Oxford, England – A woman who filmed herself killing a cat before putting the animal in a blender has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a man four months later. Scarlet Blake, 26, was found guilty of murder last week at Oxford Crown Court after live-streaming the dissection of a family pet. Prosecutors revealed that Blake, who is transgender, had a “fixation with violence” and later went on to murder 30-year-old Jorge Martin Carreno in July 2021.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Chamberlain KC described Blake as having an obsession with harm and death, stating that the decision to kill was entirely hers. He emphasized that Blake showed complete indifference to the suffering she caused. Blake was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years in jail for her heinous crimes.
The body of Jorge Martin Carreno, a Spanish national and BMW factory worker, was discovered in the River Cherwell at Parson’s Pleasure approximately 24 hours after his death. The court could not determine the exact method Blake used to kill him but noted that the murder was the result of a plan she had been formulating for months.
Blake’s former partner, Ashlynn Bell, living in the US, confessed to detectives about Blake’s involvement in Mr. Martin Carreno’s murder. Although Blake pleaded guilty to criminal damage for killing the cat, she denied murdering Mr. Martin Carreno by inflicting blows to his head, attempting to strangle him, and disposing of his body in the river.
Described as a grotesque act of cruelty, the court heard that Blake tortured the cat on a livestream before killing it, cutting out its heart, and keeping it as a memento. Prosecutors revealed Blake’s disturbing interest in harming living creatures, stating that she derived sexual gratification from thoughts of violence and death.
The police expressed condemnation for the barbaric and chilling act committed by Blake, showing total disregard for life. They highlighted the dignified response of Mr. Martin Carreno’s family throughout the ordeal. Detectives assured that the jury would be supported in dealing with the graphic evidence presented during the trial.
Footage from CCTV cameras showed Mr. Martin Carreno attempting to find his way home while encountering Blake, whose fixation with violence ultimately led to his tragic death. Blake, born in China and raised in the UK, attributed the cat’s killing to her former partner but maintained that Mr. Martin Carreno was still alive when she left him at the riverbank.
Family and loved ones paid tribute to Jorge Martin Carreno, honoring him as a compassionate and passionate individual whose life was unjustly cut short. They remembered him as an exceptional person with aspirations to build a better world, leaving behind a profound impact on their hearts.