Brit woman dubbed ‘The Immolator’ admits role in sick monkey torture ring where fiends pay to put animals in blenders
A BRIT known as The Immolator has admitted to her role in a monkey torture ring where fiends pay for the animals to be killed for sexual kicks.
Self-proclaimed animal lover Holly LeGresley, 37, led a secret life as a moderator in one of the global online groups.
She today admitted publishing an obscene article and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Co-defendant Adriana Orme, 55, indicated no plea to the charges at Worcester Magistrates’ Court today.
The pair, from Kidderminster and Upton-upon Severn, were released on conditional bail.
LeGresley, who will be sentenced next month, published 22 images and 132 monkey torture videos to online chat groups, the charge sheet states.
West Mercia Police confirmed the charges are in relation to causing, consuming and facilitating the torture of monkeys.
It came after the BBC exposed a global monkey torture gang following a year-long investigation.
They discovered hundreds were paying Indonesians to kill infant long-tailed macaques on video.
Torture methods include setting the animals on fire and putting them in blenders.
LeGresley was known as The Immolator, meaning someone who practises sacrifice.
She once ran a poll on which torture method should be used on a baby monkey.
The bird lover describes her love of gore on Facebook – branding Hannibal Lecter and Pennywise the Clown “horror icons”.
She has even lashed out at films that portray animal cruelty before, including Suicide Squad spin-off Birds of Prey.
Complaining about a scene where an aviary is set alight, LeGresley wrote: “That’s sick. You don’t do that s***, even [with] computer graphics because it’s too far.
“Shouldn’t be allowed to put such gratuitous animal cruelty in a movie when it doesn’t even really serve the story. Sick twisted people who made this film.
“Won’t be spending any more of my money on the franchise. What a disappointment.”
Three people including suspected ringleader Michael Macartney have been charged in the US.
The 50-year-old, who went by the alias “Torture King”, ran several chat groups from around the world on encrypted messaging app Telegram.
The groups shared sick ideas for custom-made torture videos, which were then sent with payments to Indonesia.
According to US court papers, Macartney is accused of distributing videos depicting the “torture, murder, and sexually sadistic mutilation of animals, specifically juvenile and adult monkeys”.
The BBC reports he has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges and faces up to five years in jail.
He previously described joining his first Telegram monkey group, saying: “They had a poll set up. Do you want a hammer involved? Do you want pliers involved? Do you want a screwdriver?”
Macartney, from Virginia, said it was the “most grotesque thing I have ever seen”.
At least 20 people have been investigated over the sick videos – including three women living in the UK who were arrested in 2022.
Two people have been imprisoned in Indonesia, while David Christopher Noble and Nicole Devilbiss have been charged in the US.
