Martin Durham was murdered in his Michigan home, shot five times with a .22-caliber handgun.
His wife Glenna was found next to him, alive but with a single gunshot wound, which prosecutors later said was a sign of a failed suicide attempt.
According to the investigation, Glenna, 47, fired five bullets at her husband before attempting to shoot herself.
A jury found Glenna guilty of premeditated murder.
A jaco parrot named Bud, which was eventually owned by the deceased’s previous wife, Christine Keller, repeatedly repeated the phrase «Don’t shoot!» in his former owner’s voice, accompanied by profanity.
Their neighbor became concerned after the couple, who had been together for 11 years, didn’t appear outside for two days. According to the neighbor, they used to meet outside and talk every day. Eventually she entered the house and found their bodies on the bedroom floor. She thought they were both dead and immediately called the police.
Sergeant Gary Wilson, who went to check Glenna’s pulse, told the court how when he touched her, her eyes widened and her body twitched. That’s when she said: «What are you doing?»
The woman’s self-inflicted head wound on that fateful day in May was not life-threatening.
Christine Keller, the deceased’s former wife, notes that the bird repeated Martin’s last words many times.
Martin’s parents confirmed that the jaco never misses an opportunity to reproduce human speech, not shying away from strong expressions either.
«I think he’s been there, remembered what was said, and repeats it,» said the dead man’s father.
«This bird picks up everything indiscriminately and swears like a cabby,» Martin’s mother Lillian Durham confirmed.
Keller decided to record the parrot’s unusual phrase.
«It terrified me,» she said.
«I hear screaming, yelling and fear.»
The parrot did not end up being used in court proceedings, but was initially considered as an option by prosecution, with Newago County Prosecutor Robert Springstead saying at the time that ‘there’s some evidence to support’ Keller’s theory.
The parrot did not end up being used in court proceedings, but was initially considered as an option by prosecution, with Newago County Prosecutor Robert Springstead saying at the time that ‘there’s some evidence to support’ Keller’s theory.
Keller added: «I looked through the police report. About four neighbours said, ‘You need to talk to that bird.’
«I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how intelligent Bud is and how much people believed that he witnessed this.»
Police reports revealed how the couple had been experiencing financial troubles in the lead-up to the shooting, which had been exacerbated by Glenna’s gambling habit.
Investigators had found the murder weapon – a Ruger Single-Six, under the armchair.
Glenna is currently serving a life sentence in Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan.
