I've never cared for birds as pets, but this might change my mind.
Kevin Butler loved animals of all sorts, and he gladly took in strays and pets that his friends couldn't keep.Now that's a good bird. He may not have saved his owner, but at least he did enough damage to identify the suspect. Posted by Aubrey at February 19, 2003 10:11 AM
His family says it's fitting that his pet cockatoo provided the evidence that helped Dallas police track down the men accused of killing him – one of whom was convicted of capital murder Tuesday and sentenced to life.
A Dallas County jury deliberated less than 25 minutes Tuesday before convicting Daniel Torres of killing his Pleasant Grove neighbor after Mr. Torres and his half-brother went to Mr. Butler's home on Christmas Eve 2001 to settle a disagreement.
"He acquired the bird via a roommate who had to move," said Kathy Butler, the victim's sister. "All of his animals were strays. He treated his pets with love, and in doing so, his pets loved him back, and that was certainly the case here."
Lead prosecutor George West told jurors that the bird – an 18-inch white-crested cockatoo – flew at Mr. Torres in an attempt to aid his owner. The bird, named Bird, helped police obtain enough evidence to get an arrest warrant for Mr. Torres.
Mr. West said that the bird's beak bloodied Mr. Torres' head and that Mr. Torres wiped the blood and then touched a light switch, leaving his DNA at the crime scene.
The prosecutor noted that Mr. Torres' DNA had been found on the handles of two knives used to attack Mr. Butler. One of them was found under the victim's body, Mr. West said.