BBC breached accuracy rules after it failed to mention 'don't f*** with cats' murderer Scarlet Blake was trans - in a move that led to a wave of complaints

The BBC breached its own accuracy rules after it failed to mention that murderer and cat killer Scarlet Blake was a trans woman in initial reports of her conviction and sentencing. 

The broadcaster received a wave of complaints about how Blake's trans identity was not mentioned in an online article on February 23 and during the BBC News at One bulletin three days later. 

The reports referred to Blake - who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Jorge Carreno in Oxford in 2021 - as a woman and used she/her pronouns. 

In a ruling published yesterday, the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) said it 'considered that the omission of such information in the two instances specified by complainants, in a context where it had become material to an understanding of the case, amounted to a breach of the BBC's standards of accuracy'.

But the complaints were 'resolved' not 'upheld' according to the ECU, because the online article was changed within an hour of publishing and a notice regarding the TV report was posted on the BBc website. 

The unit said that the 26-year-old's trans identity became known to the BBC when it was mentioned by the defence during the trial on February 19 - four days before the first complained-about report. 

It added that that 'police made no reference to it [Blake's gender identity] in their pre-trial briefing, it formed no part of the prosecution case, and Blake was referred to as a woman throughout the court proceedings'. 

The decision by the ECU comes after Harry Potter JK Rowling hit out at media reports that classed Blake as a woman. 

Sharing a post by Sky News on X, the author used the caption: 'I'm sick of this s***. This is not a woman. These are #NotOurCrimes.'

The headline by Sky News read: 'BREAKING: A woman who filmed herself killing a cat before putting the animal in a blender has been jailed for life for murdering a man four months later.'

Award-winning journalist Louise Tickle, who was written for The Guardian for over 20 years, also boycotted the newspaper after it initially failed to tell its readers that Blake was transgender in an article covering the case.

In a letter to the editor of The Guardian, Ms Tickle said she would not be contributing to the newspaper until it could 'demonstrate' what 'constitutes a fact' and 'stops deceiving its readers'.

She explained that upon reading the article about Blake last week, she was left unaware that Blake was a 'male killer' because the word 'transgender' was not included in the piece.

The Guardian included a note on its article to state: 'This article was updated on 23 February 2024 to add further details and biographical information, including reference to Scarlet Blake's transgender identity, which were not included in the agency copy on which our initial version relied.'

Blake will serve at least 24 years in a male prision after she targeted the 30-year-old BMW worker as he walked home from a night out in Oxford on July 24, 2021. 

She was inspired by the Netflix Documentary Don't F*** With Cats and live-streamed the killing and dissection of a cat four months before she murdered Jorge Martin Carreno. 

She led him to a secluded riverbank, where he was hit on the back of the head with a vodka bottle, strangled and then pushed into the River Cherwell where he drowned. 

Jailing Scarlet Blake for life with a minimum term of 24 years, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the defendant had intended to kill Jorge Martin Carreno although he could not be sure of the exact method used.

'It is not possible to say exactly how, whether you hit him on the back of his head with a vodka bottle or something else you had in your backpack, then strangled him by applying pressure to the blood vessels just beneath his jaw using your hands or ligature, then putting in the river where he drowned,' the judge said. 

'You may have held him down in the water while strangling him. Either way, you intended to kill him, and you did.

'The decision to kill Jorge was not a reaction to something he had said or done - it was not a momentary mistake, it was not a decision made in anger or because your emotions overcame you.

'It is the culmination of a plan you've been considering and formulating for months before, and after July 25 as you showed an obsession with harm and death.'

Blake got away with Mr Carreno's murder for two years before her ex-partner Ashlynn Bell tipped off police.

A blazing row between her and sex worker Ashlynn Bell – during which guns were pulled – led to police being tipped off about her confession.

The Mail revealed that the case rested on information provided by Ms Bell, who didn't give evidence because prosecutors feared she would ruin their chance of a conviction.

Messages between the pair recovered by detectives showed a dark fascination with violence and death, with scarcely an exchange passing without reference to murder or self harm.

Photographs show that Ms Bell has a fearsome collection of military-grade weapons and equipment as well as a liking for Nazi memorabilia.

She also advertised herself on a website for trans prostitutes in Texas, where she charges $100 an hour for her services.

Photographs on the site showed her posing with an AK-47 assault rifle and wearing cat ears.

The pair met during the pandemic on Discord, a secretive online messaging platform.

They joined an invite-only group dedicated to 'artistically rendered gore' in which users would trade sickening self-harm images.

The messages between Blake and Ms Bell recovered by detectives showed them openly discussing killing, including one in which Blake said: 'F*** I need blood, this is bad.'

In another, Ms Bell said the combat jacket Blake wore to kill Mr Carreño had a 'serial killer musk' after she had posted it to the US at her lover's request.

The BBC did not wish to provide any further comment when approached by MailOnline.