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Cape Town – The Animal Welfare Society (AWS) in Philippi made a breakthrough in the Manenberg cat serial killer case when they dispossessed the suspected killer of his hunting partners – a vicious pitbull cross and feisty short-haired terrier cross.
The organisation said they confiscated the two dogs on Tuesday, but despite this a further two cat carcasses were found in Renoster Walk. They had both reportedly been bludgeoned to death with a heavy blunt object or brick. The tally of dead cats now stands at 42 since the first incident on July 15.
A R10 000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrator, had been issued. An equal reward sum has been made available by a third party.
“Having viewed CCTV footage from two independent sources, we strongly suspect that this is how the individual catches the unsuspecting cats before torturing and disemboweling them and dumping their bodies. Both dogs have extensive scarring, especially to their faces, indicative of cat claw lacerations. This will be independently verified by our senior vet, whose findings will form a crucial part of the case file,” a statement by AWS read.
The dogs are “vicious and have bitten people”, according to curious onlookers.
“We suspect their aggression to be as a direct result of gross neglect by the individual unanimously singled out as their owner, who disingenuously denies any involvement in the cat killings and ownership of the dogs, this despite the CCTV footage, their scars and the fact that we confiscated both dogs from his home that doubles up as a shambolic scrap yard.
“Their pulverised bodies were left out in the open as if to taunt us and cause maximum uproar, but nothing will deter us from catching this evil individual whose reign of terror is about to come to an abrupt end,“ AWS said.
Last week AWS said post-mortem reports confirmed their “worst fears”.
“Based on the veterinary pathologist’s comments and observations, we can now confidently state that the vast majority of cats were maliciously and brutally killed by a person or group of individuals.
“There is now clear evidence of ’human intervention’ (pre and post-mortem), and neither of the cadavers had any signs of associated dog trauma, but this may not be the case for all of the 37 cats killed to date by this murderous maniac,” AWS had said.
Anyone with information that could help the investigation can anonymously call 021 692 2626 during office hours or 082 601 1761 after hours to report anything suspicious.