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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Man Found Dead, Naked Inside Owl Cage
2007-03-22
A scantily clad, 32-year-old man was found dead early Monday in a pool of blood in an owl cage at the Moscow Zoo. A bird keeper at the zoo found the man, Alexander Luparev at about 10 a.m., lying in the cage, which is home to a Siberina long-tailed tawny owl. Luparev, who fixed gas pipes for a living, was wearing only boxer shorts.
I really don't want to know
Vladimir Zdorenko, deputy prosecutor at the Presnenskaya interdistrict prosecutor's office, said it was not clear what killed the man --‑blood loss from a blow to the head, or freezing to death.
Luparev's clothes were strewn across the concrete base of the cage. Also found were his documents, an undisclosed amount of money, and a half-empty, one-liter bottle of vodka.
CSI Moscow is on the case. Right after they finish the vodka
Sometime after midnight, Luparev climbed the gates of the staff entrance of the zoo, which is on Krasnaya Presnya Ulitsa, opposite the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station, prosecutors believe. Luparev is believed to have been drunk.
He was Russian, of course he was drunk.
He then made his way through the zoo and entered the unlocked owl cage via an unguarded staff entrance. That part of the zoo is not open to visitors. The owl is moved to a display cage during the summer.

At this point, no one quite knows what happened. Luparev apparently hit his head on the ground -- possibly following an altercation with the owl -- and fell unconscious.
The owl, in the cage, with the vodka bottle
He is believed to have died between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. The owl, which flew out of its cage after the incident, was found perched in a tree next door to the zoo Tuesday evening.
Flew the coop, did he?
"The owl is still in a state of shock," zoo spokeswoman Natalya Istratova said Wednesday. She added that the owl was not eating or drinking and that she feared for its life.
"We asked him about Mr.Luparev, but he just keeps saying "Who?""
Istratova declined to name the bird keeper who found Luparev. "She hasn't stopped crying," she said.
She? First one to find the naked man's body, huh? In an area she has free access to, huh? Can't stop crying, huh? Hummmm...
Posted by:Steve

#14  You knew a bottle of vodka was going to show up somewhere in this story.
Posted by: Canaveraldan   2007-03-22 20:01  

#13  Shipman . . . you don't want to do this, son. Now put the owl away and we can talk about this, OK?
Posted by: Mike   2007-03-22 16:57  

#12  rick james "cocaine is a hellluva drug"
Posted by: sinse   2007-03-22 16:39  

#11  Looks like Mike is gonna have to die.
Posted by: Shipman   2007-03-22 16:15  

#10  At least he had the wit to woo.
Posted by: Grunter   2007-03-22 15:24  

#9  Who gives a hoot?
Posted by: Zenster   2007-03-22 14:59  

#8  I really don't want to know

Got that right!
Posted by: mojo   2007-03-22 14:51  

#7  sure this guy wasn't interviewing for a job with the Isreali diplomatic corps?
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-03-22 14:37  

#6  
Bad Hedwig! Bad!
Owl went postal?
Posted by: Korora   2007-03-22 12:28  

#5  The owls are not what they seem, you know.
Posted by: Log Lady   2007-03-22 12:02  

#4  Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-03-22 11:53  

#3  Bad Hedwig! Bad!
Posted by: eLarson   2007-03-22 09:47  

#2  The owl did it. Hang it from a lamp post.
Posted by: Sneaze   2007-03-22 09:26  

#1  A classic whoooooo-dunit mystery.
Posted by: Mike   2007-03-22 09:22  

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