Comments on: New Murder Theory: Killed By Owl?

By: Phil in the Atl

Phil in the Atl — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:12:14 +0000

From Wikipedia re: Great horned owls (Bubo virginianus):

Individuals range in length from 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 inches) and have a wingspan of 101 to 153 cm (40 to 60.5 inches). An average Great Horned Owl is 55 cm (22 inches) long, has a wingspan of 124 cm (49 inches) and weighs about 1400 grams (3.1 lbs).

I believe it very possible (perhaps even likely, absent any knowledge of the husband’s motives or lack thereof) that an owl could have killed her, a 3 pound bird, diving from a treetop – a small bag of sugar weighs 2 lbs., imagine someone tossing one from the rooftop at your cranium.

I’ve seen these owls and they are huge and can well imagine that a small person could be handily dispatched by a 3 pound owl driving its sharp talons and/or beak into the back of the person’s skull, especially if the victims’ blood was thinned by alcohol and/or blood thinning drugs.

I once witnessed a hawk dive on a rabbit in a field – when he hit it, there was quite a resounding, audible “THUMP” as if all the creature’s bones had been crushed, the sound of a large weight impacting the ground.

I don’t understand why everyone seems to summarily dismiss the chance as it seems well within the realm of possibility that such happened. Did the crime scene investigation turn up any stray feathers? Any spots of blood on the ground? Even without such obvious clues, I’d hold it possible.

By: Alton Higgins

Alton Higgins — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:42:52 +0000

What I remember hearing is that claws penetrated the skull. Great Horned Owls have industrial-strength feet and if you’ve ever examined their claws, you can easily imagine such a scenario.

By: owly

owly — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:56:36 +0000

The most likely culprit would be a territorial great horned owl defending it’s nesting area. Along with goshawks they are most likely to attack humans in defense of their nesting area. They are powerful and have sharp claws and can get someone pretty bloody but killing someone outright is definitely a stretch.
I could imagine a scenario in which the owl attack stressed the victim to the point where they had a heart attack, stroke, etc. leading to mortality.

By: Alton Higgins

Alton Higgins — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:02:27 +0000

I remember hearing in one of my wildlife classes (back in the ’70s) that the Great Horned Owl had been known to kill humans. However, I doubt that such behavior can or should be characterized as “aggressive” in nature.

By: Carl Olsen

Carl Olsen — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:40:00 +0000

I can’t believe an owl could kill a reasonably healthy human. The barred owl (pictured above) is actually fairly small, though one did meet its maker flying into the windshield of my truck (in the middle of the afternoon, by the way) so they may well be aggressive, though definitely not very “wise”.

By: CamperGuy

CamperGuy — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:37:16 +0000

Though improbable an owl is the murderer in this case isn’t it possible an owl can indeed kill a human?
Doesn’t an owl dive at its prey clenching its talons to make “small fists” to stun and crush bone of the prey? I think it possible though unlikely.

By: DaFt

DaFt — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:54:13 +0000

I was just reading about this on the news the other day
The theory was that the owl attacked her outside, (there was blood on the outside of the door, presumably from her entering the house) and then she presumably passed out and bled to death once inside.
Pretty neat, but farfetched theory, especially since he lost another wife in Germany with similar wounds. Not to mention that the wounds matched a uniquely shaped poker found in the house.
I think this one can be logged as mis-placed loyalty by a friend that couldn’t believe he did it.
article here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1085443.html

By: Rogutaan

Rogutaan — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:43:35 +0000

I dunno the whole story, but if she was found at the foot of the stairs, perhaps an owl may have attacked and she fell down the stairs?

Still doesn’t explain how the owl got in and out though…

By: kittycatbandit

kittycatbandit — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:13:07 +0000

I’ve worked at a raptor rescue center for a year and a half now, and I feed the owls weekly. I’ve been attacked a couple of times, but seriously…it would take an owl about 30 minutes to kill a human, if not more. Who’s going to sit back for 30 minutes while an owl mauls them? Nobody! What a crock…

By: Tengu

Tengu — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:31:04 +0000

Blast! I cant remember the name of the guy.
GB ornithologist who was observing owls, one went for him and pecked him in the eye, which later had to be removed due to infection.

He wore a fencing mask after that.

(He wrote a book called `an eye for a bird` if you can be bothered to look him up)

In Mors Korhanskis book `Bushcraft` he cautions on using a wounded animal call `You may get attacked by a hawk or owl`

This is a very far fetched story but I wont say impossible