Cat killer Scarlet Blake jailed for Netflix show-inspired murder
By Emily Ford & Katharine Da CostaBBC News
Thames Valley PoliceA murderer who led a man to his death and livestreamed the killing of a cat months before has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years.
Scarlet Blake, 26, hit Jorge Martin Carreno before pushing him into the River Cherwell in Oxford in July 2021.
The judge said a Netflix show about killing cats “played a part” in Blake’s plan. She was found guilty of murder at Oxford Crown Court last Friday.
Her trial heard she had been on the streets looking for potential victims.
Blake had already admitted a criminal damage charge in relation to the cat.
The Ministry of Justice said Blake, who is transgender, would serve the sentence in a men’s prison.
Family HandoutThe court previously heard how she arrived in the UK from China aged nine, coming out to her parents as transgender at 12.
She said it “made my father really unhappy and my mother as well” and “caused a large emotional rift”.
Jurors were told how Blake, formerly known as Alice Wang, had an “extreme interest in death and… harm” that “went beyond mere fantasy”.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Blake found “sexual gratification from the thought of violence and the thought of death”.
She previously told jurors Mr Carreno, a Spanish national working at the Mini plant in the city, had been on a night out drinking with colleagues after Covid restrictions had been lifted.
The 30-year-old later became separated from his friends, and possibly became lost, before having the “great misfortune” of bumping into Blake.
The court heard she led him to a secluded riverbank, hit him over the head with a vodka bottle, attempted to strangle him and then pushed him into the water where he drowned.
Warning: This story contains graphic details that some readers may find upsetting.
Blake previously told the jury about an online relationship that developed with Ashlynn Bell, another trans woman, in the US.
She said killing the cat was something she “very much didn’t want” and claimed she killed the pet to please Ms Bell and only pretended to enjoy it.
But the court heard how she dissected it and put it in a blender, taking “grotesque pleasure” in doing so.
In the video of the livestream, The New Order song True Faith could be heard in the background, which the court heard was in homage to the Netflix documentary Don’t F*** With Cats, in which a man kills kittens before filming the murder of a person.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Chamberlain KC said: “You told the court it had nothing to do with the documentary, I am sure that this was untrue and the documentary played a part in your own mind in the link between killing a cat and killing a person.”
Mr Carreno’s two brothers read a statement to the court and said the extent of their grief was “impossible to express”.
“We were triplets, born together, grew up together – we were best friends. Jorge lit up any place, he was always spreading joy. He was, above all, a good person,” they said.
“Scarlet Blake has shown no remorse for her actions, making it even more difficult to process. She has taken the life of Jorge for her own sexual pleasure. It is deeply disturbing to know.”
Reading a tribute to the court, Mr Carreno’s mother, Carmen, added: “Jorge was not only an exemplary child but also an exceptional being.
“This loss feels like a traumatic, devastating blow, leaving a void impossible to fill. Going through the pain of losing a son, a brother, under such tragic and unjustified circumstances, is a trial no family should face. Today his absence leaves a deep wound in our hearts.”
In his closing remarks, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the Carreno family had sat through the trial “with impressive dignity”.
Thames Valley Police Passing sentence, he said the defendant had a “clear sexual motivation” for the killing.
He said: “I am sure you did derive pleasure from killing Jorge, as you had from killing the cat.
“You revelled in what you had done, returning at least twice to the scene to take photographs, and made conscious use of your status as a murderer to secure the admiration of others who shared your interests in harm, death and killing.”
Senior investigating officer, Det Supt Jon Capps, previously said there had been aspects of the case that had been “truly disturbing” and jurors would be offered support due to the nature of the evidence.
Blake, of Crotch Crescent, Oxford, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for the murder.
She was sentenced to four months imprisonment for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and two months for criminal damage – both to run concurrently.
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