Philip Gregory Tripp Wins Again in Court as Another Ailurophobic Judge, Bereft of Even an Iota of Justice, Reduces His Sentence for Stealing and Drowning Mango

Every Bit as Ugly as He Is Evil, Tripp and His Eclectus Parrot, Jackson

Tripp is a "law-abiding man with an interest in conserving wildlife."

-- Judge Jonathan Priestley

If there ever were a poster boy for all the sadistic cat thieves and killers in this world it surely would have to be seventy-one-year-old Philip Gregory Tripp of King Street in Coffs Harbour, five-hundred-forty kilometers north of Sydney in New South Wales. Not only has he committed innumerable heinous crimes against members of the species, but he also has had the audacity to publicly brag about his cruelty and cleverness.

Even after he at long last was finally arrested on July 22nd of last year, he was able to have put his Janus-faced personality and considerable skill as a consummate prevaricator and brown-noser to good use while simultaneously hiding behind his considerable fame, fortune, and shysters in order to evade justice. Nonetheless, his phenomenal success in the courtroom would not have been possible without the invaluable assistance and succor that he has received from Australia's laughingly corrupt and biased judicial system and, in particular, that of Judge Jonathan Priestley of the District Court in Coffs Harbour whose jurisprudence amounts to little more than a third-rate ventriloquist act designed to aid and abet the rich and famous in the commission of their crimes.

After having equipped his five-acre estate with surveillance cameras, Tripp has been regularly trapping his neighbors' cats and then drowning them, while still caged, in trash cans filled to the brim with water. So far, no one has been willing to publicly speculate as to how many of them that he has killed over the years but the tally surely must number in the dozens if not indeed hundreds.

None of that ever has been hidden from the public; au contraire, he has made a habit of not only bragging about his crimes on Facebook but also of mounting some of his victims' corpses on signs in his front lawn. It is even strongly suspected that he has used food in order to lure them onto his property for the sole purpose of trapping, torturing, and killing them.

His killing spree came to a halt, at least temporarily, last July 22nd when he trapped and drowned a truly beautiful ginger and white female named Mango who was owned by his neighbor, Emma Votto. "The first feral cat of the season," he wasted no time in crowing on Facebook that very same day. "Saw it on one of my video cams last night, baited the trap with a small can of Dine®, woke up this morning to meowing."

He then went on to demonstrate beyond any doubt that he is a man who not only loathes cats but also derives unbridled joy out of defaming, torturing, and killing them. "Filling the green wheelie bin with water so I can give it (a) swimming lesson and mercifully euthanize it in fifteen seconds in the sinking cat trap," he sarcastically added in a celebratory vein.

J. Hickson was not amused. "This man is a repeat offender and has, allegedly, done the same thing on at least several occasions, proudly boasting about his actions on social media," she wrote July 23rd on change.org. "These are the actions of a cruel psychotic who seeks to justify and publicize his desire to torture and kill."

It is unclear why that it took so long for any of  his neighbors to report him to the police but more than likely that gross oversight is attributable to the all-out war that the politicians, mass media, professors, and titans of industry have been waging against cats for years. Millions of them already have been slaughtered by every cruel and inhumane method imaginable and the authorities do not have any intention of relenting until they have eradicated the entire species from every nook and cranny in the country.

Consequently, the entire Australian population has been brainwashed to the point that it is no longer capable of separating fact from fiction, morality from moral depravity, and wildlife conservation from Hitlerism. Even those few individuals who are still capable of thinking and feeling for themselves have been frightened into keeping their traps shut by the unceasing anti-cat drumbeat being churned out by the authorities. (See Cat Defender post of November 18, 2016 entitled "A Clever Devil at the University of Adelaide Boasts That He Has Discovered the Achilles' Heel of Cats with His Invention of Robotic Grooming Traps as the Thoroughly Evil Australians' All-Out War Against the Species Enters Its Final Stages" and Australian Geographic, February 23, 2022, " 'A Diabolical Problem Needing Radical Answers': When Cats Are Not So Cute.")

Astute enough to quickly realize that he was now in big trouble, Tripp quickly decided to cut his losses by pleading guilty on July 26th. "The matter will be decided in court and I do not plan to contest the charge nor to exact any expense from the judicial system," he was quoted by The Industry Observer of Chiswick on October 26th as having pledged at the time of his arrest. (See "Former South by Southwest Representative Phil Tripp Will Lose Companion Parrot Following Animal Cruelty Case.") "I have liaised with the (Australian) RSPCA and made an extensive statement to the police who treated me fairly and with care in charging me."

He followed that up by making his most ludicrous declaration of all. "I should man up, own this and face the music," he blew long and hard to The Industry Observer.

Due to His Online Boasting, Tripp's Guilt Was Never in Doubt

Being the thoroughly rotten son of a bitch that he is, Tripp never has manned up to anything in his entire life. In fact, he is not a man at all but rather a four-flusher and a monster and just to prove it he immediately changed his plea and retained the services of local shyster Hugh Schlieger in order to help him beat the rap that he had just confessed to committing.

His first trial therefore was held in Coffs Harbour District Court on October 25th with the imbecile of imbeciles, magistrate Ian Rodgers, presiding. Every bit as much as Rodgers was off his game, Old Schlieger was very much on his and he came out of the dugout swinging for the fences.

First of all, he threw down the gauntlet by daring Rodgers to convict his client because he has enjoyed an illustrious career in both the pet and music industries. As best it could be determined, Tripp's only contribution to the pet industry has been his involvement with the Urban Animal Magazine, a free rag handed out in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Having never seen it, its contents and editorial philosophy are a mystery but, knowing Tripp, it is difficult to fathom how that it could be anything other than a scurrilous anti-cat screed.

In the music world, he has garnered considerable international fame as the former longtime representative for Austral-Asia and Hawaii to the annual South by Southwest music festival which is held each March in Austin. He accordingly is not only a darling of the capitalistic media but a kindred spirit as well. 

Secondly, Schlieger argued that Tripp was "deeply remorseful" for what he had done to Mango but it did not take prosecutor Heidi Warren long to put the kibosh to that sottise. "The contrition and remorse, in my submission, is being caught and embarrassed in the community," she told the court according to the Australian Broadcasting Company's (ABC) October 25th report. (See "Animal Lover Phil Tripp Will Lose Companion Parrot after Drowning Cat in Garbage Bin.")

Thirdly, he argued that Tripp has been an animal lover all of his life. He just conveniently neglected to mention that his client fervently believes that cats do not have any right to exist.

Fourthly, he told the court that Tripp has a right to defend wildlife on his property, even if that entails deliberately luring cats onto it for the sole purpose of killing them. Fifthly, Schlieger had the unmitigated gall to plead with the court to show mercy on his client because he had suffered a heart attack in Honolulu in 2016.

Such reductio ad absurdum reasoning ignores the petit fait that trapping and drowning cats, mounting their corpses on his lawn, and boasting of his devilry on Facebook is hardly the work of an invalid. Plus, there is all of his far-flung travels to be factored into that equation. 

When it came time for the lamebrained Rodgers to render his verdict he went out of his way so as not to disappoint either Tripp or Schlieger. He accordingly let the sadistic cat killer off with nine months of probation, one-hundred hours of community service, and a five-year ban on the owning of any animals and that included the forfeiture of his eclectus parrot, Jackson, that he has owned for more than twenty years.

In his defense of that ridiculously lenient sentence, Rodgers cited Tripp's good character, his remorse, and his early guilty plea as mitigating factors. As it should be plainly obvious to everyone, the only character that Tripp has is bad character, his remorse was feigned, and he quickly changed his guilty plea and vigorously contested the charges laid against him in court.

Amazingly enough, even that sweetheart deal failed to have satisfied Tripp and as a consequence Schlieger had already announced his intention to file an appeal long before the ink was even dry on Rodgers' insane opinion. Unfortunately for the crafty Schlieger, he was not destined to be a part of that process because Tripp promptly fired him in favor of Carlo Bianchino. (See Cat Defender post of November 28, 2021 entitled "Bird Lover and Music Industry Icon Philip Gregory Tripp, Who Stole and Drowned Mango and Then Went on Facebook in Order to Sarcastically Brag about His Cleverness, Is Treated Like a Hero by a Court in Coffs Harbour.") 

In August of 2020, Tripp Stole, Killed, and Exhibited an Unidentified Male Cat

So, hot stuff Tripp was back in the District Court of Coffs Harbour on February 2nd but with Bianchino as opposed to Schlieger at his side and with Priestley having replaced Rodgers as the presiding judge. Not much changed, however, in that the second go around proved to have been every bit as much of a farce as the initial undertaking.

Determined to succeed where Old Schlieger had stumbled, Bianchino not only trotted out all of his predecessor's dodges but added a few new wrinkles of his own. "Jackson the bird is an innocent party," he thundered in Priestley's ear according to the ABC's February 8th account of the proceedings. (See "Philip Tripp Loses Appeal to Keep Companion Bird after Killing 'Beloved Family Cat,' but Sentence Reduced.") 

In support of that contention, he submitted the written testimony of avian veterinarian Rob Marshall of the Carlingford Animal Hospital in the city of the same name, five-hundred-ten kilometers south of Coffs Harbour via the Pacific Highway, who told the court that it would be "impossible to replicate the complex bond between Mr. Tripp and his parrot." As a result, he maintained that Jackson might suffer digestive issues and possibly even the onset of unspecified diseases if he were taken away from the cat killer. 

"If I could ask the bird, it would probably say he likes living with Mr. Tripp," Priestley readily conceded according to the ABC. Other than gaining that concession from the judge, all that Marshall's blowing and whining succeeded in accomplishing was to once again demonstrate writ large that all bird-lovers stick together like congealed feces and therefore can always be counted upon to come to the defense of the criminals in their midst no matter how many offenses they have committed against cats and their owners.

Being little more than hate-filled liars and criminals, none of the testimony that they render in court has so much as an ounce of veracity and, to his credit, Priestley possessed enough intelligence to recognize that. He accordingly proceeded to dash Tripp's and Bianchino's euphoria by ruling that the detrimental effects of ordering the forfeiture of Jackson were "overstated."

"While (he) might miss his owner, he isn't going to suffer death as a result," he concluded. In doing so he cited the testimony of an unidentified woman who told the court that she regularly cared for Jackson at least once a year for up to as long as eight weeks at a time while Tripp was out of town.

Since Tripp has repeatedly lied about everything else, it is not the least bit surprising that he also has been considerably less than truthful about his supposedly great love for Jackson. Otherwise he would not fob off his care on others for such extended periods of time.

Presumably, he will be able to regain custody of him once his five-year ban on owning animals expires. If not, he will simply go out and buy another parrot. 

In the meantime, it is entirely possible that Jackson could be residing with one of Tripp's buddies. If such a cozy arrangement does in fact exist, Tripp will be able to not only see Jackson whenever he wishes but also to, in effect, circumvent the court's forfeiture order. Clever, well-connected cretins like him are seldom ever punished by the courts in any meaningful way.

The most bizarre moment during the hearing occurred when Votto testified that Tripp was "sincere and remorseful for his actions" in a written apology to her. By contrast, Hickson had written earlier on change.org that Mango's owners had been left "devastated and traumatized" by his theft and drowning of her.

Unless Tripp paid Votto for her testimony, the only logical conclusion to be drawn from her abrupt change of heart is that Hickson was wrong about her and that she never cared all that much for the beautiful Mango. In the final analysis, what Tripp did to Mango was not only unforgivable but also irremediable regardless of whatever asinine excuses that Rodgers and Priestley may concoct. 

Avian Veterinarian Rob Marshall Wasted No Time in Rallying to Tripp's Side

As far as Tripp's earlier conviction on the animal cruelty charge is concerned, Priestly conceded that there was not any evidence that the defendant had attempted to confirm that Mango was not a feral. Even so, that is putting the matter rather mildly in that Tripp most assuredly knew that she was not homeless given her friendly demeanor, shiny coat, and healthy weight. Most importantly of all, a cat's socio-economic status should not have any bearing whatsoever on either its inalienable right to live or its ability to avail itself of the protections afforded by the anti-cruelty statutes.

Priestley went on to cite Tripp's enthusiasm for killing Mango and his boasting about his foul deed on Facebook. Finally, he noted that "no doubt the cat was frightened" while adroitly avoiding any mention of her suffering and the loss of her life.

He accordingly refused to overturn Tripp's earlier conviction. "I don't accept it's (the loss of Jackson) a reason for there not to record a conviction," he ruled according to the ABC's account. "It's a serious case of  animal cruelty."                                                   

No sooner had those words escaped from his forked tongue than Priestley did a verbal about-face that left little doubt that he never had taken what was done to Mango so much as even halfway seriously. He did so by reducing Tripp's original sentence of twelve-months of intensive correction to twelve-months of community correction.

It is unclear exactly what the difference is between the two except that the latter is a considerably less restrictive type of probation. More than likely it will require Tripp to interrupt his rock n' roll lifestyle in order to pay a visit to his parole officer about once a month.

During those visits, he and the officer will most likely shoot the bull for a few moments, tell a few jokes, and then Tripp will continue on his merry way, all the while laughing up his sleeve at how cleverly he has outfoxed the dimwitted Priestley. It is entirely conceivable that he might even be released early from probation.

Considerable confusion already exists as to the exact length of his probation. For example, the ABC reported on October 25th that it was for only nine months while on February 8th it maintained that it was for a full twelve months. Furthermore, both articles were written by Claudia Jambor but she has not made any effort to reconcile that glaring discrepancy.

Moreover, her February 8th effort fails to make any mention of the one-hundred hours of community service that Rodgers earlier had ordered Tripp to complete. Likewise, neither article makes any mention of Tripp having been either fined or ordered to pay for the cost of his two hearings. The more that the matter is delved into, the sweeter the deals look that he was given by Rodgers and Priestley.

In a feeble attempt to justify his reduction of Tripp's sentence, Priestley accepted Rodgers' nonsense chapter and verse. First of all, he ludicrously asserted with a calloused heart and a head like a rock that Tripp was a "law-abiding man with an interest in conserving wildlife." If he truly believes such balderdash, it is safe to conclude that he would not recognize a criminal if one were to stab him in the ass with a dagger.

Much more to the point, Tripp's allegedly clean record does not prove nearly as much as the beastly Priestley would have the world to believe. For instance, knowledgeable individuals fully realize that the biggest and most successful lawbreakers in the world are those that are never caught. Like the Biden clan, they simply either hide behind their positions and wealth or they are too slick to ever be apprehended.

Besides, even when they are exposed for what they are, they are able to afford skilled lawyers in order to pull all the right strings for them. As the legal  eagles are fond of intoning, a defendant is innocent until proven broke.

Mango Never Received an Ounce of Justice in Either Life or Death

Secondly, he cited Tripp's early guilty plea without even bothering to acknowledge that he almost immediately retracted it. Thirdly, Priestley stubbornly insisted upon citing his remorse which even Warren was able to have seen through as a cruel sham.

Fourthly, Priestley took note of his character references. In that regard, he surely could not possibly be so stupid as to have expected Bianchino to have called any of Tripp's detractors to the witness stand.

In spite of all the nonsense that percolates throughout Priestley's dishonest gourd, none of those considerations are in any way relevant. Tripp committed the foul deed and he accordingly should have been punished to the fullest extent of the law, which even then would have been a woefully inadequate five years behind bars.

Stenches-of-the-bench such as Priestley and Rodgers need to be stripped of their discretion in sentencing. The job of judges is to mete out punishment and not to excuse the rich, famous, and well-connected from obeying the law and that most definitely should include the anti-cruelty statutes.

Neither Tripp nor Bianchino have publicly announced if they plan on continuing their fight with yet still another appeal but it would not be the least bit out of character if they chose to go that route. Tripp has plenty of money and nothing but time, and blood, on his hands.

 Most horrendous of all, he is once again free to resume stealing and murdering cats. He may cool his killing hands until he is released from probation but after that it will be business as usual for him.

The only thing that will change is that in the future he will not be doing any bragging on Facebook or exhibiting the corpses of his victims on his lawn. Not only is there not anything to deter him but he now has the stamps of approval from two judges to continue to indulge in his passion for shedding feline blood.

It was quite a spectacle that Priestley, Rodgers, Schlieger, and Bianchino put on during the course of these two trials but that was all that it was from start to finish. None of these charlatans had so much as a scintilla of justice to dispense to Mango and by choosing to have behaved in such a disgraceful manner they have heaped nothing but scorn and derision upon Australia's already laughingstock of a judicial system.

Most deplorable of all, the innocent victim of Tripp's repulsive crime has been totally forgotten. With the notable exceptions of Hickson and the Animal Justice Party, absolutely nobody, including even Votto, has been willing to even speak up for either Mango's inalienable right to live or to demand justice for her.

The perennial cat defamers and haters at Rupert Murdoch's scurrilous network, the ABC, have not even been willing to broach the subject of what as done with her remains. She, like millions of other cats that the despicable Australians have murdered in recent years, never counted for anything in either life or death.

Photos: The Industry Observer (Tripp and Jackson), Facebook (Tripp's confession and Mango by herself). change.org (another one of Tripp's victims), and The Pigeon Insider (Marshall).