Animal killer’s pet ban for life

A CRUEL and remorseless dog killer has been banned from having pets “for the term of his natural life”.

In a sentencing appeal by Tasmania Police, Jacob Kevin Scott Riley-McDonald, 25, also had his prison term upped for attacks on his partner, her cat and her dog.

In 2015, Riley-McDonald, who has “psychopathic” traits, lived with a woman in Launceston for about three months during which he time he repeatedly assaulted her.

The attacks included punching her to the face and body, beating her with a metal pole and golf club, pouring hot coffee down her back and holding a knife to her throat.

Sometime in July 2015, the hyper-violent thug turned his aggression on the woman’s pets — cat Charlie and dog Ruby.

He tied Ruby’s mouth shut so it could not cry and repeatedly punched and hit it with a golf club.

The woman watched her dog collapse and die in front of her.

Charlie only fared better because he managed to escape after Riley-McDonald threw him against the leg of a table three times.

A veterinarian later found Ruby’s injuries would have caused “unjustifiable pain and suffering” and were akin to being hit by a car.

When he appeared in Launceston Magistrates Court, a psychologist’s report said Riley-McDonald had the personal characteristics of a psychopath.

Magistrate Reg Marron sentenced him to 20 months’ jail for the assaults and one year for the animal cruelty but suspended 10 months and ordered they be served concurrently.

Police appealed to the Supreme Court on the basis that the effective sentence of 10 months’ prison was “manifestly inadequate”.

Chief Justice Alan Blow agreed, this week increasing Riley-McDonald’s prison time by nine months.

Chief Justice Blow also barred Riley-McDonald from having custody of an animal “for the term of his natural life”.