A convicted killer tortured a hedgehog by cutting its stomach so its intestines were exposed. It was the second act of animal cruelty committed by the sadist after he set fire to another hedgehog and cut off its limbs.
Richard Coyle, 56, was arrested at a house in Crosskeys, Caerphilly, on September 29, last year where they found a mutilated female hedgehog which was still alive but covered in blood and a "white creamy substance". The defendant was found in bed, naked from the waist down and was wearing prosthetic breasts.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Coyle was lying in bed with various items including a cucumber, a vacuum pipe, a gas stove, women's clothing, a shard of mirror, binoculars held together by tape, and two lit candles.
Read more: Get the latest court cases sent to your email inbox with our Crime & Punishment newsletter
The hedgehog was found in a wooden box on the bedside table, and had a wound to its stomach through which its intestines were protruding. The creature was taken to a veterinary and euthanised. It was also found to have suffered a cut to the abdomen and three limbs.
Coyle, of no fixed abode, was arrested and interviewed but made no comment. He later pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, cruelty to a wild mammal, and breaching a disqualification order.
Prosecutor Sara Pratt told the court Coyle was previously sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment having mutilated another hedgehog on November 3, 2020. Police were called to a camp in Blackwood where a woman had been heard screaming "Help me".
Upon entering the tent, officers could smell burning flesh and hair. Inside was Coyle who was in possession of scissors, a lit candle and a large knife. They described a mutilated hedgehog covered in candle wax, with three limbs cut off and a visible broken bone.
WARNING: Graphic image below
The defendant was arrested and told police "It's only a f******* hedgehog, it has fleas" and claimed someone had thrown it into his tent in that condition. It was ascertained the person screaming "Help me" in a high pitched voice was Coyle, as he tortured the animal.
Coyle was also jailed for two years in 2006 for the manslaughter of David Dowden, 35, who died in hospital from a slow bleed on the brain 18 days after Coyle fractured his skull with a single punch to the head.
In mitigation, William Bebb said his client recognised the "severity" of the situation and acknowledge he would be receiving an immediate custodial sentence. He said the defendant served in the military and was previous Welsh champion boxer but he was diagnosed with PTSD due to his experiences of war and had fallen into drug and alcohol dependency.
Sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands said: "This was a deliberate and sadistic infliction of pain on a defenseless animal subjected to appalling cruelty at your hands.... This was just about a cruel a case as one could imagine and a mirror image of your previous offence."
Coyle was sentenced to a total of 18 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a new order disqualifying him from owning or keeping an animal for 20 years.
READ NEXT:
Gardener at £38k cannabis factory came to UK for 'better life'
-
Taxi driver asked to use customer's toilet before forcing his way into her bedroom and raping her
-
Drunk man headbutts woman and bites her boyfriend's head at engagement party
-
Paedophile fled to Poland after telling young girl he wanted to see her naked
- Former RAF member became heroin dealer and aimed to make £75,000 a year
You can sign up to our regular Crime and Punishment newsletter here while this interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area:
