#MostEvil | Rosie Zolla, born 12 November 1993, of North Street, St Austell PL25 – drowned her pet cat after he trashed her kitchen.

Zolla pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

On February 19, 2021, Zolla’s pet cat Nana McPhee, a black and white male, who she’d had for six months was acting up in the kitchen of her then-home on Trembath Crescent, Newquay.

She took the cat upstairs, placed him in the bath, and drowned him by – according to a post mortem examination – possibly holding him under the water.

Zolla then took the body of the cat and placed it in the freezer.

Prosecuting the case at court, RSPCA prosecutor Tamsin Murphy said: “RSPCA inspector Kempson attended on February 19 2021 with a police officer, following reports Zolla had deliberately drowned a cat and put the body in a freezer.

“She let them in and admitted that she had put the cat in the bath, and put its body in the freezer.

“She had the cat for about six months, and asked how it died she said she put it in the bath.”

On February 24, two other RSPCA officers interviewed Zolla at her home and asked for more information on what happened.

She told the officers that the cat ruined her kitchen, and that she left him in the bath because it “had something coming out of its bum.”

Zolla said she was unsure how exactly how the cat died.

Dr Taylor, a veterinary pathologist, determined that Nana McPhee died due to drowning, and that he had injuries including water, blunt trauma to the face, and a skin injury near its anus.

The pathologist also reported that the cat would have suffered for a long time leading up to his death, and that there was some evidence he may have been held under the water.

Ms Murphy further told the court: “There were no signs of a cancer condition, or any tumours, swelling or other diseases to the cat.

“There are no previous matters against Ms Zolla, but there was no remorse shown to the RSPCA as far as she is concerned about the incident.”

Zolla’s lawyer said, in her defence, that she had been “suffering from profound mental health problems and alcoholism” when she drowned the cat.

He added: “Since then there have been a lot of changes in her life, she’s engaging with support services like We Are With You for example.

“Simply put, she’s on track to put right the things she did wrong at the time of this awful offence.

“She has a much more stable family life now, in a serious relationship with a man who supports her and they’re expecting a baby in June.”

He further said she had been receiving treatment for her alcoholism.

The magistrates retired for quite some time to read a report prepared by the two sides about the case.

Upon their return, they told Zolla that she would not be going to prison immediately – but that she is on thin ice.

The bench said: “We considered the matter carefully and we reached the conclusion that it is certainly past the custody threshold. This was really horrible cruelty to an animal, and we have no doubts in our minds it past it. However I’ll tell you we’ll suspend the sentence and I’ll give you the details in a minute.

“But first I want it made abundantly clear that we found this whole act of animal cruelty abhorrent. Utterly unacceptable madam.

“The fact the sentence we’ll pass is being suspended is not to be taken as any indication of this bench feeling this is not of the upmost gravity. It is.”

The magistrates continued: “”We were asked by our legal advisor why we were suspending this. We actually have two reasons. The first is your previous good character, second we actually have some belief in rehabilitation here.

“That is the reason this is not an instant custodial sentence. Our guidelines quite clearly say we can only suspend a sentence if we honestly believe that if the power was not there to suspend it we would send you straight to prison today. I tell you quite candidly we passed that threshold without a doubt.”

The magistrates finished by instructing a probation officer to keep in touch with the local authority regarding Zolla’s pregnancy, citing “concerns” over her caring “for any animal, be it a human or a cat.”

Sentencing: 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years, £400 to pay in costs and £128 as a victim surcharge; mental health and alcohol treatment requirement; rehabilitation. Banned from keeping pets for ten years with no chance of it being appealed sooner, despite protestations from Zolla’s defence.

Cornwall Live