Homicidal Sleepwalkers: 5 Unusual Cases Of Accidental Death
Throughout the world there are a large number of people who suffer from sleepwalking; It is known that These people wander around the house and sometimes perform complex actions and even household chores, while unconscious, automatically.
As a general rule, it is a problem that can be annoying and generate confusion and scares for those who observe it; In the worst case, the proximity of windows or doors facing the street can lead to dangerous situations.
However, on some occasions the activities carried out are stranger: there are painters who are only capable of creating while sleepwalking, or people who commit crimes in this state, such as rape or murder. In this last case we are talking about homicidal sleepwalkers
Before talking in detail about what a homicidal sleepwalker means, it is necessary to briefly review What exactly is sleepwalking?
Sleepwalking is defined as a sleep disorder included within parasomnias, or sleep behavior disorders, which does not alter the amount of sleep and total wakefulness. In the case of sleepwalking we find subjects who carry out motor activities in a state of unconsciousness, generally during phases 3 or 4 of non-REM sleep. These actions are usually limited to getting up and walking, sometimes even with your eyes open.
It is a relatively common disorder in the population, especially during the childhood development stage. An alteration occurs in sleep cycles, specifically between the transition from non-REM to REM sleep. The motor system is not paralyzed, as would occur in most cases, and the body acts without consciousness being able to take charge of the situation.
From sleepwalking to homicide
It is in this context that anomalous behaviors may appear. And it is that the motor system is active while consciousness is only partially active with which different actions could be carried out beyond one’s own will. And depending on the case, this could generate violent behavior in people subject to great stress, frustration and that generate aggressive responses.
A homicidal sleepwalker is a person who commits a homicide in a non-wakeful state: that is, being asleep. The subject would not be aware of the situation and it would be beyond his will and control. As in most cases, the sleepwalker does not remember what happened later, although he may retain some fragmented image of the situation.
This is a phenomenon that is not very common, but is technically possible (brain alterations have been confirmed during sleep in some subjects studied) and in fact has occurred on several occasions throughout history (there are more than fifty cases). registered). Now, it is necessary to reiterate that these are very rare cases: Most sleepwalkers do not commit these types of acts and they just wander around.
Some known homicidal sleepwalkers
Although it may seem like an excuse used to request non-imputability or be used as a mitigating circumstance in a trial, the truth is that there have been occasions in which it has been ruled that a murderer acted asleep or in a state of semi-consciousness, resulting in the subject declared innocent. Some of the cases of homicidal sleepwalkers that have been recorded in this regard below.
The case of Robert Ledru is one of the oldest on record. In 1887, this chief inspector of the French police (considered one of the best French investigators of the 19th century) was sent to investigate a murder that occurred on the beach at Le Havre. The victim was André Monet, who had died from a gunshot. There was no obvious motive, and the subject was not known in the area and had all of his belongings on him.
The only clue that was found besides the bullet (which belonged to a very common type of weapon at the time) was a series of footprints near the body. When the inspector approached, he could see that in these footprints the lack of a thumb on the right foot could be seen After a moment in which he seemed frightened, he ordered a plaster cast of the footprints to be made, which he later examined. After said examination he reported that he already knew who the murderer was.
Once at the police station Ledru turned himself in: the morning after the murder he had been surprised to notice that his socks and clothes were wet, and after analyzing the crime scene he observed that His gun was missing a bullet of the same caliber as the one that killed the victim And the most notable thing: the thumb of his right foot was missing, the footprints found corresponding with his own.
The inspector declared that he was not aware of having committed the crime, which was probably carried out during sleep. However, He requested to be detained because he considered that he could be a security risk of other citizens. To verify this fact, it was decided to lock him in a cell with a pistol with blank bullets. Once the agent fell asleep, he got up and began shooting at the guards watching him before lying down again to continue sleeping. It was considered true and it was decided that he would spend the rest of his life confined to a farm on the outskirts, under medical supervision.
2. Kenneth Parks
One of the most famous and well-known cases is that of Kenneth Parks, in 1978. This man, a compulsive gambler and with numerous debts, left his house to take the car and go to his in-laws’ house. Once there, he killed his mother-in-law with a bar and strangled his father-in-law. After that he drove to a police station and turned himself in. The event has the peculiarity that During the entire process, the subject was asleep
Kenneth, who had been a sleepwalker for a long time, was analyzed with the encephalography technique and the measurement of his sleep waves reflected that he changed sleep cycles quickly and abruptly. Being in a period of shallow sleep, he was able to commit the acts without having real awareness of carrying them out. He was declared innocent.
Another known case is that of Simon Fraser, who, while asleep He dreamed that a creature was trying to murder his son Seemingly trying to protect him, she attacked the creature, and shortly after regained consciousness, she discovered to her horror that he had killed his son, smashing her head against the wall.
Fraser had a previous history of acting out violently during sleep; she had attacked her father and her sister, and had even self-harmed while she was sleeping. On one occasion he even pulled the woman out of bed by her legs when he dreamed that there was a fire. After a series of studies, the subject was finally considered innocent and acquitted, although it was established that he should sleep separately from other people in a locked room.
4. Brian Thomas
One more case of homicidal sleepwalking is found in Brian Thomas, a man with a long history of parasomnias who in 2009 strangled his wife while she was sleeping. This British man had been under stress, after having argued with some young people at a time when he and his wife were celebrating the completion of cancer treatment. After going to bed, Thomas dreamed about how one of the young men entered his room and stood over his wife, so he lunged at the supposed young man and fought with him. Shortly afterward he would wake up, to observe that during his sleep he had killed his wife. He was declared innocent.
5. Scott Falater
A case of an alleged homicidal sleepwalker is found in the figure of Scott Falater, who in 1997 stabbed his wife up to 44 times, after which he would throw her into the pool and keep the blood-stained dress in the car. After being arrested, Falater He could not find an explanation for the acts that he considered that, based on the evidence, he should have carried out
An expert in sleep disorders examined the murderer and ruled that it could be possible that the perpetrator had committed the crimes while sleepwalking. However, it was considered that his actions were excessively complex to have been done while asleep and without planning and after being found guilty he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Causes?
Given the examples we have seen, it is worth asking what can cause a person to kill another while unconscious.
As we have seen, sleepwalking It is caused by an imbalance in the activation and inhibition of different brain regions that occur throughout the different phases and cycles of sleep. Specifically, the problem is found in the third and fourth phases of sleep (corresponding to deep slow wave sleep) and the subsequent transition to the REM phase. However, the causes of this fact are unknown.
It is known that sleepwalking has a certain relationship with the level of psychosocial stress In adults, it can also appear between mental and organic disorders, or as a consequence of substance use. One factor that may have some influence when it comes to altering sleep patterns is the presence of factors such as stress or depression. Furthermore, in almost all cases of homicidal sleepwalkers it has been seen how the aggressor suffered or had suffered high levels of stress or tension and some type of emotional conflict prior to the act.
For example, in the case of Ledru, the inspector was under great stress and He suffered some level of depression and fatigue from his job, in addition to suffering from syphilis for a decade. Something similar happened with Parks (with financial and gambling problems), Thomas (a previous fight and the stress situation generated by his wife’s cancer) and Fraser. It is also common for them to have a long history of parasomnias.
But being unconscious does not explain why in some cases this sleepwalking ends up degenerating into violent behavior or how it can lead to murder or homicide. It is speculated that in these cases the prefrontal may be inactive and not govern appropriate behavior and personal morality, while the amygdala and the limbic system would remain active and generate the aggressive response.
The big doubt
Taking into account the previous definitions and the cases shown, a question may arise that may seem obvious: are we facing real cases of murders committed unconsciously during sleep, or an attempt to justify or get declared innocent? In most cases, advice from experts in sleep and its disorders has been obtained and sleep records have been made to verify the possible existence of this problem, as well as brain functioning during sleep.
The answer to this question is not simple: as with other mental disorders, The level of consciousness of the accused at the time of committing the crime must be taken into account and if at that time his condition generated his behavior. This can only be known indirectly, and with a margin of error to take into account.
In fact, in some of the cases cited there has been great controversy: the case of Brian Thomas, for example, has raised doubts among some experts as to whether he was really unconscious (strangling someone requires a lot of force and a situation of resistance or struggle by the other person), and the conviction of Scott Falater which was controversial as the expert found him to be unaware but which was applied due to the jury’s consideration that his actions were too detailed to be carried out without any consciousness.
