A year ago today, on Friday, December 14, 2012, this innocent female turkey was alive and unaware that on that evening she would be deliberately tortured
to death by members of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity at The University of Kansas in Lawrence who call themselves Men of Principle. Fraternity members rented
her for a party, broke her bones and choked her by the neck until she died on the fraternity porch. She screamed in agony but no one helped her, although
one horrified witness finally called the police.
Since then, United Poultry Concerns has led a campaign urging the Douglas County District Attorney, Charles Branson, to prosecute the offenders under the
Kansas Cruelty to Animals Statute which makes it a crime to intentionally kill, injure, maim, torture or mutilate any vertebrate animal. But despite the
huge public outcry for justice for this bird, the offenders were not penalized, and our effort to obtain documents under the Kansas Open Records Act has
been frustrated as follows: “Your request for the investigatory narrative and all other investigatory materials, including Affidavits, is hereby
denied under the K.S.A. 45-221 (a) (10), the exception for criminal investigation records.”
On Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, Criminal Report No. 02-12-15989, a document which is supposed to be posted on the City of Lawrence Police website, at
lawrenceks.org/police, under Services, came up “Document Not Available.”
We will continue our effort to obtain as much investigative information as possible from the Lawrence, Kansas Police Department under the Kansas Open
Records Act. Today we ask you please to remember this turkey and how she suffered at the hands of the criminals who tortured and killed her for fun one
year ago today, and who got away with their crime. May her soul rest forever in peace, far away from the “Men of Principle” and their
protectors. - UPC.
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Note
: Justin Warren, former Director of Chapter Operations at the Beta Theta Pi Foundation in Ohio, has been replaced by Fred Myrtle, who can be reached at
1-800-800-2382, ext. 266 and by email at Fred.myrtle@betathetapi.org.
For campaign background and additional contacts, please see:
http://www.upc-online.org/entertainment
Turkey Tortured by Students at Fraternity Drinking Party
