A COUPLE whose beloved pet was found beheaded outside their home fear it could have been the work of the Brighton cat killer - and are now calling for answers.
Mandy Robertson and John Paul Amos believe their beloved pet could have fallen victim to Steve Bouquet, who died earlier this month.
The couple woke up to find Milo's head lying on the driveway of their house in Woodingdean.
A vet told them Milo was killed in a road traffic accident (RTA) - but they remain suspicious about his death.
It is feared that the five-year-old cat's death was part of a killing spree - either by Bouquet or someone else.
Mandy said: “It really has screwed me up, I was supposed to have counselling about it. I have cats now still and I’m really worried about letting them out, I’m constantly keeping diaries of when they’re coming in and out.
“It’s really affected me as I have had no closure. My vet said it was an RTA, I just don’t accept that it was that.”
John Paul said he was alerted by a passing dog walker to the head on the morning of May 29, 2017.
The head had no sign of blood and was upright with its eyes open pointing towards their kitchen window.
John Paul said:“I immediately put a recycling bin on top of it so Mandy wouldn’t see it as I knew straight away it was our cat.
"I went into shock because I knew how important the cats are to Mandy and I just didn’t know what to do next.
“We just couldn’t fathom of it because it was literally the cat’s head, there was not a drop of blood anywhere."
Sussex Police consulted with Milo's vet but say there is “no evidence” to suggest there were any “suspicious circumstances”.
The couple said they “wanted to accept” the cause of death given by their vet, but are suspicious due to the lack of blood that would be left from their cat being run over.
The incident was 18 months before Bouquet is officially known to have started attacking cats, but the couple believe he could be the one responsible and want closure.
Bouquet was convicted of killing multiple pets and has been linked to other cat deaths in Brighton.
Milo’s case was passed on to a charity called Snarl, which investigates animal deaths thought to be caused by animal killers.
Snarl was investigating the “Croydon cat killer” at the time and visited the couple as part of the investigation.
Tony Jenkins, founder of Snarl, cast doubt on the possibility of Milo being a victim of Bouquet due to the method of killing and distance from where he committed his crimes, mostly in central Brighton.
But he said it is “possible” the death of the cat could be linked with the Croydon cat killer, whose crimes would involve cutting off a cat’s head or tail after killing them.
There were cats’ heads and tails found all along the South coast at the time, according to Tony.
Tony said: "People have the misfortune to find their beloved cat decapitated on their doorstep for example.
"The shock and horror to the family is already a crime against humans because if you have a cat, it's beloved member of the family.
"The thought that someone may have killed your cat and cut its head off waiting to be found, that's a crime that needs to be taken seriously."
Bouquet's killing spree lasted between October 2018 and May 2019 before he was finally captured on CCTV set up by the owner of one of the dead cats.
During this time, Bouquet killed nine cats and injured seven more.
In July, Bouquet appeared at Hove Crown Court where he was sentenced to five years and three months after being found guilty of 16 offences of criminal damage in relation to the cats, as well as possession of a knife.
During his trial, Bouquet was known to have thyroid cancer which had spread to his lung and liver.
He died at Maritime Medway hospital in Gillingham on January 6 this year.
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