Police hunt 'sick' slasher who killed horse in frenzied knife attack

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:59 AM on 28th October 2010

Police were hunting a maniac who stabbed to death a horse in a 'frenzied' knife attack in a field.

The butchered 18-month-old Lagdon cob called Rascal was discovered dead by members of a riding school.

Today police and the RSPCA were investigating the stabbing - and had not ruled out the possibility that it had been a 'ritualistic' killing.

Just 10 miles away from the scene in rural Alfriston, East Sussex, nine horses were fed apples that had been spiked with pins and screws last month.

Detective Constable Annie Nash, from Sussex Police said: 'We are working closely with the RSPCA to investigate this mindless act of animal cruelty and find those responsible.

'This horrific incident has caused much distress to the horse's owner and local community but it does appears to be an isolated attack, the motive for which is unknown at this stage.'

Two other horses in the same field had not been touched by the killer.

The owner of the butchered horse, who did not want to be named, said: 'We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful horse. We would urge anyone with information to please contact Sussex Police.'

A post-mortem examination revealed the horse had been stabbed multiple times in its face, neck and body with a sharp instrument - probably a knife.

The animal was found by a riding school member on Sunday morning at Alfriston Horse Riding Centre.

A spokeswoman for the centre said: 'Its injuries were sick. Everyone is very upset and the owners are devastated."

An RSPCA spokesman said: 'This was a very nasty attack. It is being treated very seriously and we are working with the police to find out who is responsible.'

Ray Savage, chairman of Alfriston Parish Council and a former police officer who saw the body in the field, said the horse might have been tortured.

'I have never seen anything like it,' he said. 'People are talking abut ritual abuse and torture but who knows what the motive was at this stage.

'There is a lot of fear in the village over this. People are upset.'

Last month, nine showjumping horses in nearby Rottingdean were fed apples spiked with pins and screws by a group of youths.

10 of the 15 tampered pieces of fruit had been partially eaten by the animals and owner Sarah Williams faced an agonising 48 hour wait to see if there were any serious injuries.

Distraught Sarah said at the time: 'It's really sick. I despair that anyone would want to do this to innocent animals.'

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324442/Police-hunt-sick-slasher-killed-horse-frenzied-knife-attack.html