Trial In Falcon Killing Begins

The first day of Patti MacDonald’s trial in Kootenai County District Court centered around a phrase and a scarf. MacDonald, 60, is accused of attacking a hunter’s falcon in January near the site of a Halloween corn maze attraction in Hauser. On Monday, a jury comprised of three men and three women began hearing testimony that will lead them to determining MacDonald’s guilt in two misdemeanor charges — beating or harassing an animal and pursuit of a protected bird. The incident occurred on Jan. 7 when MacDonald allegedly parked her red Jeep Wrangler near the spot where Scott Dinger’s falcon, Hornet, was in the process of killing a duck the duo had successfully hunted. As Dinger, 50, approached the scene, he saw his falcon, clearly injured, flying away. Dinger found Hornet dead about an hour later/ Keith Cousins , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here .