CONVICTED (2023) | Tomasz Zimny, born 9 November 1982, of 85A St Pauls Road, Cheltenham GL50 4HY – killed an elderly pet cat by swinging her over his head and slamming her onto the ground.

Polish national Zimny was caught on camera viciously killing much loved family pet Millie in the car park of the Cleeve School in the Bishops Cleeve area of Cheltenham. The horrific incident took place on 27 March 2022.

Zimny drove into the car park to collect his girlfriend Ewa Siebida, born 21 September 1980, who was waiting for him. He got out and let their two dogs out of the car who then chased the 12-year-old cat away.

The CCTV footage shows Zimny running after Millie before picking her up by her back legs or tail and swinging her up over his shoulder and slamming her onto the ground.

Horrifically, Millie’s ordeal wasn’t yet over. RSPCA Inspector Richard Carr, who investigated the case, said: “It is clear she is injured and unable to move but is still alive. He takes some steps away – but comes back and he then appears to kick her whilst she would already be in pain.

“She can be seen to move a few more times but then is motionless for a few seconds before dragging herself under the pallets.

“Neither Zimny nor his girlfriend bothered to check on her and instead got the dogs back into the car.”

A witness who had only seen part of what had happened rushed over to Millie, to find her lying still and in shock, so he rushed her to a vet.

Millie’s family were traced through her microchip and were informed the next day of her death.

It was believed at the time to have been as a result of a dog attack.

However, the school’s headteacher viewed the CCTV covering the car park and passed the footage of Zimny’s actions onto the police and RSPCA.

Millie’s body was exhumed for a post mortem which found a number of traumatic injuries including rib fractures, a collapsed lung, partial dislocation of three spinal joints and bleeding in the lung.

Zimny, who used a translator in court and is originally from Kostrzyn, Poland, claimed he had been bitten by Millie and said because his dogs were barking at her he thought the cat was attacking them.

Zimny had worked at Cleeve School as a cleaner for seven years before the attack, but resigned shortly after.

Solicitor Lindi Meyer, who prosecuted for the RSPCA said: “Millie did not die immediately but was then kicked by Zimny and she then dragged herself under the pallets where she died from her extensive injuries soon after

“[Zimny’s] actions were premeditated and in angry revenge.”

Zimny’s partner, Ewa Siebida, had worked for the school for ten years before resigning from her post as a cleaning supervisor on the same day.

Speaking to the Daily Mail she said Zimny “didn’t want to kill the cat. He didn’t come in there and he wasn’t going to do this.

‘[The dogs] wouldn’t have hurt the cat but they’d been barking quite loud in the carpark. The cat had run away and hid under a cleaning machine. I was going to take one dog and Tomasz had gone because one of them is only a young one.

‘She ran after the cat and was getting under the machine. Tomasz has gone to take the cat from under the machine and he put his hand under.

‘The cat – probably because he was frightened – he bites Tomasz, he cuts his hand and Tomasz has taken his hand from underneath the machine with the cat on his hand.

‘He didn’t know. There was just no time – he didn’t think what he was doing. It was just a reaction from his side.

‘The cat has bite him in his hand and he just reacted automatically because he didn’t know how to remove the cat so he just thumped him on the ground.’

Siebida continued: ‘I said [to him]: “Can you put yourself in the situation and think how you would feel if this happened to one of your dogs?”

‘He understands this and he knows about this. He didn’t want to do this.

‘He doesn’t even want to think about it. He knows how it would be for him if he was in that situation.’

She added: ‘I said it was unnecessary and he completely agrees with that. He didn’t want to do this. But he’s done it. He didn’t want this situation to go that way.

‘He’s quite reactive – so he can react and doesn’t think first.

‘And now he knows to stop for a minute and think what to do and not just straight away: bang! with a cat.’

‘It was so quick. I was there and not even five metres away and I hadn’t seen it. It was just two and a half minutes from when Tomasz came to the carpark.

‘It was unnecessary for everybody. This made us leave the job, it impacted our life and it’s going to stay in the head. It won’t go easy.’

She continued: ‘I got that statements from the family about Millie and read it from the top to the bottom. It’s breaking your heart, using words like this.

‘It was really bad so I don’t think the family will be happy that Tomasz has been in the court and I don’t think this will be enough for them.

‘I was myself surprised that he’s been treated as good. For me it was the best he could get out of the situation.

‘I can imagine that this is a really bad thing and really serious, especially in England. I was expecting that it would be really bad. I was even expecting that he can go to prison. We were expecting this. We have been ready for everything.’

Siebida now works in a bakery while Zimny does self-employed building work.

Sentencing | 18 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months; 150 hours of community service. Disqualified from owning a cat for life but may appeal after five years (expires May 2028).

Daily Mail
ITV News
Gazette Series