EXCLUSIVE: Cat slasher obsessed with serial killers slaughtered 10 animals before he was caught

A MAN found naked in a London park over a cat he killed and mutilated was under care in the community despite carrying out a violent attack on another patient in a mental hospital where he was found to have an obsession with serial killers and a dead animal in his room, a court heard.

Lewis Carney, 22, was found by police standing over the dead kitten at 12:47am on 25 July last year.

Officers attended after being called about a naked man playing with something in Alexandra Park, Harrow, west London, wearing just trainers.

They found next to him the body of a mutilated kitten. It was lying on its back and its stomach was vertically open with its intestines pulled out and in a length across the grass. Next to it was a paper cup and in it were two kidneys and an eyeball.

Checks by a vet found it was six months old and it had no chip. The injuries were not caused by another animal and had been done by a human.

The self-confessed cat serial killer told arresting police he "had been doing it all his life but could not stop".

Autistic Carney was under care in the community at a house in Harrow, west London, converted into a mental health care home, at the time the animal was slaughtered, and was able to come and go from the address Harrow Crown Court heard.

Hannah Williams, prosecuting, said Carney admitted to police to killing ten cats previously in a similar way.

She said: "He had the cat in a bag and admitted he gets urges when he does not take his medications. He has been having these urges since he was a child. He made a full admission in interview that he put the cat in a backpack and took it to the park where he thought it had suffocated. When he got to the park it was not moving but he hit the bag on the ground 15 times. He said he had done it ten times before."

One psychiatrist who assed Carney for the court said he had an "intense obsessional interest and urges to kill animals, including cats and dogs with an element of sexual arousal in relation to disembowelment of animals."

In October 2021 Carney was living as a voluntary in-patient at a mental health hospital where he beat up another patient who had asked him to move.

He had initially been detained there under the Mental Health Act and later remained voluntarily until the attack.

He was later sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, for the attack.

During his time at the hospital it was also noted he was obsessed with serial killers with concerns about his treatment of animals and a dead (unspecified) animal was also found in his room,

Judge Alistair Wright questioned why he was not detailed after the attack, but instead released into care in the community to be able to kill the kitten last July.

He said: "I have read the pre-sentence report about that unprovoked sustained assault in a hospital setting, At that time you were a voluntary patient, but you had an obsession with serial killers and a dead animal was found in your room where you were under 24 hour care.

"You were released from hospital and it is not clear on the circumstances of how you came to be out and about in the community in July last year."

Three psychiatrists, who assessed Carney for the court case agreed that he should be detained under the mental health act for the safety of himself and others with ongoing assessment and 24-hour support.

At an earlier hearing at Willesden Magistrates' Court Carney pleaded guilty to one count of causing unnecessary suffering to the animal.

He also admitted a second charge that on the same date he caused unnecessary suffering to the cat by disembowelment.

Judge Wright sentenced him for the offences and the earlier assault to be detained through a hospital order without restrictions, meaning it will be reviewed after six months.

He was also banned from keeping, controlling or transporting animals.

Stock image used.