‘Croydon Cat Killer’ victims’ owners outraged after cops say pet killer is a myth
The killings in London are being chalked up by the Metropolitan Police as foxes mutilating the cats' bodies after they've been hit by cars
OUTRAGED pet owners today blasted the Metropolitan Police's conclusion that the "Croydon cat killer" is a myth.
A three-year, £500,000 Scotland Yard hunt for the perpetrator of 500 cat killings called Operation Tahake was closed when experts concluded cars hit the animals and foxes mutilated their remains.
But grieving cat owners have slammed the Met's insistence that “there is no evidence of human involvement” in the killings, with campaigners claiming the probe was binned to save cash.
Mum-of-two Samantha glass shared a tribute to her cat Harley after she branded the closing of the investigation "unbelievable".
She wrote: "The person who did this is still out there. Still hurting other cats and torturing other families.
"So much pain and suffering. It makes me so angry."
She added: "And to the sick and twisted individual who did this, we are coming for you."
Neenie Sadler, whose cat was also killed, said: “This is all because the Met don’t want to put any more funding into this investigation — it is a cop out."
Another angry reply to the Met's announcement this morning read: "You've made yourselves look like idiots.
"Three years of work and this is all you can comp up with to avoid any future funding into this investigation.
"And what a way to inform the families - through the media! God help you if this madman moves onto people!"
The Met, however, stood by its conclusions.
It said: "No evidence of human involvement was found in any of the reported cases.
"There were no witnesses, no identifiable patterns and no forensic leads that pointed to human involvement.
"Witness statements were taken, but no suspect was identified."
Claims that a killer was behind the ritual slaughter of cats and other small animals emerged in 2015.
The maniac was nicknamed the Croydon cat killer and later the M25 cat killer as cases came to light well beyond South London.
Killings were reported as far away as Manchester, Birmingham, the Isle of Wight, Sheffield and Sussex.
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Operation Tahake was launched by the Met amid fears that the perpetrator could go from butchering animals to killing people.
It was staffed by up to 15 officers and estimated costs included £10,000 for post-mortem examinations and £5,000 for a psychological profile of the killer.
In January, a suspect, believed to be a 31-year-old Eastern European lorry driver, was arrested in Northampton but released.
Police looked at 400 cases from the Home Counties but concluded: “There were no witnesses, no identifiable patterns and no forensic leads that pointed to human involvement.”