CONVICTED (2012) | violent career criminal Paul Henry, born c. 1966, from Gainsborough (address tbc) – microwaved a cat to death at a friend’s flat
The court heard that Henry microwaved the 18-month-old cat, Suzie, on 26 July 2010 after his friend, Andrew Parsons, allowed him to stop at his home.
Mr Parsons returned from work to find Suzie’s remains in the microwave oven.
The words ‘Menu fried cat £1.20’ had been written on the kitchen wall.
Henry denied causing unnecessary suffering to the animal. But the court was told within 48 minutes of Mr Parsons leaving home at 4.30pm a text message was sent from Henry’s mobile phone to his then girlfriend which read: ‘Claire, just cooking Andy’s cat, enroute.’
A second message sent from the same phone a short time later added: ‘Just cooking Andy’s cat in microwave, be two minutes.’
The court heard Henry tried to deflect blame on a second friend, Phillip Mathers, who also visited Mr Parson’s flat while he was at work.
But Mathers, also from Gainsborough, was cleared of any involvement after Judge Stobart said there was no evidence to place him at the scene when the cat was cooked.
Mr Parsons said after finding Suzie he rang the police and quickly got a phonecall from Henry. ‘He just said it was Mathers who did your cat.’
Mathers admitted stealing a razor from Mr Parson’s flat and injecting the Class A drug liquid amphetamines with Henry, but insisted he was not present when the cat was cooked.
Paul Wood, prosecuting, said: ‘The cat was alive when placed into the microwave and died as a result of being cooked in it.’
District judge John Stobart told Henry it was the “worse case of animal cruelty he could imagine”.
He said he had given Henry the maximum sentence the law allowed.
Sentencing: six months in jail. Unspecified ban on keeping animals.
Updates
In October 2012 Henry was jailed for a minimum of nine years for the attempted murder of his ex girlfriend, Claire Boswell.
Judge Michael Heath told Henry he was “self-absorbed” and a “manipulative bully”.
He said the microwaving of the cat was “an illustration of the callous way in which you are prepared to behave towards another living being”.
Henry microwaved the cat, called Suzie, on 26 July last year.
Michael Cranmer-Brown, defending, said Henry had confessed about the cat incident to Ms Boswell and she had been a witness against him in relation to that.
He said Henry was taking drugs for depression at the time, and started texting Miss Boswell.
“His texts turned to talk of taking his own life, which she seemed to be effectively encouraging him to do,” said Mr Cranmer-Brown.
Henry was then arrested on 14 September 2011 for harassing Miss Boswell, after he climbed on to her roof several days before, entered her house and said he intended to kill her.
He appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on 15 September 2011, where he was given a suspended sentence.
He went to her house the same day, smashed a window to gain entry, took a knife from her kitchen drawer and stabbed Ms Boswell.
The knife penetrated her breast and punctured her liver, causing life-threatening injuries.
He was jailed for causing unnecessary suffering to the cat while on remand for the attempted murder in September 2011.
He was found guilty of attempted murder following a trial.
The court heard about numerous convictions for violence against other people, starting when Henry was 12 or 13.
These included assaulting another girlfriend twice in 2004.
In 1993 he punched his manager several times, causing him grievous bodily harm, after being told he was being made redundant.
Judge Heath told Henry: “You can be charm personified, but if things don’t suit you or go your way you resort to violence.”
I Am Absolutely Heart Broken Reading This.
He Won’t Have No Luck For What He Has Done.
The Prison Sentences Should Be Much More Increased, and The Laws Tightened. (It Is Deliberate Animal Murder).
You Get 6 Months and Actually Only Serve Half.
Absolutely Pathetic.
He punched and kicked his pregnant ex girlfriend in the stomach and terminated her pregnancy, she lied to police and said she fell down the stairs. He is the scum of the earth and so are his drug addicted brothers and prostitute sister.
Hope the family rot in Hell
The whole family has been a stain on Gainsborough . This excuse for a human is so pathetic and week I can’t find any other words to describe him other than Weak. I look forward to reading one day how he has died in horrific circumstances.