Manlius, N.Y. — An 18-year-old has pleaded guilty and faces a maximum of a year in jail for the death of Faye, one of the popular swans in the village of Manlius, according to the district attorney.
The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty on Dec. 7 related to the May incident, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said today. Fitzpatrick did not disclose the name of the 18-year-old because the teen may be granted youthful offender status, Fitzpatrick said.
On May 27, an 18-year-old, 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, all from Syracuse, were arrested after taking Faye and her four cygnets from the Manlius Swan Pond, said Sgt. Ken Hatter, a spokesperson for Manlius police. The teens held Faye down, decapitated her, and then ate her on Memorial Day, Hatter said.
Two of the baby swans ended up in a store in Syracuse. In the end, all four cygnets were recovered, two from the store and two from a home in Syracuse.
The teens, who are friends who live near each other on Syracuse’s North Side and attend high school together, were unaware it was a swan, he said.
“They believed it was just a very large duck,” Hatter said. “They did not know it was a swan.”
The teens said they were unaware it belonged to the village, Hatter said. Manlius has a history of celebrating swans in a municipal pond. “They did not have any idea of the significance that the swans had on this community,” he said.
The three teens were originally charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony; second-degree criminal mischief, a felony; fifth-degree conspiracy, a misdemeanor and third-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor.
The teen who pleaded guilty this month will be sentenced on Feb. 15.
The incident last spring drew outrage from the community and prompted conversations about whether the village should continue to keep swans in its swan pond.
The baby swans were returned to the pond in the summer, but their dad Manny attacked them. Manny was removed from the pond.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation told village officials and residents in July that the cygnets could return to the pond through the end of this year.
The DEC has said the state is unlikely to allow Manlius to continue its mute swan breeding program as mute swans are considered invasive. These may be the last babies people can enjoy on the pond.
The village needs the state’s permission to have mute swans. Manlius is the only community in the state permitted to have adult mute swans.
Related article on Syracuse.com
Future of swans on Manlius pond undecided: DEC puts freeze on return of baby swans
DEC says baby mute swans can return to Manlius, but they are likely last babies on the pond
3 who took Manlius swans at night thought they were ducks, police say
Faye, the mama swan taken from Manlius pond, was eaten on Memorial Day
Beloved mama swan from Manlius killed, 16-year-old in custody, police say
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.