After repeating what was thought to be the victim’s “last words,” a parrot was considered an unlikely “key witness” in a murder trial.
Martin Duram was shot five times with a.22 caliber handgun in his Michigan home in May 2015.
Glenna, his wife, was discovered alongside him, alive but with a single gunshot wound, which prosecutors later determined was the result of a failed suicide attempt.
After not hearing from the couple, who had been together for 11 years, for two days, their neighbor became concerned, testifying in court about how they normally spoke daily. She eventually entered the house and discovered both of their bodies on the bedroom floor, initially believing they were both dead until authorities arrived and discovered Glenna was still breathing.
Sgt. Gary Wilson, who went to check Glenna’s pulse, told the court that when he touched her, her eyes flew open and her body jerked, prompting her to ask, “What are you doing?”
Glenna was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in Newaygo County, Michigan, two years later after eight hours of deliberation.
According to The Detroit News, police reports revealed that the couple had been having financial difficulties prior to the shooting, which had been exacerbated by Glenna’s gambling habit.
Under the love seat, investigators discovered the murder weapon, a Ruger Single-Six.
But there was something else that also almost became a key piece of evidence: a parrot.
After Martin’s death, his ex-wife Christina Keller took in his pet parrot Bud, and noticed that it started repeating the phrase ‘Don’t [expletive] shoot’ in his voice.
“I think it’s a piece of the puzzle,” Keller told As It Happens.
“I think it’s possible last words.
“I truly believe, with all my heart, most of that comes from that night.”
After it sent chills down her spine, Keller decided to record the parrot’s unusual phrase.
“It terrified me,” she said.
“I hear screaming, yelling and fear.”
The parrot was not used in court, but it was considered by the prosecution, with Newago County Prosecutor Robert Springstead saying at the time that “there’s some evidence to support” Keller’s theory.
“I read the police report,” Keller added. ‘You need to talk to that bird,’ said four neighbors.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how smart Bud is and how many people believed he saw this.”
Glenna’s request for a new trial was denied by the state’s Court of Appeals in 2019, claiming that prosecutors violated her rights by using data extracted from cellphones as evidence in the case.
The Supreme Court denied her request to appeal the decision the following year, stating that it was ‘not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court’.
Glenna is currently serving a life sentence in the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan, according to The Cinemaholic.
Leave a Reply