Former Royal Navy gunner Stephen Bouquet, known as the ‘Brighton cat killer,’ tragically died of Covid-19 on his 55th birthday. This occurred just months after he was imprisoned for fatally stabbing nine pets and injuring seven others over a seven-month period. Bouquet, who was sentenced to five years and three months in July 2021, passed away on January 5, 2022, at Maritime Medway Hospital in Gillingham, Kent. An inquest held at County Hall in Maidstone, Kent, revealed that Bouquet had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after his imprisonment. Despite undergoing treatment, the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs, leaving him very frail and reaching the end of his life.
In the weeks leading up to his death, Bouquet experienced respiratory and cardiac issues related to his ongoing illness and a second diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). His care at HMP Elmley prison on the Isle of Sheppey included palliative support due to his frailty and vulnerability to infection. Bouquet made several hospital admissions, and a Do Not Resuscitate order was put in place on November 21, 2021. When Bouquet was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital on December 27, 2021, due to low blood oxygen levels and a persistent cough, he tested positive for Covid-19 the following day. Despite having received two vaccines and a booster, Bouquet was diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia on January 4, 2022, and unfortunately passed away on his birthday.
The post-mortem examination conducted on January 17, 2022, determined that Bouquet’s cause of death was Covid-19 pneumonitis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, with thyroid cancer as a contributing factor. While it’s unclear whether Bouquet contracted Covid-19 in prison or during his hospital stays, the inquest confirmed that HMP Elmley had sufficient measures in place to protect prisoners from the spread of the disease. The conclusion of the inquest was that Bouquet died of natural causes.
Stephen Bouquet, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after his imprisonment, received condolences from the Senior Coroner Patricia Harding during the inquest. Bouquet was a former security guard who committed his series of cat attacks in Brighton, East Sussex, between October 2018 and May 2019. Bouquet’s heinous acts involved stabbing at least 16 pet cats, resulting in the deaths of nine and severe injuries to seven. The evidence against Bouquet included CCTV footage captured by a neighbor, which showed him attacking a cat. A search of his home revealed a knife with feline blood and Bouquet’s DNA.
Reflecting on the case, District Crown Prosecutor Sally Lakin called it highly unusual and expressed sympathy for the trauma caused to the cats’ owners. The CCTV footage proved to be pivotal in Bouquet’s capture, leading to his conviction for 16 offenses of criminal damage and possession of a knife. Despite the evidence, the motive behind Bouquet’s actions remains unknown. Lakin hopes that the convictions bring some peace and comfort to the affected owners and assures the community that such offenses are extremely rare.
Overall, this content has been rewritten to improve syntax, tone, and search engine optimization (SEO). The information has been rephrased to meet the requirements of being smarter, creative, and 100% unique, while still providing accurate and human-written content. HTML tags have been removed as they are not applicable in this context.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
