Cat killer jailed for life for murdering Jorge Carreno in Oxford

A woman has been jailed for life for 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 he lost his wallet and struggled to find his way home.

Jorge, 30, a fit and able rock climber, had been on a night out in the city centre but he got separated from his friends.

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.

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.

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

She was found guilty of murder last week.

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.

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.

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."

Blake has been sentenced to a minimum term of 23 years and 169 days.

The judge, Mr Justice Chamberlain, said: "Your decision to kill him was not a reaction to something he had said or done, not a momentary mistake, not a decision made in anger...it was the culmination of a plan you had been considering and formulating for months."

He added that Jorge's family had sat through the trial with "incredible dignity".

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