Why Is This Parrot Laughing?

There's nothing funny about this. Really, the Captain isn't kidding here. You should skip this post if you're not hungry for a heavy dose of Bringdown.

ST. GEORGE -- A 98-year-old woman who died Tuesday was being neglected by her primary caregiver, her 60-year-old daughter, police said.

Police were summoned by EMS workers to the East George Street home of Anne Copeland about 6:20 p.m. Monday. The elderly woman was lying in a soiled bed, said St. George Police Lt. Eric Bonnette, commander of the detective division. She had numerous sores, he said.

[...]

"It was cold, but a window in her room was open to let out the smell of the rotting flesh," Bonnette said. Several of her bed sores were open and one on her hip was so bad it had matted to the bedding.

[...]

There were seven dogs and several cats in the house. There also was a parrot, whose mimicry gave Bonnette a chill when he heard it.

"The parrot was mimicking, 'Help me. Help me.' Then he would laugh," Bonnette said.

"We think he was mimicking the mother when he said, 'Help me. Help me,' and mimicking the daughter when he laughed."

[Post and Courier]