After a woman and her dog were found slaughtered in their home with no witnesses to the crime, Police wondered if they'd ever be able to catch the criminals responsible.
Journalist Vijay Sharma returned home one day to discover his 45-year-old wife and pet dog had been killed. The only one left alive was his pet parrot, now nick-names Hercule, who had been stunned into silence.
A devastated Mr Sharma thought he would never bring those responsible to justice, until his nephew Ashutosh popped round.
'The parrot that was unusually quiet suddenly started shrieking and flapping around the cage,' said the newspaper editor from Uttar Pradesh, India.
'It was clearly distressed about something and only calmed down when Ashutosh left.'
Mr Sharma added whenever he mentioned Ahutosh's name the parrot would start screeching, which made him suspicious.
After calling the police based on the parrot's reactions, they checked Ashutosh's phone records and discovered the gruesome truth.
'He said that he had gone with a friend to his uncle's house with the intention of stealing and was surprised by his aunt, who they had killed because they were worried she would have identified them to police,' said police spokesman Shalabh Mathur.
The nephew had robbed his uncle's house before fleeing the scene.
'He admitted he has also killed the dog, thinking it could be used in an identity parade against him, but had not thought about killing the parrot.'