The case, the suicide of a woman who lived alone, was complicated by the disappearance of a valuable trick canary and household articles, all of which had been present in the house at the time of the discovery of the suicide. The investigating judge questioned the police officers who had been assigned to the case. The day after the first interrogation of the officer, a dead canary was found in the house, but further investigation revealed it had died from a broken neck; furthermore, friends of the deceased women testified it was not her canary. The results of the polygraph indicated that all four police officers had some knowledge about the disappearance of the original canary; when one officer was charged with stealing the bird, he called the judge and turned in his colleague who had actually committed the crime. The other officers were identified as accessories.