ITV's new documentary, How To Catch a Cat Killer, tells the horrifying story of Steven Bouquet, dubbed 'the Brighton cat killer', who killed nine cats and violently injured seven others during a seven-month spree.
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Featuring behind the scenes footage and police interviews, the programme looks at how Brighton residents came together to track down the animal killer. But what happened to Steven after his arrest and where is he now?
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What did Steven Bouquet do?
Steven, a former Royal Navy gunner, started attacking cats back in October 2018, leaving numerous severley injured and some dead.
Over a period of nine months, more and more cats were found with dreadful injuries, having been stabbed with a sharp implement. This spread panic across the local community, with many owners keeping their beloved pets indoors in fear of them being attacked. But with no witnesses, police had no leads and were unable to establish the identity of the killer.
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A breakthrough came, however, in the form of nine-month-old kitten Hendrix, who returned home one day bleeding heavily after being stabbed. His owner, Stewart Montgomery, traced his blood trail leading from their front door to a passageway, where they noticed CCTV cameras covering the area.
© Photo: ITVHendrix the cat sadly died after being attacked by Steven
The camera had been installed by Alan Levy, whose own cat, Hannah, had been one of the first to be killed by Steven. He had put the cameras in place with the hope of catching the killer.
After reviewing the footage, the police identified Steven, who was working as a security guard at a shopping centre at the time. He could be seen leaning down to stroke Hendrix before moving his hand to his backpack and making a sudden movement towards the cat. Hendrix sadly died of his injuries.
Along with Hendrix and Hannah, cats Tommy, Alan, Nancy, Gizmo, Kyo, Ollie and Cosmo were also killed.
What happened to Steven Bouquet after his arrest?
Once arrested, disturbing images and videos were found on Steven's computer, showing dogs killing cats and cats being killed.
Photos of two of the cats were also found on Steven's phone and a knife with feline DNA on the blade was discovered at his home.
© Photo: ITVSteven died on 6 January 2022
ITV's new documentary shows chilling police interview footage which sees Steven vehemently deny his crimes, insisting that he was "no threat to animals".
He was jailed for five years and three months in July last year.
Where is Steven Bouquet now?
Steven died in the Maritime Medway Hospital in Kent on 6 January 2022, just six months into his sentence. His cause of death has not been disclosed, however, Steven's sentencing hearing was told he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which had spread to his liver and lungs.
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