Tag Archives: history of violence

Animal Abandonment, Dogs, Domestic Violence - Animals Targeted, Worst of the Worst

Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne and Wear: Alan Smith

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CONVICTED (2012) | violent career criminal Alan Smith, born 26/03/1981, previously of Hebburn, South Tyneside, but as of 2020 living at 43 The Avenue, Hetton-le-Hole DH5 9DQ – abandoned two dogs to starve to death in atrocious conditions

Evil dog killer Alan Smith formerly of Hebburn, South Tyneside

When bailiffs forced their way into Alan Smith’s flat to serve an eviction notice, they found his mastiff Sam lying dead in a living room surrounded by dog dirt and rubbish.

They also found an emaciated Staffordshire bull terrier called Lily in the room, who had only survived by eating flesh from the dead dog.

The bailiffs called in the RSPCA who took the surviving dog to a vet and had a post-mortem examination carried out on the mastiff. This revealed both dogs had been starved of food and water for about a month.

The floor of Alan Smith's Hebburn flat was encrusted with faeces, waste littered the furniture and the corpse of a dog named Sam lay rotting in the doorway.
The floor of Alan Smith’s Hebburn flat was encrusted with faeces, waste littered the furniture and the corpse of a dog named Sam lay rotting in the doorway.

Smith appeared by videolink as he was already serving a three-year prison sentence for an unrelated crime.

No charges were brought regarding Lily, after Smith told magistrates she belonged to his girlfriend.

Denise Jackman, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: “When the bailiff opened the door to the living room, a small dog ran out and went to the toilet to drink water.

“A large emaciated dog was dead in the corner of the room. The smaller dog had been living off the corpse, as half of its face was missing.

“The room was strewn with faeces, empty beer cans and other rubbish. Both dogs were almost skeletal.”

Staffy Lily survived by feeding on the carcass of her starved mate
Staffy Lily survived by feeding on the carcass of her starved mate

Speaking about the case after sentencing, RSPCA inspector Claire Hunt said: “This was an extremely shocking case that upset everyone who dealt with it.”

“This dog died an awful death, deprived of the most basic of things, food and water, for up to a month. The fact that the other dog survived such a horrendous ordeal is a miracle.

“The room they were in was covered in faeces and urine, beer cans and other rubbish and there was a chewed up sofa. She was literally living off the flesh of her mate. When the bailiffs opened the door she shot out of the room and started to drink from the toilet.

“Happily, she is now with new owners and having the kind of life she always deserved.”

Sentence: jailed for 17 weeks, banned from looking after animals for 10 years (expired February 2022).

Huffington Post
Four legged friends (blog)

Update April 2020:

April 2020: Alan Smith was jailed for nine months after threatening a woman with an axe. Headcase Smith was taken into custody following a three-hour stand-off with armed police. In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was given a five-year restraining order.

Cats, Domestic Violence - Animals Targeted, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire: Paul Henry

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CONVICTED (2012) | violent career criminal Paul Henry, born c. 1966, from Gainsborough (address tbc) – microwaved a cat to death at a friend’s flat

Cat killer Paul Henry
Cat killer Paul Henry

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.

Philip Mathers
Henry tried to blame Philip Mathers for Suzie’s death but this was not accepted by the court due to lack of evidence

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.

BBC News
The Sun
Daily Mail

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.”

dog fighting, Dogs, Organised Animal Crime, Serial Animal Abusers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Ashgill, South Lanarkshire: Derek Clark

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CONVICTED (2011) | dog-fighter Derek Clark, born 29/04/1980, most recent known address Woodside Cottage, Ashgill, Larkhall ML9 3BW – kept horribly maimed fighting dogs in secret kennels

Dog fighter Derek Clark

Self-styled ‘hardman’ Derek Clark was exposed during a long-running Scottish SPCA probe into dog-fighting rings across Scotland. In August 2010 the charity discovered three badly injured pitbull terriers being kept in squalid conditions in secret kennels at Clark’s isolated cottage. A fourth one was seized in February 2011. One of the dogs had lost a leg.

Clark pleaded guilty to possessing three banned pitbulls and failing to provide sufficient care for his animals. His not guilty plea to the dog-fighting charge was accepted by the court after his lawyer, Diarmid Bruce, struck a deal.

Bruce told the court: “It is not accepted that he was involved in fighting dogs.

“There were a number of dogs examined and some were considered to be fine.

“He had them for seven years and they were his pets and guard dogs.”

The court fined Clark just £450 and failed to disqualify him from keeping animals.

Speaking after sentencing, Mike Flynn for the Scottish SPCA said: “We’re very disappointed that Clark has not been banned from keeping animals.

“It is not only illegal to keep pit bulls but also extremely irresponsible.”

Daily Record

Update December 2012

Derek Clark was jailed for 15 years for the attempted murder of a 76-year-old grandmother, Mary Coulter.

Clark was armed with a large knife when he and two equally thuggish sidekicks banged on Mrs Coulter’s door looking for her son, Ronnie. The OAP left her bed and went downstairs, where she saw the trio looking into her house. Mrs Coulter pleaded that she was “just an old woman on her own”, but the men, who wore balaclavas, burst in.

The trio then went through the rooms looking for Ronnie Coulter. The pensioner was then subjected to a brutal assault during which she suffered two broken arms, a fractured skull and deep slash wounds. Clark and his accomplices left the OAP for dead but Mrs Coulter managed to call for help. Whilst Mrs Coulter recovered from her physical injuries, she was so traumatised by the attack that she had to give up her home to move in with her daughter.

One positive outcome is that this piece of human crap is now serving a long prison sentence and we can be certain his dog-fighting activities have been brought to an end for now.

Dogs, Lifers, Traveller Animal Crimes, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Ferryhill, Co Durham: Kieran Wynn, Andrew John Painter and Kevin Varty

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CONVICTED (2011) | Kevin Stuart Varty, born 20/04/1968, of Brocket Close, Newton Aycliffe DL5 7NL, Andrew John Painter, born 30/08/1978, of Westerton View, Coundon, Bishop Auckland DL14 8QS, and Kieran Lee Wynn, born 19/02/1993, of Raby Terrace, Chilton, Ferryhill DL17 0JD – caused gross cruelty and tremendous suffering to a lurcher pup who’d been hit by a car

Kevin Varty, Kieran Wynn and Andrew Painter subjected a sweet lurcher named Maggie May to a horrific ordeal but the plucky little dog survived.
Co Durham’s Kevin Varty, Kieran Wynn and Andrew Painter subjected a sweet lurcher named Maggie May to a horrific ordeal but the plucky little dog survived.

The court heard that Maggie had been run over on a Saturday evening,  just hours after Wynn bought her. Claiming that he couldn’t afford vet treatment Wynn tied chopsticks to the dog’s broken leg with red lace and Sellotape.

Friends Varty and Painter visited Wynn’s home the following day and the wicked trio decided to kill her.

Kevin Varty

Varty first tried to “choke the dog out” but when she showed signs of life Painter stood on her, and pulled her back legs over her head, breaking her neck.

Dog abuser Andrew John Painter from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK.
Andrew |Painter

Painter then stabbed her repeatedly with a potato peeler and took her outside, believing she was dead, only for her to regain consciousness and wander off later that night. She was picked up by a passer-by who took her to the RSPCA. During several weeks of treatment Maggie had to have a leg amputated but miraculously recovered and was rehomed.

Kieran Wynn pictured in 2021

Wynn pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Maggie by failing to provide her with veterinary care following a road traffic accident.

Varty and Painter admitted causing unnecessary suffering by subjecting the dog to physical trauma resulting in a fractured neck. Painter also admitted causing unnecessary suffering by repeatedly stabbing her with a potato peeler.

Sentencing:

Varty and Painter were both given 18 weeks in custody and lifetime bans from keeping animals. Wynn was given conditional bail and was due to be sentenced on August 22, 2011. The outcome of that sentence was never reported.

Northern Echo 02/08/2011

*All addresses correct as at September 2018,

Updates

In February 2015 Kieran Wynn, now 21 and a heroin addict, was jailed for five years after barging into a family’s home with a machete and made threats to kill

In March 2022 Wynn was jailed for four months after breaching a court-imposed restraining order in relation to an ex-partner for the fourth time in seven months.

In September 2020, he was jailed for ten months for four counts of battery, possessing an offensive weapon and harassment. It related to attack on the woman and two of her friends, in Ferryhill, in July 2020.

The court heard that Wynn had “a compendious record, for numerous offences, including burglary, larceny and using counterfeit currency.”

Dogs, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Whitworth, Lancashire: Jordan Proctor

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CONVICTED (2009) | Jordan Ashley Proctor, born 16 April 1990, of Thorburn Drive, Whitworth, Rochdale OL12 8UJ – stabbed a pug to death

Dog killer Jordan Proctor from Whitworth, Rochdale, UK
2020 photo of Jordan Proctor

In May 2008 violent career criminal Jordan Proctor stabbed to death an 18-month-old pug named Morgan following an argument in the local pub with the dog’s owner, Eloise Crossley.

During the row Proctor threatened to “do something” to Morgan. He then left, walked to Miss Crossley’s home, entered via the back door and used a kitchen knife to deliver a single stab wound to the defenceless animal.

Dog killer Jordan Proctor from Whitworth, Rochdale, UK

Morgan was rushed to an emergency vet where she was treated for shock and blood loss, but couldn’t be saved.

The court heard that Proctor had been using drugs and drink at the time of the attack.

Jordan Proctor

In June 2009 father-of-one Proctor pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and was sent to jail.

Sentencing: jailed for 150 days and banned from keeping animals for five years (expired 2014).

Lancashire Telegraph

Dogs, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Addlestone, Surrey: Shane Walker

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CONVICTED (2009) |  Shane Walker, born circa 1989, of Addlestone, Surrey repeatedly kicked and stamped on a dog’s head at  a railway station.

Shane Walker

Career criminal Walker,  who went on to commit murder, admitted beating his auntie’s bull terrier Daisy, horrifying onlookers and leaving his pet whimpering.

Walker, then of Bridge Wharf, Chertsey, had been drinking in pubs in Surbiton with his cousin on September 25 2008 and was on his way home when the attack happened at 10pm.

Walker was seen punching, kicking and stamping on the dog, and witnesses were “clearly shocked and disturbed by the incident”.

He told police he had only drunk a few lagers but could not remember hitting the dog, or anything until he woke up in police cells the next morning.

Daisy was taken away from her owner and into the possession of the police on suspicion of being a banned breed. Her fate is unknown.

Defence solicitor John Sellars insisted Walker was only “play fighting” with the dog, but added: “Certainly there was a breach of the peace and he went a bit far.”

He said the dog had no serious injuries and was otherwise in a healthy condition.

Sentencing | Two weeks in custody to run concurrently with a sentence he was already serving for burglary, meaning he served no extra time for the animal cruelty offence. Banned from keeping any animal but allowed to apply to have the order lifted after 12 months.

Surrey Comet

Animal Torture, Dogs, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Wishaw, North Lanarkshire: Daniel Devlin

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#MostEvil | Daniel Devlin, born 07/03/1966, of 33 Greenhead Road, Wishaw ML2 8DJ – stole ex-girlfriend’s dog, poured petrol over him and burned him alive

Dog killer Daniel Devlin from Wishaw
2018 photo of Daniel Devlin

Deciding he wanted rid of his girlfriend’s cross terrier dog Sam, Devlin stole him, drove to a deserted wood and tied him to a tree with a piece of rope. He then poured petrol over the dog and set him alight.

Sam was found the next day, barely alive and in agony, by a couple out walking

The tiny dog suffered 70% burns to his body and had to be put to sleep.

Dog killer Daniel Devlin from Wishaw
Evil dog killer Daniel Devlin pictured in December 2017

The court heard how Devlin had callously told a friend “I’ve tortured it, that’s it done”.

The presiding judge noted that Devlin showed no remorse for his actions. It came out later that he had also threatened a witness who was giving evidence at this trial.

Sentence: jailed for seven months. Banned from keeping animals for life.

Daily Record

Animal Torture, Dogs, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Kingston upon Hull: Shaun Furgusson

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#MostEvil | Shaun Andrew Furgusson, born 26/04/1981, as of December 2020 living in Spring Bank, Hull HU3 – stole a dog and tortured her over three days. Mongrel Chrissie died from her horrific injuries. Went on to steal another dog who was never found.

Shaun Furgusson and his victim, Chrissie
Shaun Furgusson and his victim, Chrissie, as found

Shaun Furgusson launched a motiveless attack on mongrel Chrissie, causing her to suffer brain damage, a punctured lung, five broken ribs and broken teeth. Part of her ear was cut off. Tragically she died shortly after being found by her owner.

During a horrific three-day ordeal Furgusson threw Chrissie at a television then kicked her, smashing five of her ribs. He went on to break one of her legs and bound it with wire. He then cut off one of her ears and attacked her with a hammer, smashing her teeth and shattering her skull.

Furgusson’s kitchen was said to resemble a slaughterhouse with blood everywhere.

2018 photo of Hull dog killer Shaun Furgusson
2018 photo of Hull dog killer Shaun Furgusson

Furgusson denied having seen the dog when asked by her owner, but later called her to say he had found Chrissie in the garden of a derelict house nearby. Poignantly, the dog was still breathing when her devastated owner discovered her next to a blood-stained flag but it was too late to save her and Chrissie died in her arms.

During his trial Furgusson, who at this point had a prior conviction for robbery, absconded from court but was re-captured. An additional two months was added to his four-month jail sentence for the animal cruelty offence.

Shaun Furgusson

In November 2007 Furgusson, one of four brothers, started what was described as a “wild west brawl” at a family wedding to which he wasn’t invited. His mother, Teresa ‘Dolly’ Furgusson – an education worker with East Riding – thought her son should be forgiven for torturing a dog to death, but other family members didn’t see it quite the same way. The brawl resulted in Furgusson and his mother being arrested and the bridesmaid and bride’s brother ending up in hospital.

In June 2010 a family with young children pleaded with Furgusson when the 14-year-old dog they’d had as a puppy disappeared after he burgled their home. The dog, named Bruno, was never found.

For the burglary offence Furgusson was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at Hull Crown Court.

2021 police mugshot of Furgusson.
2021 police mugshot of Furgusson.

In December 2011 sad case Furgusson attacked his ex-partner from whom he had a restraining order. He turned up at the woman’s address armed with a knife and meat cleaver. He held the meat cleaver to his neck and threatened to harm himself. Fortunately he was stopped from doing the world a favour. For this offence he received an 18-month community order.

As at 2017, father-of-one Furgusson was living at a bail hostel in Hull but later moved into a property in Hutt Street, Hull, where neighbours report seeing him in a constant state of drunkenness and singing to himself.

Sentence for killing Chrissie: just four months in prison.

Newslinks:
BBC News

Additional information

Alternative FB: https://www.facebook.com/shaun.furgusson.77.

Furgusson’s family home was in St John’s Grove, Hull HU9, and his parents, Steve and Teresa Furgusson, lived there until quite recently. They are now believed to be in Canister Close HU9 3BU.

Furgusson has three brothers – Steven, Stuart and Seb – and a sister named Natasha. He has a teenage daughter.

While believed estranged from his family for several years (although his mother has always reportedly stood by him) recent social media photographs indicate that Furgusson has been welcomed back into the family fold.

Updates

December 2021: the Hull Daily Mail reported that Furgusson (incorrectly referred to as ‘Fergusson’ in the article) was jailed for three-and-a-half years after allowing a Liverpool county lines drug-dealing gang to use his home as a base for supplying heroin and crack cocaine.

The court heard that Furgusson, who started injecting amphetamine at the age of just 14, was spending £100 a day on drugs.

Furgusson, now with 58 previous convictions to his name, admitted being concerned in supplying heroin and crack cocaine and permitting his premises to be used for supplying crack cocaine.

He said that a group of Liverpool men moved into his home and told him that they would “feed him” drugs. He did not gain anything financially.