Parrot who “heard victim’s last words” to give evidence at trial of two men who allegedly raped and murdered her
A 46-year-old Argentine woman, Elizabeth Toledo was raped and murdered in the city of San Fernando in December of 2018.
Elizabeth’s body was discovered naked on a mattress on the floor in an apartment in Buenos Aires, next to her parrot.
As part of the evidence filed in the case last week, the police recorded a statement from a police officer who said he heard the Toledo parrot shortly after the killing saying no, Por favour, soltame!” (“No, please, let me go”), Clarin reports.
The police believe the parrot was repeating its owner’s last words as she was allegedly beaten and raped by two housemates.
The officer had been standing guard outside the murder scene when he heard what sounded like a woman screaming inside. He looked inside the apartment – but only found Toledo’s naked and bruised body lying on a mattress on the floor, along with the green parrot in a cage.
Evidence also includes witness testimony from a neighbour who claimed to have seen the parrot repeat the trick on a different occasion.
That witness told police that the parrot once said ‘por qué me pegaste?’ (why did you hit me?) after one of the men hit Toledo.
51-year-old Miguel Saturnino Rolon and 62-year-old Jorge Raul Alvarez are on trial for the rape and murder of 46-year-old Elizabeth Toledo in Buenos Aires in 2018.
Head prosecutor Bibiana Santella has reportedly included the parrot’s ‘testimony’ in the case file. Other evidence includes a bite mark from the victim’s forearm which they say matches the bite of Rolon’s teeth ‘like a fingerprint’.
Meanwhile DNA evidence found on Toledo’s body will link Alvarez to the rape and killing, they allege. An autopsy showed that the victim has been beaten, raped, and strangled to death, according to Clarin.
Ms Toledo rented a room to three men in the same house. Her housemates Miguel Saturnino Rolon and Jorge Raul Alvarez are the two who have been arrested in connection with the homicide.
The third housemate was also arrested, but he was not at home when the alleged incident occurred. The trial’s start date is yet to be revealed.
