Seventh cat killing in seven weeks
Another cat has been found dead in Gothenburg, leading police to intensify their hunt for a suspected serial cat killer.
The cat was found outside its owner's home in the Frölunda area of Gothenburg just after 2am on Wednesday - the night of the annual Walpurgis, or Valborg, festivities.
Police believe the pet was murdered in nearby Högsbo, where six other cats have been tortured, slit open and hung from trees in the past seven weeks. They believe the killer brought the dead cat to the owner's home and left it outside the door.
Police said an investigation into suspected animal torture is ongoing. "We absolutely have to solve this. That is a given," said police spokesman Björ Blixter.
"The perpetrator apparently knows where the cat owner lives as we're presuming that the cat was killed in another location but was left outside the owner's home," said Blixer.
"It is terrible and shocking that a crazy person who seems to be taking pleasure from killing cats is on the loose. It's sick," one Högsbo resident told tabloid Aftonbladet just days before the latest cat murder.
On Sunday, police said they were close to solving the case.
"We have good and interesting information to work with and are now going through a number of observations from the public," police officer Stefan Olsson told local newspaper Göteborgs-Posten (GP).
"We are intensifying this and will resolve it as soon as possible so that people can feel safe again," he added.
In April Högsbo residents organized a demonstration to voice their concerns and anger. "We want to push for the establishment of an animal protection unit within Gothenburg police," demo organizer Lotta Lagerström told the TT news agency
A 34-year-old man was arrested over Easter on suspicion of having carried out the gruesome feline killings. He was released after three days of questioning and is no longer a suspect.
As of Wednesday afternoon, police had made no new arrests.
TT/The Local/nr
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The cat was found outside its owner's home in the Frölunda area of Gothenburg just after 2am on Wednesday - the night of the annual Walpurgis, or Valborg, festivities.
Police believe the pet was murdered in nearby Högsbo, where six other cats have been tortured, slit open and hung from trees in the past seven weeks. They believe the killer brought the dead cat to the owner's home and left it outside the door.
Police said an investigation into suspected animal torture is ongoing. "We absolutely have to solve this. That is a given," said police spokesman Björ Blixter.
"The perpetrator apparently knows where the cat owner lives as we're presuming that the cat was killed in another location but was left outside the owner's home," said Blixer.
"It is terrible and shocking that a crazy person who seems to be taking pleasure from killing cats is on the loose. It's sick," one Högsbo resident told tabloid Aftonbladet just days before the latest cat murder.
On Sunday, police said they were close to solving the case.
"We have good and interesting information to work with and are now going through a number of observations from the public," police officer Stefan Olsson told local newspaper Göteborgs-Posten (GP).
"We are intensifying this and will resolve it as soon as possible so that people can feel safe again," he added.
In April Högsbo residents organized a demonstration to voice their concerns and anger. "We want to push for the establishment of an animal protection unit within Gothenburg police," demo organizer Lotta Lagerström told the TT news agency
A 34-year-old man was arrested over Easter on suspicion of having carried out the gruesome feline killings. He was released after three days of questioning and is no longer a suspect.
As of Wednesday afternoon, police had made no new arrests.
TT/The Local/nr
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