David Alton Boyken found guilty in Great Falls bird abuse case

MONTANA -- The man accused of nearly beating a talking bird to death last Thanksgiving was found guilty Friday.

David Alton Boyken, of Great Falls, stood trial on one count of felony cruelty to animals. The jury was given the case to deliberate after a one-day trial.

Deputy Cascade County Attorney Ashley Wilkinson summed up her case to the jury during closing arguments, describing the injuries suffered by the bird, named Luby.

“Luby could have died that night,” she said, describing how Boyken pulled out Luby’s flight feathers and broke her leg so severely it had to be amputated.

Wilkinson cited testimony from a veterinary expert who said the injuries were the worst he’d seen to a surviving bird. She also pointed out that Boyken reportedly changed his story multiple times.

“There were only two people in the house that night and only one of them had feathers on them,” she added, referring to the defendant.

Boyken claimed that the bird had been injured by his daughter's two dogs earlier in the day.
A veterinarian testified that such a scenario was unlikely.

The prosecutor asked the veterinarian: "So could the injuries that Loobie sustained be the result of a dog attack?"

The veterinarian replied, "Not in my opinion, no."

Prosecutor: "And why or why not?"

Veterinarian: "Just because of the lack of puncture wounds, and Loobie probably wouldn't have made it out of there alive."
Boyken’s attorney, Carl Jensen, took issue with the trustworthiness of the other person in the residence during the incident, a woman named Sun Walker who was referred to as Boyken’s girlfriend and Luby’s owner. Jensen reminded the jury that Walker did not testify, saying she “didn’t care enough.”

Jensen stood by some of the defense’s theories of how Luby was injured, combining some of them including that the bird bit Boyken and the defendant might have accidentally stepped on Luby. He argued blood found at the scene could have come from Boyken, who had a visible injury on his face.

  

According to the police report, Boyken was “highly intoxicated” upon officers’ arrival. The defense stipulated that Boyken was drunk that day.

The police report states the investigating officer found blood and feathers at the scene and observed the injured bird in its cage. According to court testimony, the vet saw Luby two to four hours after she was injured.

Boyken was convicted in 2011 for slitting a dog's throat. Under Montana law, a first offense is a misdemeanor and subsequent offenses are felonies.

(Great Falls Tribune - Aug 21, 2015)

Earlier:

• Man beats and chokes parrot, breaking its leg. No surprise to find out that this guy's already been convicted of cruelty after slitting a dog's throat