Currently, there is speculation in the news media that the murder of Julia James was the result of a botched attempt to steal her Jack Russell dog because there have been reports emanating from that area of violent attempts to steal dogs as part of the UK’s surge in dog thefts due to their increased value as a result of the coronavirus lockdowns resulting in many more (2m) adoptions at these times.
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Speciesism - 'them and us' | Cruelty - always shameful