Can a talking parrot be a murder witness?
A murder case in Michigan took a bizarre turn when the victim’s family suggested his pet parrot might have been an eyewitness to the crime and is able to recount what he saw and heard, according to local media.
Murder victim Martin Duram’s family believes Bud, an African grey parrot, has been reenacting a chilling exchange that occurred just before Duram was fatally shot in his Ensley Township home in May 2015.
“That bird picks up everything and anything, and it’s got the filthiest mouth around,” the victim’s mother, Lillian Duram, told NBC affiliate WOOD-TV.
The family says a video recorded weeks after the murder shows Bud reenacting an argument between Duram and his wife that they believe led to the shooting. In the video, the bird alternates between high- and low-pitched voices before uttering, “Don’t f***ing shoot.”
The 45-year-old was found dead on-site. His wife, Glenna Duram, 46, was found with a shotgun wound to the head, which she survived.
Now, because of the bird’s repeated reenactments, the victim’s parents tell local media they have reason to believe Glenna Duram killed their son before turning the gun on herself in a murder-suicide attempt. They believe the bird is repeating their son’s last words as he begged his wife not to pull the trigger.
In police reports obtained by WOOD-TV, Michigan State Police say Glenna Duram is a suspect and that she denies killing her husband. She also left suicide notes for family members that she does not recall writing, according to the reports.
His family thinks the parrot’s low- and high-pitched voices correspond with their son and daughter-in-law, respectively.
“Then, all of a sudden, this came out of the bird’s mouth,” the victim’s father, Charles Duram, told local ABC station WABC, referring to the shooting comment. “I personally think he was there and he remembers it, and he was saying it.”
Doreen Plotkowski, the owner of Casa La Parrot in Grand Rapids, told WABC it is not uncommon for African grey parrots to mimic men’s and women’s voices.
“It’s definitely an argument between a man and a woman,” Plotkowski said to the station. “In my mind, it’s something that he’s heard, definitely heard before.”
But plenty of people have been skeptical of the family’s story.
Glenn Reynolds, a spokesperson for the World Parrot Trust, a conservation and welfare organization, said it is extremely rare, though not impossible, for a parrot to hear something once and then repeat it.
“An African grey is probably the best at it,” he told Yahoo News. “I just think it’s highly unlikely that the bird would say that after hearing it one time.”
Reynolds, who used to breed parrots, said his wild-caught African greys didn’t pick up any speech patterns at all, but that those he raised were incredible talkers.
“I have heard them mimic voices that were so close to the person’s voice that you would think it’s that person,” he said. “A friend of mine had an African grey for many years. When the phone rang, the parrot would say, “Chris, telephone” in his mother’s voice and, “OK, I got it” in Chris’s.”
A representative from Michigan State Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
