Jorge Martin Carreno death: Accused tortured and killed cat, court hears

The body of Jorge Martin Carreno was found in the River Cherwell at Parson's Pleasure

A woman accused of murder previously took pleasure in torturing and killing a cat, a court heard.

The body of Jorge Martin Carreno was pulled from the River Cherwell at Parson's Pleasure, Oxford, in July 2021.

Scarlet Blake, 25, of Crotch Crescent, was out on the streets of the city looking for a victim before meeting the 30-year-old, the prosecution said.

She livestreamed the killing of the cat months before, Oxford Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Mr Martin Carreno, who was a Spanish national working at the Mini plant, had been on a night out drinking with colleagues after Covid restrictions had been lifted.

He later became separated from his friends, and possibly became lost, before having the "great misfortune" of bumping into the defendant, who he had not met before.

They met at the Radcliffe Camera, where she offered him a bottle of vodka.

Ms Blake had a "fixation with violence and with knowing what it would feel like to kill someone", Ms Morgan said.

CCTV footage showed them walking through the city together. They went to Parson's Pleasure where he was later found "face down" in the river.

The vodka bottle lid was found at the scene and had the defendant's DNA on it.

It "took two years for the events of that night to be properly understood", Ms Morgan said.

Warning: This story contains graphic details that some readers may find upsetting.

Mr Martin Carreno had the "great misfortune" of bumping into the defendant outside the Radcliffe Camera on the night of his death

Ms Blake, previously known as Alice Wang, had an "extreme interest in death and in harm" which "went beyond mere fantasy".

Ms Morgan said she found "sexual gratification from the thought of violence and the thought of death".

In March 2021 Ms Blake dissected a cat and put it in a blender while on livestream, and took "grotesque pleasure" in doing so, the prosecution alleged.

The video was so graphic that it would not be shown in court in an unedited form, Ms Morgan said.

But stills were shown of Ms Blake smiling at the camera and of the cat restrained.

Audio was also played, in which she appeared to say: "Here we go my little friend… I can't wait to put you through the blender."

Later she says: "Well I wonder where I learn to do this to a person."

She is also heard discussing the Netflix documentary Don't F**k with Cats, about murderer Luka Magnotta, who started out filming himself killing kittens.

True Faith by New Order is played during the livestream, a song also used by Magnotta in the documentary, the court heard.

The jury was told Mr Martin Carreno's death prompted a police investigation, in which the force appealed to the public to identify the person seen with him on CCTV.

The prosecution said Ms Blake never presented herself as a witness despite numerous police appeals.

Held forcibly

The first post-mortem examination found a provisional cause of death to be drowning with alcohol intoxication.

But it was also noted that Mr Martin Carreno had several injuries, including a deep bruise across the back of his skull and his left shoulder, and some evidence of haemorrhaging.

Mr Martin Carreno had been in the water for 36 hours, Ms Morgan explained.

In light of Ms Blake becoming known to police, and the discovery of videos in her possession highlighting her interest in strangulation, the doctor who carried out the post-mortem examination was asked to reconsider the evidence.

He found Mr Martin Carreno's levels of intoxication would not have rendered him unconscious or in an alcoholic stupor.

In addition, haemorrhaging at the back of his jaw and underneath his tongue could be consistent with strangulation or being held forcibly, Ms Morgan claimed.

The court heard there was a police breakthrough in the case in April 2023, when a third party in the United States said it was Ms Blake in the footage.

Ms Blake also sent photos to someone that showed the "very place where Mr Martin Carreno's body went into the water".

She knew the exact location despite it not being in the public domain, Ms Morgan said.

Embedded microchip

Her home was searched by police in August, where boots, a jacket and backpack matching those seen in the CCTV were found, along with scalpels and part of the blender.

She replied "no comment" to all questions in her interview, though afterwards she revealed she had a pet microchip embedded in her body.

Ms Morgan concluded her opening statement by describing Ms Blake's "obsession with harm" as evidence of a "mindset of harbouring dark, dark thoughts of harming other people".

She added: "For this defendant it was no accident that she found [Mr Martin Carreno], and no accident that she took him to a secluded location."

Ms Blake likely attacked her victim by striking him on the back of his head and shoulder, she said.

She then attempted to strangle him before pushing him down into the river, "so in the final moments he died by drowning", the prosecutor said.

Ms Blake denies murder.

The trial continues.