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Colombian man deported from Spain after kicking his ex-partner's cat to death
The 29-year-old beat the animal more than 20 times in front of witnesses on a Torrevieja street
A 29-year-old man who kicked his ex-partner's cat to death in broad daylight on a street in Torrevieja has been deported to Colombia after accepting a five-year expulsion from Spain and the European Union to avoid serving a prison sentence.
The incident happened in April on Calle Jacarilla, where the man threw the cat against a wall, beat it more than 20 times with a stick and then kicked it repeatedly until it died, in full view of horrified neighbours and passers-by.
Those watching confronted the man before alerting police and up to four patrol cars arrived at the scene to subdue and arrest him. He was found to be highly agitated and under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time.
His ex-partner and several animal protection organisations formally reported him to police that same day.
It’s since emerged that he had been living in Spain illegally at the time of the attack. Following his arrest he was released pending trial, at which point he accepted the terms of a deal agreed between the prosecution and the defence: a five-year deportation order in place of the prison sentence.
He has now been deported to Cali, his home city in Colombia, and is barred from re-entering the EU for the duration of his sentence.
The court found him guilty of aggravated animal cruelty and vicarious domestic violence, the latter recognising that the killing of his ex-partner's pet was a deliberate act of harm directed at her.
The case sparked widespread outrage locally and across social media when it first emerged, and the scenes witnessed by neighbours on that street in Torrevieja are not ones that will be easily forgotten.
Image: Policia Nacional
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