Cockatoo key to catching killer

A pet cockatoo that was killed while trying to protect its owner from an attacker produced evidence crucial in convicting the man’s murderer.

Kevin Butler’s 18 inch white-crested cockatoo, named Bird, flew at Daniel Torres during the Christmas Eve 2001 attack and pecked him on the head, drawing blood.

Torres wiped the blood and then touched a light switch, leaving his DNA at the crime scene, said prosecutors in Dallas, Texas.

His DNA was also found on the handles of two knives used to attack Butler, prosecutor George West told jurors.

According to testimony, Butler was stabbed in the chest and abdomen, his throat was slashed and he suffered a brutal beating.

Torres was yesterday convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison for Butler’s murder.

“This bird spoke; he spoke to us,” West told jurors. ”We know this bird will attack anybody who is attacking his owner. And who did he attack? Daniel Torres.”

Torres had said in a confession that he stabbed the bird with a fork because it pecked him “all over my head.”

However, from the witness box, he denied the account and blamed the crime on his half-brother, who is to stand trial later.