Police at pains to find suitable charge for Mosta ‘cat killer’

Finding a suitable charge for a perpetrator of the stunts that involved crucified cats and dogs, is going to be problematic for the Maltese police force this newspaper has been told.

Now dealing with the 10th crucifixion, the Mosta 'cat killer' case may well become a headache for the police force, as the story turns into a media sensation befitting a small island.

Police sources have told MaltaToday that even if the perpetrator is caught, it would prove tricky to prove that he or she killed the cats and dogs or tortured them prior to their crucifixion, and in that way opening them up to a charge of animal cruelty.

"We would have to confirm that the person committed a cruel act on the animals. That will be very difficult to prove," the police said.

They did however confirm that the perpetrator could be prosecuted for vilification of religion, a criminal offence in Malta, because of the use of an inverted crucifix and the defacement of a place of worship.

The jury is out on the motives spurring the regular appointments for the cat killer. The first  crucifixion took pace on 16 October 2011, with all other cases usually taking place on the 16th of the month - save for the 10 February 2012.

The jury is out on the motives spurring the regular appointments for the cat killer, whose outings usually timed on or before the 16th day of a month have provided fodder for the media, especially after the release of CCTV footage from around the Mosta church showing the agile perpetrator canvassing the church parvis at 1:30am and again at 4:30am to hang his carcasses.

A surprising observation is that the prankster is being treated as a possible “psychopath” by some criminal profilers who spoke to MaltaToday, and that more than one person is involved in the elaborate ruse.
“He is a psychopath trying to attract the attention of the public. We also believe he is under 40,” the police told this newspaper.

The ‘cat killer’ struck again on 3 February, this time around targeting a statue of St Philip on the façade of the Mosta church, whose erection was financed by one Franġisku Buhagiar, an 83-year-old who has long been associated with the first crucifixion. Another dog was found hanging by a lamppost on the side of the church.

Police analysing the CCTV footage say the perpetrator has longish hair and was wearing a white head cap and a face-mask. Detailed analysis of the footage shows him adjusting the mask while running.

Even though the case is not considered to be a serious criminal offence according to law, the police still consider this mystery as a litmus test for their investigative skills and for the public’s perception of their work.

The latest act occurred just a few metres away from the Mosta police station and in the centre of the locality that retains a modest amount of traffic and activity in the early hours of the morning.

There is the suggestion that the Franġisku Buhagiar narrative is only providing a sustained pretext for what is a very methodological and localised prank.

The connection with Buhagiar has sparked theories that the octogenarian, who served 10 years for murdering his sister in 1999 after arguing over a burnt piece of toasted bread and a torn jersey, is being targeted by detractors involved in some protracted family feud.

In 2011, the first crucified dog pup was found hanging on the door where the murder had actually taken place. Now, the latest dead cat strung from the statue of St Philip, is the same one Buhagiar helped restore, and it also bears his name.

Four notes were found in four different discoveries of the animal crucifixion, the latest a note inserted just beneath cat’s outer skin layer. All of the four notes deliberately refer to the Buhagiar case, their author lamenting about some inner torment provoked by having been scored by a woman, neglected by God and tortured by “the venom of people’s tongues”.

One note goes into detail in making specific reference to Buhagiar’s criminal case, going as far as to list everyone involved in the case including his lawyer, the Attorney General and the psychiatrist – all information that is publicly available.

In 2012, the police found a note claiming the author had engaged a drug addict to hang the crucified animals – in it the author prays to St Joseph “for the man who spent his money on drugs and alcohol not to return to collect the rest of the money”.