Manlius, New York – Swans are part of the culture in Manilius, an upstate New York village where the web-footed creatures have lived for more than a century. Faye had been a fixture at a fenced-in pond owned by the village so the entire community is in shock after authorities announced that three teenagers had stolen Faye in the middle of the night, killed her and then eaten her.
“They prepared a feast,” Sgt. Ken Hatter of the Manlius Police Department said the teenagers had told the police. They “did not have any idea of the significance the swans had on this community,” or that the swans are owned by the village, the sergeant said.
“They believed that it was just a very large duck,” he said. “They did not know it was a swan, and they did not know it was not a wild animal.”
The three then took the birds to the home of one of the teenagers’ relatives, where, the police said, the swan was prepared and eaten with family and friends.
The teenagers, Eman Hussen, 18, of Syracuse, and two others, whose names were not shared because they are minors, were charged with felony counts of grand larceny and criminal mischief. They were also charged with misdemeanor counts of conspiracy of theft and criminal trespassing.
The younger teenagers, who are 16 and 17, were to be arraigned on Thursday. Mr. Hussen is set to appear in court on June 15.
