Talkative Parrot May Be Used as Evidence in Murder Trial

An African grey parrot named Bud may get its day in court after all. Fox 17 reports Glenna Duram was charged with first-degree murder Thursday in her husband Martin Duram's May 2015 death. Martin's family has claimed that his parrot Bud likely witnessed the murder. After Martin was killed, Bud went to live with Duram's ex-wife Christian Keller and “started going into rants … screaming, yelling.” Those rants always ended the same way: "Don't f---ing shoot." “I believe with all my heart that those are pretty close to the last words of Marty," Keller says. According to WOOD, the prosecutor in the case hasn't said whether he plans to submit the parrot—which mimics a male and female voice in an argument—as evidence in the murder case.

Both Martin and Glenna were found shot in their Sand Lake, Mich., home. Martin had been shot five times, including once in the head. Glenna had also been shot in the head, nearly dying, WZZM reports. In fact, investigators were at the crime scene for an hour before they realized she was alive. Police were unable to interview Glenna for months while she recovered. They eventually charged her based on interviews with her and letters she wrote to her family. "No matter what happens I lose," Martin's father Charles tells Fox. "I lost a son, and I’m going to lose a daughter-in-law. But when I wake up in the morning, my wife ain’t crying and asking for justice. I can live with that." (More parrot stories.)