OGDEN -- Police involved in the cow-butchered-in-the-driveway investigation are talking to a second person who claims to have heard a gunshot.
Police were called to the 2700 block of Gramercy Avenue at 1:44 p.m. Sept. 4 by a resident alarmed at the sight of a slaughtered cow in the driveway of a residence.
Police were told a gunshot was heard and that a cow's mooing suddenly stopped.
The focus of the investigation has chiefly been on the possible illegal discharge of a firearm in the city limits, as well as secondary concerns regarding health codes or animal cruelty, and even disorderly conduct.
The owner of the slaughtered cow denied the killing, police said, saying the cattleman who dropped off a dead animal also had a live calf in the trailer, which would explain the mooing.
Since initial news reports, a second person has contacted police to report also hearing a shot. Police have declined further comment except to say the case will be forwarded to prosecutors Friday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 684 comments have been posted to the story on standard.net, most in support of the cow's fate, linking it to America's pioneer legacy.
Police Lt. Troy Burnett, who is supervising the investigation, said Google alerts have indicated the story has run in such far-flung publications as the North African Financial News.
Family members interviewed Tuesday again denied killing the animal. They spoke without divulging their names, concerned by the controversy that has ensued.
"We don't own any guns," said the 18-year-old son of the man who butchered the cow. That man wasn't home at the time of the interview with his wife and son.
"It's for personal use," the teen said of the butchering. "Lots of people do it. ... It's not like we did it in the middle of the street."
The home is across the street from the Ogden First Presbyterian Church, where Pastor Rick Minnich said he knows the family well.
Like most Hispanic families, they are intimidated by government officials and immigration issues, he said, and described them as "lovely people."
"They are wonderful people, a really nice family," he said while declining to release their names. "Their kids play in our parking lot."
Some of the younger children attend his Sunday school, Minnich said.
The 18-year-old said he was born in Ogden and still attends school here.
"That's why no names, no addresses," he said.
His mother indicated she spoke no English, her son advising her in Spanish of the conversation -- particularly that the reporter was not a government official.
The 18-year-old said his extended family has enjoyed the benefits of the beef. Much of it has been used in making menudo, a kind of stew, for family gatherings, he said.
The cow was purchased for $400, and the meat will likely last for three months.
The cuts of meat are stored in the family freezer.
He declined to comment on whether animals have been butchered at the house before.
He said the family was surprised that a neighbor contacted police, believing the reporting neighbor is the same one his father gave lumber and roof tile to when adding a room to their home.
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