The peacock is an emblem of pride, arrogance, vanity, and flaunted fashion. These sentiments apply a little less to poor old Phyl, a pet peacock whose owner sexually abused him. The bizarre incident, which ended with Phyl’s body being discovered in the garage of 63-year-old David Beckman, is merely one of many charges the strange man is facing.
Beckman is also facing three charges of harassment by telephone, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of possessing marijuana, and even an attempted indecent solicitation of a child between the ages of 13 and 17, on top of his charge of cruelty to animals – not to mention two counts of battery, as NBC Chicago reported. A real winner, this one.
For the miscellaneous shenanigans, Beckman is being held at DuPage County Jail as of Friday at a $10,000 bond.
The bird, for its part, was discovered last Wednesday, and was a living pet not too long before that, but the details of its tragic end are not being divulged as the story overlaps that of the child whom Beckman solicited. Though how the bird died hasn’t been explained, more of this man’s peculiar story will come out – whether we want it to or not – when he appears in court.
Beckman is due to appear in court on June 12.