CONVICTED (2023) | Liam White, born 6 July 1988, previously of Tarka Way, Crediton – used a hammer to kill a cat with unexplained injuries.

White claimed he found his pet cat dying and decided to put her out of her misery with a hammer. He then dumped her body in the communal bin area of his block of flats.

His lawyer told the court his actions were inappropriate but “well-intentioned”. She conceded her client had made the wrong decision by not taking the cat to a vet to be euthanised and acted in a brutal way.

The cat’s body was found about two weeks later in a bag for life with her litter tray.

A post-mortem found she had a fractured jaw and femur.

The attack on the unnamed animal came a few weeks after a witness saw White headbutting his then partner. He had subjected the woman to domestic violence on other occasions.

White pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm, battery and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The court heard that White, who is said to have unstable personality disorder, has 17 previous crimes on his record, some for violence, but nothing domestic.

His lawyer said he had now moved on with his life and a new partner.

Judge Anna Richardson said the background to the violence was a volatile relationship. She said how the cat became injured was not part of her sentencing but she accepted White found it that way.

“Rather than take it to a vet you believed it was not going to survive. You did not know that and you responded by killing it using a hammer. I accept you were trying to prevent it suffering further.”

She said White is a good prospect for rehabilitation and made no order to disqualify him from keeping animals in the future.

Sentencing | 20-week suspended sentence with an alcohol abstinence requirement of 120 days. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim. He was ordered to complete a Building Better Relationships programme.

Devon Live