neck and threatened to harm himself. Fortunately he was stopped from doing the world a favour. For this offence he received an 18-month community order.
As at 2017, father-of-one Furgusson was living at a bail hostel in Hull but later moved into a property in Hutt Street, Hull, where neighbours report seeing him in a constant state of drunkenness and singing to himself.
Sentence for killing Chrissie: just four months in prison.
Furgusson’s family home was in St John’s Grove, Hull HU9, and his parents, Steve and Teresa Furgusson, lived there until quite recently. They are now believed to be in Canister Close HU9 3BU.
Furgusson has three brothers – Steven, Stuart and Seb – and a sister named Natasha. He has a teenage daughter.
While believed estranged from his family for several years (although his mother has always reportedly stood by him) recent social media photographs indicate that Furgusson has been welcomed back into the family fold.
Updates
December 2021: the Hull Daily Mail reported that Furgusson (incorrectly referred to as ‘Fergusson’ in the article) was jailed for three-and-a-half years after allowing a Liverpool county lines drug-dealing gang to use his home as a base for supplying heroin and crack cocaine.
The court heard that Furgusson, who started injecting amphetamine at the age of just 14, was spending £100 a day on drugs.
Furgusson, now with 58 previous convictions to his name, admitted being concerned in supplying heroin and crack cocaine and permitting his premises to be used for supplying crack cocaine.
He said that a group of Liverpool men moved into his home and told him that they would “feed him” drugs. He did not gain anything financially.
#MostEvil | Bridget Louise Cole (aka Bridget Farley-Smith), born 17/11/1982, previously of Debden Green, Ely, Cambridgeshire but more recently (2019) of Whitemill Road, Chatteris PE16 6PG, and Peter John Grant, born 31/03/1986, of Station Road, Manea, March PE15 0HE – tortured a rabbit to death
Animal torturers Bridget Cole and Peter Grant
Charity worker Bridget Cole, who was also a cub scout leader, laughed as she dunked a rabbit named Lucky in a bucket of bleach and water and hit him repeatedly with a metal pole. The male lop was also burned with a cigarette lighter during a sick party.
Bridget Cole pictured in 2021
Accomplice Peter Grant, who was tried separately, finally ended the rabbit’s agony by bludgeoning him to death with a glass bottle.
Cole had denied the charge of cruelly ill-treating Lucky and claimed she had tried to save him from the actions of others, but this cut no ice with the court who also noticed her lack of remorse.
Grant in the meantime claimed he had nothing to do with putting the rabbit in bleach and said he had hit him with a bottle to “put him out of his misery”.
Sentencing: Cole – two-month suspended prison sentence; £1,500 costs. Banned from keeping any animal for 25 years (expires 2030).
Grant – 100 hours’ community service; £300 costs. Five-year ban (expired 2010).
