A Michigan woman was convicted of her husband’s murder after their pet parrot repeated what was believed to be the man’s last words. Glenna Duram killed Martin Duram at their home in 2015. He had been shot five times with a .22 caliber handgun. While Glenna herself also had a single gunshot wound, she was no victim.
Instead, police believe the wound came from a failed suicide attempt. Officers responded to the couple’s home after a neighbor became worried because she hadn’t heard from them. Martin and Glenna Duram had been married for 11 years and spoke to the neighbor daily. When that neighbor entered the couple’s home, she found their bodies and called 911.
Sgt. Gary Wilson was the first to respond to the scene. He checked Glenna and Martin’s pulses. Martin was dead, sadly. However, when he touched Glenna to check her pulse, she woke up. Wilson said her eyes flew open adn she flinched before asking, “What are you doing?”
Glenna Duram wasn’t convicted of Martin’s murder until two years later. The Detroit News reports that financial troubles may have been behind the shooting. Glenna also had a gambling problem that made things worse. While the murder weapon, a Ruger Single-Six, was found under the loveseat, that wasn’t enough to convict Glenna. That would come down to their pet parrot.
Bud the parrot would cast doubt on Glenna Duram’s innocence
Martin Duram’s ex-wife, Christina Keller, took Bud the parrot after he died. However, it started repeating an eerie phrase: “Don’t f****** shoot!”
Keller told “As It Happens” that she was sure this wasn’t coincidental. She believed instead that those were Martin’s last words before Glenna shot him. The parrot even imitated Martin’s terrified tone of voice when repeating the phrase. She alerted the police, who realized Keller might be right.
While the parrot was never used in court proceedings, Newago County Prosecutor Robert Springstead said there was “some evidence to support” the idea that Bud was repeating Martin’s last words.
Ultimately, Bud’s “testimony” wasn’t needed to get Glenna Duram convicted of her husband’s murder. She’s serving a life sentence in Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Michigan. She appealed her case in 2019 but the Supreme Court announced in 2020 she would not be allowed a new trial.
