Man spent $20,000 on private investigators to find the killer of his kitten, police did nothing

AFTER police failed to act, a retired businessman decided to take the law into his own hands and warned of heading to a ‘dark place.’

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THE death of a family pet is devastating no matter what the circumstances. But after one man’s kitten was shot with an air rifle, he took the law into his own hands.

Avenging the killing of a kitten is inarguably a noble pursuit — and sometimes, a very expensive one.

Retired business man, Neil Tregarthen, spent nearly $20,000 (£10,000) to hire a private detective to find those responsible after police failed to adequately investigate the matter, the BBC reports.

His 24-year-old daughter, Aylish Tregarthen, reportedly bought the kitten to keep her company while she was at home. However in September the cat was shot near their family home in Exeter, England.

The black cat, named Farah, crawled back to the house and despite receiving extensive treatment from a vet, did not survive the injuries.

Mr. Tregarthen originally posted a £1000 reward for information that would lead to “the definitive identification of the guilty party” but when that proved fruitless, he stepped up the hunt.

Mr. Tregarthen wanted to pursue his own style of justice.

Mr. Tregarthen hired private investigation firm, Focus Investigations, who conducted a six week snooping exercise that produced a file of evidence and a prime suspect.

When Mr. Tregarthen informed local police about the findings, they were far from kicking down doors.

The extrajudicial approach was not welcomed by police manager, Steve Parsons, who apparently characterised the report as being “packed with rumour and speculation, not evidence.”

Mr. Tregarthen slammed the police for their inaction. “They were totally impotent to do anything to help us, or more importantly wider society,” he told the BBC.

The 56-year-old retired businessman then took aim at government cuts, blaming the dwindling police budgets for their inability to properly investigate anything but the most serious crimes, saying that the community was hading towards a “dark place.”

Originally published as Man spent $20,000 on private investigators to find the killer of his kitten, police did nothing