The Croydon cat killer has finally been unmasked by the Met Police

After hundreds of grisly feline deaths up and down the country and a long-running police investigation, cops have finally called time on their hunt for the mysterious ‘Croydon Cat Killer’ – and they think they’ve solved the puzzle.

Was it a deranged, cat-hating killer? Or a string of twisted copy-cat murderers?

Well, if you were hoping they’d caught some Silence of the Lambs-style serial killer, then think again.

The Met Police say that after examining all the evidence, they’ve concluded that the cats were more than likely hit by cars and then scavenged by foxes, which makes a lot of sense but isn’t at all sexy.

The police investigation began in November 2015, after reports from members of the public of mutilated cats, often found with their heads and tails removed, in Croydon and the surrounding area.

Officers worked closely with the RSPCA and local charity South Norwood Animal Rescue League (SNARL) from the beginning.

“Initially, we thought it was just Croydon,” recalls SNARL’s Boudicca Rising. “But it became apparent around December that there were cases all over.”

Boudicca became intimately involved in the investigation and committed herself to finding the killer, telling ShortList earlier: “I once felt pity for this person, because I thought they had to be really sad and f*cked up… but I’ve held too many cats while their owners have broken down in front of me. I don’t feel a shred of pity anymore. There’s no need for this. The best thing he could do is to give himself up.”

But police say there is no evidence of human involvement in any of the reported cases.

There were also no witnesses, no identifiable patterns and no forensic leads that pointed to human involvement.

“There was no evidence that any of the cats had been killed by a human, however media reports of a ‘Croydon Cat Killer’ or an ‘M25 Cat Killer’ led to widespread public concern about cats being harmed and subsequently many more allegations were received,” the Met Police said in a statement.

“The investigation took almost three years, due to the number of reports and allegations received from the public and the need to work with specialists to scrutinise any evidence.”

So to the cat owners out there, we hope you (and your feline friends) can all sleep a little easier tonight. 

(Images: Getty / ShortList)