Man gets 6 months for killing wife’s kitten.
Man gets 6 months for killing wife’s kitten.
A BITTER husband who killed his wife’s kitten by putting it in a tumble drier is starting a six-month jail sentence.
Philip Gannon was given the maximum sentence available to Bolton magistrates yesterday after they branded the attack on the six-month-old kitten “premeditated, vicious and vindictive”.
Gannon sneaked into the home of his estranged wife, Jacqueline Hodson in January, 2005, while she was out. She found the remains of the kitten in her tumble drier when she went to load it with laundry.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the kitten, called William, had made frantic attempts to escape, but had “suffered tremendously” before dying. Gannon, aged 42, of Bullrush Close, Walkden, denied animal cruelty but was convicted by magistrates after they heard that he had threatened to kill the kitten previously.
He had also phoned one of Miss Hodson’s friends, saying: “Jackie’s the next in the tumble drier.” Gannon was also banned from keeping animals for life.
An appeal against Gannon’s conviction was lodged by his solicitor immediately after yesterday’s sentence.
The court was told that the joiner had a conviction for assaulting Miss Hodson from November, 2003.
Ian Hilton, chairman of the bench, said: “The horrific nature of this animal’s death in the context of violence means that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Miss Hodson, aged 43, was not in court because of illness, but RSPCA Chief Inspector Cathy Hyde welcomed the sentence.
“We are very satisfied with the seriousness placed on this offence, which is clearly reflected in a six-month custodial sentence,” she said. “This is perhaps the worst case of premeditated and deliberate cruelty that I have had to deal with.”
At Gannon’s trial, Miss Hodson told the court that he had repeatedly visited her home following their split in 2004 and made threats to kill the kitten and kicked it on three occasions.
Defending Gannon, Steven Teesdale said: “As a result of these procedings, he is no longer in employment as a joiner and his home has been attacked when petrol was poured through the letterbox in an attempt to set fire to the property.
“It seems to have been a bitter break-up of a marriage and, like most things, was not one-sided.”
Maureen Adams
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