Unusual Criminal Defenses: The Sleepwalking Defense

Three cases are outlined where a person commits murder and then blames the crime on sleepwalking. First up, Albert Tirrell murders his mistress in 1846 claiming he was in a trance-like state at the time. Kenneth Parks travels 23 km to commit a murder - all while asleep, he claimed. Finally, another man tries to use the sleepwalking defense after killing his wife in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Resources: Karen Abbott, Smithsonian.com, "The Case of the Sleepwalking Killer," April 30, 2012. Paul Rubin, NewTimes.com, "A Killer Sleep Disorder," Nov 19, 1998. True Crime Truant, "Scott Falater: Sleepwalking Killer Gets a Wakeup Call," July 20, 2017. Berit Brogaard and Kristian Marlow, Psychology Today, "Sleep Driving and Sleep Killing: The Kenneth Parks Case," Dec 13, 2012.

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