Cat killer found guilty of murdering Jorge Carreno after getting lost on night out in Oxford

Jorge Carreno (left) was killed by Scarlet Blake (right) after he got lost after a night out. Blake targeted Jorge, luring him to a popular bathing spot. Credit: Family handout / Thames Valley Police

A woman has been found guilty of murdering a man after luring him to his death in Oxford.

Scarlet Blake, 25, met Jorge Javier Martin Carreno at Radcliffe Camera in the early hours of 25 July 2021 after losing his wallet and struggling to find his way home.

Thirty-year-old Jorge, a fit and able rock climber, had been on a night out in the city centre but he got separated from his friends.

Family pay heartbreaking tribute to son murdered in city centre

Blake left her home that night wearing a mask and a thick coat, wandering the streets of Oxford looking for a victim. It is thought she targeted him because he was vulnerable and on his own.

After chatting she took him through the city centre, to the popular bathing spot of Parson's Pleasure near Linacre College.

  • CCTV captures the moment Blake spotted Jorge, taking him through the city centre away from his home to Parson's Pleasure

Blake, who is transgender, claims she was only with Jorge for 10-15 minutes before leaving him with a bottle of vodka and said she had no idea what happened to him.

But the jury heard it's thought she hit him with a vodka bottle, strangled him and pushed him into the River Cherwell.

The court was told messages were sent from Jorge’s friend at around 12:00 that day saying ‘you alive?’. They were due to go rock climbing together.

Three hours later, another was sent… ‘I’m at climbing wall I hope you are okay'.

It was another 36 hours before Jorge's body was discovered by members of the public.

The River Cherwell where Mr Martin Carreno's body was found in July 2021. Credit: ITV Meridian

Mr Carreno’s death came four months after Blake live-streamed the killing of a cat.

The court heard Blake had an "extreme interest in death and in harm" and killed the family pet after watching a Netflix documentary called Don’t F*** With Cats: Hunting An Internet Killer.

In the programme a man, Luka Magnotta, kills kittens before filming a murder.

Jurors watched videos of the defendant and her partner engaging in consensual strangulation with ligatures.

  • Blake asked for nicotine patches during her arrest

Prosecutors allege the cat killing is relevant to the murder trial as it shows Blake has a "disturbing interest in what it would be like to harm a living creature".

The defence argued this crime was to please a former partner, Ashlynn Bell, and not relevant to this charge.

In court Blake said: "I wasn't interested or willing - it was an awful thought to me."

But she said she made up the story of killing Mr Martin Carreno "in the interest of keeping her happy", because she wanted Bell to kill her one day, an idea that was "sexually stimulating" to her.

Mr Martin Carreno, a BMW warehouse worker, had been on a night out with work colleagues in Oxford city centre before he died. Credit: Family Handout

Ms Blake said she had seen news reports of the discovery of Mr Carreno's body and then "made up the details in a dramatic way".

The defendant told jurors she had falsely confessed to murdering him because Ms Bell, who lives in the US, had wanted her to kill a person after the cat incident.

Referring to the alleged confession, Blake told the jury she had seen news reports of the body being found and created a fictitious story.

"I told Ashlynn that I killed that person, I made up the details in a dramatic way," she said.

"I told her I dumped the body in the river which is what they are now pulling out."

Blake will be sentenced on Monday 26 February at Oxford Crown Court.

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