David Beckmann is in a little bit of trouble. The sixty-three year old Chicago man is currently being charged with three counts of harassment by telephone, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of drug possession, two counts of battery, and attempted indecent solicitation of a child. Not to mention, facing a charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty for allegedly having sex with and murdering his pet peacock “Phyl”. Yes, he had sex with his pet peacock. And yes, the peacock’s name is “Phyl”.

Due to the sensitive nature of this case, the release of information regarding all the allegations involving the child have been withheld and are shrouded in mystery. All we really know, based on pure speculation, is that Mr. Beckmann was high on meth when he attempted to proposition an underage kid for sexual relations, and more than likely, was rejected by the boy, leading the boy to confide the incident to a trusted adult which then led to a heated confrontation between that adult and Mr. Beckmann. When the cops were called during this altercation between the two adults, a bag of meth and a glass pipe were found in Mr. Beckmann’s pocket. Beckmann was booked in jail and then later released. Upon his release, Mr. Beckmann made repeated calls to the boy’s house accusing the boy of lying about the incident and threatened the boy and his family with violence if they talked to investigators.

Apparently there were no witnesses in the incident between Mr. Beckmann and the boy, meaning all the evidence is derived from the boy’s testimony of the incident, subsequently if the boy decides to change his story the attempted indecent solicitation of a child charges would be dropped.

So what about the peacock? How does he fit in to all of this? Was his murder premeditated?

There are a few theories floating around regarding the untimely murder of the majestic bird.

First lets look at the facts. Mr. Beckmann has owned the peacock for a few years, the peacock is male and his name is Phyl. Honestly, I’m not sure how to pronounce “Phyl”. Is “Phyl” pronounced like “Phil” ? Or is it pronounced like “File”, like in peda-phile?

Interesting.

A week ago while investigating the case of indecent solicitation of a child, detectives witnessed the bird alive and well inside Mr. Beckmann’s residents. When they returned to Mr. Beckmann’s a few days later for a follow-up visit they found the bird dead from unknown causes. After a formal autopsy, forensic investigators determined that the peacock was involved in sexual relations with a human and ruled that asphyxiation by strangulation was the cause of death. After Mr. Beckmann’s DNA was found in and on the peacock police arrested and charged Mr. Beckmann with misdemeanor animal cruelty and booked him in at DuPage County Jail on $10,000 bond. 

A possible erotic asphyxiation gone wrong between Mr. Beckmann and his Bird? And if so, is it just a coincidence that it happened while Mr. Beckann is under investigation for an unrelated crime?

Or was there a premeditated motive to kill Phyl? Were these two cases related in some way? Perhaps the notion that Phyl knew something about the incident between the underage boy and Mr. Beckmann, and was intending on talking to the police? Can peacocks really talk?

One theory suggests that there was a rift in Phyl and Mr. Beckmann’s relationship due to the fact that Mr. Beckmann began to proposition underage children and was losing interest in Phyl. According to a local theorist, and a peacock can talk believer, “Phyl was probably following Beckmann that day because he was growing jealous of Beckmann’s growing attraction to youngsters. He probably saw the whole thing. And didn’t like what he saw. Peacocks are loud if they talk, they talk loud.” He goes on,”I bet Phyl confronted him and threatened that he was going to the police if doesn’t stop with the little kids, but Beckmann wasn’t going to let that happened, and gave it to him. More ways then one so to speak.”

Another theory suggests that the incidences are unrelated, and unfortunately for Beckmann, happened at the same time. A lead investigator told reporters,” I don’t see any connection in the two cases. No evidence that joins them. David Beckmann likes to have sex with pet peacocks and is an aspiring pedaphile. Birds don’t talk so I don’t see motive to kill the bird. There is no love triangle at play here. Honestly, I think he got a little rough with the bird. God almighty.” 

The investigation is on going. Stay tuned…

***This is a dramatization based on true events. It isn’t clear if Mr. Beckmann is really into Erotic asphyxiation with peacocks. For the full, dry, and more accurate story check out: NBC Chicago