Cat killer Scarlet Blake who had ‘obsession with death’ jailed for life for murdering man
A cat killer who filmed herself torturing the animal before putting it in a blender has been jailed for life for murdering a man four months later.
Scarlet Blake, 26, appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty last week.
Warning: This story contains descriptions that readers may find distressing
Blake live-streamed the dissection of a family pet after watching a Netflix documentary called Don’t F*** With Cats, in which Luka Magnotta kills kittens before filming a murder.
Prosecutors said Blake had a “fixation with violence” and found Jorge Martin Carreno, 30, while searching the streets of Oxford looking for someone to kill in the early hours of 25 July 2021.
The body of the BMW factory worker, a Spanish national who was walking home alone after a night out with colleagues, was found in the River Cherwell at Parson’s Pleasure around 24 hours later.
Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain KC described the killer, who is transgender, as having an “obsession with harm and death” as he sentenced her to a minimum term of 24 years in prison.
He told Blake: “The decision to kill was entirely yours. You were completely indifferent to this suffering.”
The judge said he could not be sure of the exact method Blake used to kill Mr Martin Carreno but said the murder was “the culmination of a plan” Blake had been formulating for months.
The trial heard a murder investigation was launched two years later when Blake’s former partner Ashlynn Bell, who lives in the US, told detectives she had confessed to killing Mr Martin Carreno using a homemade garrote.
Jorge Martin Carreno. Pic: Family handout
Blake pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage over the killing of the cat, but denied murdering Mr Martin Carreno by inflicting blows to his head before trying to strangle him and then putting him in the river.
Four months before his death, she used food and a crate to capture a cat and take it to her home, where she killed it.
‘Grotesque act of cruelty’
Mr Justice Chamberlain said she had carried out “a grotesque act of cruelty” by filming herself torturing the cat before killing it.
In the video, in which Blake dissects the animal, removing the fur and skin, she says: “Here we go my little friend. Oh boy, you smell like shit. I can’t wait to put through the blender.”
Blake filmed herself killing a cat. Pic: TVP
Prosecutors said it showed she had a “disturbing interest in what it would be like to harm a living creature”.
“You suspended the cat by its neck, using a ligature made from ribbon,” the judge said.
“But, although you strangled it, you made sure that it remained alive for at least three minutes, during which it endured intense pain.”
Blake cut the animal’s heart out and kept it “as a memento,” the judge said. After she had killed the cat, Blake continued dissecting the animal before placing it in a blender.
She later “boasted” about her actions and spoke of “her desire to open up a person like her ‘little cat friend’,” the court heard.
“It was an interest that went beyond mere fantasy,” Alison Morgan KC told jurors, who were also shown videos of Blake and a partner engaging in consensual strangulation with ligatures.
“She described herself to others as being someone who derived sexual gratification from the thought of violence and the thought of death,” said the prosecutor.
‘Jorge’s life will be remembered’
Speaking shortly after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Jon Capps condemned the murder of Mr Martin Carreno as a “barbaric and chilling act” that had been done with “total disdain for life”.
He also paid tribute to Mr Martin Carreno’s family for the “enormous dignity they have shown throughout this ordeal.”
Det Supt Capps said: “They [the family] have put enormous faith in my team. They’ve had to come to terms with this not just this being a murder, but the character and nature of this defendant served to only compound the grief they feel.
“It is Jorge’s life that will be remembered over and above the acts of this defendant.”
He added that the jury will receive support to deal with the graphic evidence they were exposed to during the trial.
‘Fixation with violence’
CCTV footage shown during the trial featured Mr Martin Carreno trying to find his way home, while Blake walked the streets, wearing a facemask and distinctive combat-style jacket with a hood over her head, while carrying a rucksack.
“He died because he encountered the defendant on that night,” said Ms Morgan. “He died because he met a person who had a fixation with violence and with knowing what it would feel like to kill someone.”
Read from Sky News:
British man dies during charity row across Atlantic
Arsenal player training XL bully to be guard dog
US airman dies after setting himself ablaze in ‘genocide’ protest
Blake, who was born in China before coming to the UK aged nine, blamed Ms Bell for making her kill the cat.
She said Mr Martin Carreno was still alive when she left him at the riverbank, and that she had made up details of killing him to please her ex-partner after seeing his death in the news.
Mr Martin Carreno’s family paid tribute to “an extraordinary being full of passion and kindness”. He was one of three triplet brothers.
They said in a statement: “Today, his absence leaves a deep wound in our hearts. His life was stolen, cutting short his projects and dreams.”
Mr Martin Carreno’s mother added that her son “aspired to build a better world” and was an “incredibly good person”.
It is understood Blake will serve her sentence in a men’s prison.
A woman casually walks into a convenience store and starts filling a bread crate with goods from one of the aisles.
A shop assistant tries to stop her, but she shrugs him off, undeterred. With the crate now full of items, she leaves without paying.
It is a scenario that is played out day in and day out across Britain, as retailers warn the surge in shoplifting is now “out of control”.
Four in five store owners tell Sky News they’ve experienced shoplifting in the last week.
I’m sitting in the security office of a busy city centre shop and I’m watching as a schoolboy walks in and helps himself to a sandwich, stuffing it into his jacket.
Watching with me is shop worker Anton Mavroianu who positions himself by the main entrance waiting for the youngster to leave.
When the boy does leave, Anton demands the item back. Instead of being frozen with fear that he’s been caught, the boy laughs and walks off.
“All we can do is try to stop them,” Anton tells me. “But this is just another day for us.”
Anton Mavroianu said he has been threatened with a knife while trying to stop shoplifters
A few weeks earlier, when Anton tried to stop a shoplifter who had stolen from the store, the man pulled out a knife and tried to attack him.
This terrifying incident is an example of the very real threat posed to shop workers as they try to stem the tide of brazen thefts.
Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have risen to the highest level in 20 years.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) also reports that theft-related losses cost the retail sector millions each year, adding strain to an industry already grappling with post-pandemic recovery and economic uncertainty.
For small businesses, which lack the resources of larger chains, persistent theft can threaten their very survival.
Read more on shoplifting:
Why legion of shoplifters is causing an explosion in crime
Theft and fraud costs Co-op nearly £40m in just 6 months
Ricky Dougall owns a chain of convenience stores and says shoplifting cost his business around £100,000 last year.
“Shoplifting is a huge problem and it is what stops us from growing the business.
“People come in and help themselves like they own the place and when you call the police, most of the time, they don’t turn up.”
Ricky Dougall said part of the problem is how shoplifting is classified during sentencing
Mr Dougall says part of the problem is how this type of crime is classified.
Sentencing guidelines for thefts of under £200, so-called “low level shoplifting”, were relaxed in 2016. That is being blamed for the surge in cases.
An exclusive Sky News and Association of Convenience Stores survey shows that 80% of shopkeepers surveyed had an incident of retail crime in the past week.
The poll also found 94% of shopkeepers say that in their experience, shoplifting has got worse over the last year, with 83% not confident that the police will take action against the perpetrators of retail crime on their premises.
Paul Cheema from the Association of Convenience Stores says retailers are looking to Government to support them.
“I would say officials do not give a s*** about us retailers,” he tells me. “The losses are too big and I don’t think we can sustain that anymore.
“I would urge Keir Starmer to come and meet us and see up close the challenges that we are facing.”
Retailers have responded by investing heavily in security measures, from advanced surveillance systems to hiring more security staff.
But these investments come at a cost, often passed down to consumers through higher prices.
Read more from Sky News:
Moscow says Ukraine has attacked with US long-range missiles
Xi Jinping tells Biden that China is ‘ready to work’ with Trump
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
I get chatting to Matt Roberts, head of retail in the store I am in. He worries about shoplifting, but he worries about the staff more.
“I would imagine they dread coming to work because they’re always on tenterhooks wondering whether something is going to happen today, whether they are going to have to try and confront someone.
“It’s a horrible feeling. It’s out of control and we need help.”
Matt Roberts says he is concerned for his staff, who have to confront shoplifters
The government has acknowledged the urgency of the issue. Home Secretary-led discussions with retail associations and law enforcement are underway to craft a comprehensive strategy.
In the King’s Speech, the government outlined details of a Crime and Policing Bill, which promised to “introduce stronger measures to tackle low level shoplifting”, as well as introducing a separate offence for assaulting a shop worker.
Children do not feel safe, a charity has warned, as a survey finds two-thirds of teens in England and Wales have a fear of violence.
The charity, which surveyed 10,000 children aged 13-17, found that 20% of teenagers have been victims of violence in the past 12 months.
“I think what shocked me most is how this is a problem that affects all of our children,” said Jon Yates, CEO of the Youth Endowment Fund.
“We found that two-thirds of all teenage children are afraid. And that fear is pretty real for a lot of them.”
He said it’s a fear so palpable that many teenage children are changing their patterns of behaviour, or have had it influence their daily decisions.
One third of teenage children – 33% – reported avoiding areas, whilst around 27% alter their travel routes or avoid public transport altogether to stay safe.
More worryingly, however, some say the fear of violence has led to mental health challenges, with 22% reporting difficulties sleeping, reduced appetite and concentrating in school.
Weapon carrying is also a concern for the charity, especially among vulnerable groups.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From September: Young gangs of Wolverhampton
In England and Wales, 5% of all 13-17 year olds reported carrying a weapon in the past year, but that figure jumps to 21% for those suspended from school and 36% for children who have been excluded from school.
But Mr Yates said “shockingly” only 12% of children who repeatedly commit violence get any sort of support.
“That’s madness,” he said.
Jay*, 23, from Birmingham said depending on your environment, sometimes violence is hard to avoid.
“I’ve had friends be shot, I’ve got friends who have been stabbed, I had a friend die last month to be fair,” Jay told Sky News.
He said it is “damaging” because you never really get the opportunity to “heal”. He is now being supported by the charity Project Lifeline, but says before then it was difficult to find any hope.
“If you don’t have hope,” Jay added, “you can’t really get anywhere. It’s about finding that hope.”
Read more from Sky News:
Zombie knives just part of problem, says mum of stabbed teen
Is Putin ready to reach for the nuclear button?
Mark Rodney, CEO of Lifeline Project, mentors at-risk young children and said he has learned that “not only the perpetrator carries the knife, the victim sometimes carries the knife”.
“And not only the perpetrator does the killing,” he added. “The victim sometimes does the killing, because that’s where we’re at.”
He said far too many families ask themselves “is my child safe going to school or coming home from school?” and adds the government must “actually start addressing people’s concerns”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From September: Home Sec vows to halve knife crime
The report also found that in 93% of cases where teenage children repeatedly harm others, adults intervene with punishments such as school discipline or police involvement.
However, only 12% of these children are offered support aimed at addressing the root causes of violence and preventing further harm.
Mr Yates said: “They go to school, they do something violent. They get excluded.”
He added: “We need to be much better at saying, ‘we’re not going to lose that child. We’re going to keep providing support to them. We’re going to keep providing a mentor’.
“Instead, we let them fall through the cracks”.
A government spokesperson said: “Halving knife crime in a decade is a clear mission this government has set out.
“It is vital to protect vulnerable young people who are too often the victims or perpetrators of this crime.”
*names have been changed
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway