CONVICTED (2012) | Bethan Louise Lawson (now Bethan Whitehead), born 29/11/1989, of Bristow Road, Middlesbrough TS4 2QB – conspired with two unnamed minors to brutally kill her pet kitten.
Lawson had two teenagers kill the 10 week-old kitten, Puss Puss, by trying to drown him, forcing him to drink bleach and break his neck.
Lawson, who a few years earlier stole almost £700 from her 103-year-old great grandmother, then buried the kitten in the middle of a well-trafficked roundabout using a potato masher.
The crime came to light when an anonymous letter was sent to the local RSPCA revealing what Lawson and her two friends had done.
When RSPCA Inspector Claire Wilson confronted Lawson, she took her to the centre of a busy roundabout in central Middlesbrough, Teesside where a potato masher marked the grave of Puss Puss.
The potato masher had been used to dig the shallow grave in September 2011.
Inspector Wilson also found a note reading: ‘Hey Puss Puss, we love you, and are sorry that we hurt you, but we didn’t want you to suffer.’
It was signed by Lawson, the two youths, who have been prosecuted, and two others who were not taken to court.
A post mortem showed Puss Puss suffered a possible broken neck, bruising on his shoulder and concluded that he probably died of drowning, but possibly from other injuries.
Sentence: twelve weeks in prison. Banned from keeping animals for ten years (expired July 2022).
I Am Absolutely Heartbroken Reading This.
These Are Mentally Disturbed Young People.
Who Have Abused and Killed An Innocent Little Kitten.
I Just Hope Social Services Have Been Informed About This Behaviour. As She Is Obviously A Mentally Disturbed Mother, Who Is Incapable Of Looking After A Baby Kitten, Let Alone A Human Baby. These Young People Have Sad Lives and Are Mentally Disturbed Scum. They Won’t Have No Luck For What They Have Done. At Least Her Face Is Out There, So Everyone Knows Who She Is. Its A Pity They Haven’t Named The Others.
All I Can Say Is, (Thank You To The One That Reported It).