Pictured: Mother-of-two who helped run global monkey torture network as more sickening details of her crimes emerge
A sadistic Scottish mother who helped run a barbaric global monkey torture ring can today be unmasked as horrifying new details of her crimes emerge.
Natalie Herron, 39, a mother-of-two from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, was jailed this week for more than two years for her role in a twisted network that paid for the grotesque torture and execution of baby monkeys.
Herron – described by neighbours as a 'marked woman' – acted as an online administrator for the depraved group, which orchestrated unspeakable cruelty against defenceless macaques and even allowed members to vote on how the creatures should die.
She shared hundreds of harrowing videos and images, including scenes where monkeys were crucified, dipped in boiling oil, and attacked with machetes.
One sickening clip showed a terrified monkey being bound tightly with cellotape – footage Herron chillingly described as 'awesome'.
She was sentenced to 27 months in prison after admitting to hoarding and distributing obscene material showing animals being tortured, and for sending threatening and abusive messages promoting the cruelty online.
Airdrie locals have been left horrified by the revelations. One source told The Scottish Sun: 'Natalie can never show her face here again. It won't end well for her if she does.
Sick and twisted messages from a sadistic global monkey torture network asked people to 'be creative' for 'brutal vids' with one saying: 'I wanna see pain, shock, pain, acceptance of fate'. Pictured is some a mock up of some of the messages uncovered by a year-long BBC investigation
'She has always been one for the watching. But nobody could have imagined she could do anything so twisted. It's all that anyone here is talking about.
'She's a marked woman for what she did to those poor babies.'
Herron's crimes came to light after a joint investigation by US law enforcement and the UK's National Crime Agency.
The probe focused on American ringleader Michael McCartney, 51, known online as 'The Torture King', who led the secretive network that operated across Telegram and WhatsApp.
Members of the group paid men in Indonesia to rip long-tailed macaque infants from their mothers and carry out their slow, torturous deaths on camera.
When authorities raided Herron's home in 2022, they discovered 1,084 images and videos of monkey torture on her iPhone.
Police also found 4,000 vile messages in a WhatsApp group where Herron gleefully discussed torture methods and expressed hatred for the animals.
Some of her revolting comments included: 'Oh my God the little b*****d is making my ears bleed,' and 'I am shocked how easily the drill went through the skull, it was like butter.'
In another message, she sought footage where 'they will kill the mum and the babies watch.'
Natalie Herron, 39, took part in online chat groups which encouraged the torture of macaque monkeys by people based in Indonesia
The network, which first surfaced on YouTube before moving to encrypted messaging platforms, was exposed in a BBC investigation.
Group members, many based in the West, claimed the monkeys were pests ruining Indonesian land – a claim that served as a twisted justification for their sadistic desires.
Despite claiming the payments she made to McCartney were simply to 'help him', Herron's involvement went far beyond passive support. She acted as a key facilitator, helping to run the online group and spread the sickening content.
Prosecutors brought charges against her for possessing and distributing obscene material between October 2021 and September 2022, and for causing fear or alarm through her online activities.
At Airdrie Sheriff Court, Herron was handed a landmark sentence – the first in Scotland for animal cruelty committed abroad.
A year-long investigation by the BBC found that hundreds had been paying Indonesians to torture and kill infant long-tailed macaques on video
Her defence solicitor, Nicky Matteo, told the court: 'In all the years I have been practising I have not seen a case like this. It has not been a pleasant experience.
'She has had horrific problems in life and she built up a connection with other group members.
'She was trying to ingratiate herself with other members, it was a false sense of escapism.
'She is no longer the person that was responsible for sending those messages. She recognises the severity of it.'
But Sheriff Derek Livingston made clear the gravity of her crimes, saying: 'The fact you not only joined these groups but then helped to facilitate them only helped to increase the animals' suffering.'
Animal rights groups have welcomed the sentence but warned that the rise of encrypted messaging platforms is making it easier for such networks to operate undetected.
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