Murderer and cat killer Scarlet Blake jailed for life

Scarlet Blake will spend at least 24 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering 30-year-old Jorge Carreno in Oxford in 2021.

Blake, 26, who is a transgender woman, targeted Mr Carreno as he was walking home after a night out. She took him to a secluded area near the river, then attacked and strangled him before pushing him into the river where he drowned.

Four months prior to killing Mr Carreno, Blake livestreamed herself killing and dissecting a cat. The Crown Prosecution Service’s case was that Blake had an extreme interest in death and harm. In court, the prosecution described Blake as a person who had a fixation with violence and with knowing what it would be like to kill someone, and on the night of Mr Carreno’s death she had planned to attack someone and went out looking for a vulnerable target. 

It was two years after the attack that Blake was identified as the person seen in CCTV footage walking with Mr Carreno in Oxford city centre. Following her arrest, the Crown Prosecution Service worked with the police to authorise charges for murder and to build a case for trial supported by medical and forensic evidence.

Lawyer Hayley Garey, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a complex and challenging case, but once Scarlet Blake was identified as the person walking with Jorge Carreno on the night he died, we were able to build a case based on medical and forensic evidence that secured a conviction for murder.

“DNA on the top of a vodka bottle placed Blake at the riverside where Jorge died, and pathology results interpreted alongside Blake’s interests in strangulation provided a clear picture to the jury of how Jorge was killed.

“Scarlet Blake will now spend a long time in prison for these extremely disturbing and cruel crimes.

“Jorge’s family have suffered an immeasurable loss, but we hope that this sentence brings them some sense of justice.”