Ishita Mishra reports for The Times of India that on Feb. 20, 2014, Neelam Sharma, 45, was found murdered in her home in Agra, India. Her pet dog also was killed.
Neelam is the wife of Vijay, the editor of a Hindi daily newspaper.
Since his wife’s murder, Vijay noticed a change in the behavior of their pet parrot, Hercule, whenever his nephew Ashutosh visited the house.
Hercule, as in Hercule Poirot, the famous detective in Agatha Christie’s novels.
Vijay noted that even when Ashutosh wasn’t visiting, “During discussions too, whenever Ashutosh’s name was mentioned, the parrot would start screeching. This raised my suspicion and I informed the police.”
So the police interrogated Ashutosh — and he confessed.
Agra’s Senior Superintendent of Police Shalabh Mathur told Times of India:
“We checked his [Ashutosh's] call details and took him in custody. He accepted his crime and informed us that he was accompanied by an accomplice. They had entered the house with the intention of taking away cash and other valuables.”
Afraid that his aunt might recognize him, Ashutosh stabbed her as well as the dog when he started barking. But he hadn’t accounted for the parrot who was watching silently.
~Eowyn
