At times, we’ve heard of small children who have played witness to a brutal murder, but it’s certainly not every day that you hear of a pet parrot helping to crack open a homicide case.
This video posted by Inside Edition shares the news story of how the 2015 murder of a Michigan man was solved in the weeks that followed his shooting due to a pet parrot who began squawking in voices that depicted what happened that day.
The parrot belonged to the murder victim, 45-year-old Marty Duram, who was found shot to death inside his residence outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. Also on the scene was Duram’s wife, Glenna Duram, who was found injured with a gunshot wound to the head.
According to reports, initially Glenna was thought to be another victim of a brutal crime, but when Marty’s pet bird, an African grey parrot named Bud, began squawking what sounded like a reenactment of the murder, the events of that day seemed to come to light.
After Marty’s death, Bud was sent to live with his ex-wife, Christina Keller, who heard Bud’s squawks and mimics for herself.
“I felt it. I literally felt what the bird was going through,” she explains.
According to Inside Edition, African grey parrots are known to be an extremely intelligent bird species and can be quite good at “mimicking human speech.” This type of parrot can also be sensitive to traumatic events.
Prosecutors reported that following an investigation, Glenna Duram was charged with and convicted of the murder of her husband, whom she shot five times before turning the gun on herself in a failed suicide attempt.
To learn about the possible reasons why the accused shot her husband that day, watch the full video shared by Inside Edition.