Foul-Mouthed, Tell-All Parrot Didn’t Have To Testify In Michigan Murder Trial: Video

A western Michigan woman whose foul-mouthed African Grey Parrot offered damaging information about her husband’s murder was convicted Wednesday in what investigators said was a botched murder-suicide. A Newaygo County jury deliberated for about eight hours before finding Glenna Duram, 49, guilty of first-degree murder in the May 2015 death of her husband, 46-year-old Martin Duram.

Duram shot her husband five times before shooting herself in the head, according to investigators, who initially thought she was a crime victim. But then, the parrot Bud began to sing like a canary, repeating what Martin Duram’s family said was an expletive-punctuated, final plea for his life.

"Don’t (expletive) shoot me,” the foul-mouthed parrot reportedly squawked on a video Martin Duram’s survivors recorded several weeks after the shooting in the couple’s Sand Lake, Michigan, home. They said the bird had been repeating it and other suspicious phrases, mimicking Martin Duram’s voice. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Grand Rapids Patch,or click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also,if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Warning: Video Contains Profanity

In the end, the bird’s words were unnecessary. Newaygo County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Springstead assembled a case against Glenna Duram that didn’t require the keenly observant bird to take the stand, though early in the investigation there was widespread speculation about whether a parrot could be considered a credible eyewitness.

The jokes practically wrote themselves, and even Springstead wondered how a judge would swear in a parrot. Would Bud be asked: “Are you raising a wing? A foot?” Springstead mused.

“It’s an interesting novelty, and it’s been a great opportunity for me to learn about African parrots,” Springstead told the Detroit Free Press last year. “It’s something we are going to be looking at to determine if it’s reliable to use or if it is information we need to prosecute this case.”

Investigators found three suicide notes Duram had left, including one to her ex-husband and one to each of her two children, as well as financial records that helped them establish motive. The couple struggled financially, their problems exacerbated by Glenna Duram’s gambling, and they quarreled frequently about money, according to court records.

The investigation into the murder was filled with unusual plot twists. Police even interviewed a local psychic, Fran Falan, who is married to one of Marty Duram’s cousins. She told police to look under a love seat in the couple’s living room, where the murder weapon was found. Falan also thought Glenna Duram was innocent, putting her at odds with her husband’s family, The Detroit News reported.

The spat spilled over to social media and a probate hearing to divvy up Marty Duram’s possessions. Falan told investigators that a death threat arrived on an arrow she found propped against her home. The note read: “Your (sic) next.”

There’s no precedent for parrot testimony in court, though a defense attorney in a 1993 North Carolina murder trial tried to persuade a judge to allow an African Grey’s testimony the lawyer said would clear his client.

African Grey Parrots are freaky smart. National Geographic said the species is “uncannily good at mimicking human speech.”

Photo by badruddeen licensed under Flickr Commons