#MostEvil | former soldier Joshua James Norman, born 4 May 1996, of Lowless Close, Pembroke SA71 5QL – attacked his pet dog with a knife and a blunt object.
Norman stabbed chocolate Labrador Simba in the neck with a large knife before repeatedly beating him to the head and body with a heavy object. The dog was found cowering, whimpering and bleeding heavily in the bathroom of Norman’s flat.
The court heard that on March 5, 2022, Norman was in contact with an ex-partner by phone, and told her he was going to take his own life.
Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said the woman was concerned about what was going on and so went to the Pembroke Dock flat where Norman was temporarily living. The court heard the ex-partner described the flat as “looking like a bomb had hit it” with clothes and other objects strew around, windows smashed and curtains pulled down, dog faeces and patches of urine on the floors, and blood smeared on the walls.
The woman found Simba lying on the bathroom flat in a pool of blood and in a distressed state, with an open wound in the shoulder and neck area. The ex-partner subsequently contacted the police who attended the flat and arrested the defendant. In the flat officers found a knife with a 13 cm blade which was covered in blood and black hair, a hammer, and a small quantity of cannabis.
Simba was taken to the vet where, due to the seriousness of his injuries, he had to be sedated. An examination of the dog found a 10cm-deep wound in the shoulder and neck area along with extensive bruising and swelling around the eyes, and multiple traumatic blunt force injuries to the head and body. The dog is now in the care of an animal charity.
In a subsequent interview Norman said he had drunk a litre of vodka, half a bottle of gin, and cans of lager and did not know what he had done – though he denied hitting the dog with a hammer The court heard he refused to look at pictures of the injuries inflicted on the animal.
Norman pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, criminal damage, and possession of cannabis.
Dyfed Thomas, for Norman, said the defendant had served in the Army – on his client’s instructions with 2 Para – though his service “did not end well” as he failed a drugs test, went absent without leave, and was then discharged. He said Norman had been experiencing mental health difficulties including post-traumatic stress disorder, and had been abusing alcohol and controlled drugs but was now, in his client’s own words, the “cleanest” he had been in the last two-and-a-half years. The barrister acknowledged the attack on the dog had been “awful and nasty” but said the context of it was the defendant’s mental health and drink and drug issues.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Norman he had committed a “gratuitous and cowardly attack on a defenceless animal”, and said any sentence other than one of immediate custody would not be appropriate.
Sentencing | 10 months in prison comprising 10 months for the animal offence, one month for the criminal damage, and one month for the drug matter all to run concurrently. Five-year ban on owning a domestic animal (expires April 2027).