In the early morning hours this Saturday one of two remaining swans who called the lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts home was brutally murdered. According to the Examiner, the 5-year-old mute swan, named Monday, was found with a broken neck and empty beer cans littering the crime scene. (No word on whether they were Budweiser cans, however.) Animal Control has a lead on a "huge beer party" that happened the same night just across Baker Street from the lagoon.
While we will refrain from commenting on the nature of "beer parties" in the neighborhood, Palace swan caretaker Judy Whilt (and one SFist commenter) noted, "most serial murderers abuse animals in their youth, so we might have one in the making." The murder is the third such avian homicide at the lagoon in the past 25 years.
Monday is survived by a sister, 13-year-old Blanche, who seems to be handling it well and "enjoying more grub than usual," according to Whilt. Due to recent laws banning the sale of swans, Blanche might be lonely for awhile unless a generous breeder or swan owner is willing to donate a companion for her. There's currently a $500 reward for information leading to a conviction in Monday's death, which is expected to grow as locals mourn the loss. Today, we are all swans.
