'Don't f***ing shoot:' Parrot could be witness in murder trial



SAND LAKE, Mich. -- A murder case in Michigan has taken a bizarre twist: the victim's parrot was recorded repeating words that the man's family believes it heard just before their son was shot dead.

The victim's wife, who was also shot, survived and is now a suspect.

Authorities say the bird mimicked both Duram and his wife Glenna, according to Michigan State Police reports obtained by WOOD-TV.

Durham's family says they took video of Bud several weeks after Duram was shot.

"Don't f---ing shoot," the bird said.

"I personally think he was there and he remembers it and he was saying it," said the victim's father Charles Duram.

Police reports show that a witness asked police whether they could use the bird as evidence.

Bird expert Doreen Plotkowski says it's common for African Grey Parrots to mimic human voices.

State police identified the wife as a suspect in a murder-attempted suicide, suggesting she shot him five times before turning the gun on herself.

They say she left three suicide notes and say the gun belonged to the family.

But in an interview with police after she recovered, she denied killing him, saying she remembered nothing until she was in the hospital.

The prosecutor in the case said he plans to make a charging decision in the next several weeks.