Homicidal sleepwalkers: 5 unusual cases of accidental death
This sleep disorder is usually unproblematic, but sometimes dangerous situations arise.
Worldwide there are a large number of people suffering from sleepwalking; it is a well-known fact that they wander around the house and sometimes perform complex actions. These people wander around the house and sometimes perform complex actions, including household chores, whileand even household chores, while unconscious, in an automatic way.
As a general rule, it is a problem that can be annoying and generate confusions 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, sometimes the activities that take place are more bizarre: there are painters who are only able to create in a sleepwalking state, or people who commit crimes in this state, such as rape or murder. In the latter case we are talking about homicidal sleepwalkers..
Sleepwalking
Before going into detail about what a homicidal sleepwalker is, it is necessary to make a brief review about what exactly is sleepwalking.
Sleepwalking is defined as a sleep disorder included within the parasomnias, or behavioral disorders during sleep.or behavioral disorders during sleep, which does not alter the amount of sleep and total wakefulness. In the case of somnambulism we find subjects who perform motor activities in a state of unconsciousness, generally during phases 3 or 4 of non-REM sleep. These actions are generally limited to getting up and walking, sometimes even with the eyes open.
This is a relatively common disorder in the population, especially during the infantile developmental stage. There is an alteration in the sleep cycles, specifically between non-REM and REM sleep.specifically between the passage from non-REM to REM sleep. The motor system is not paralyzed, as it would occur in most cases, and the body acts without the consciousness being able to take charge of the situation.
From sleepwalking to homicide
It is in this context in which anomalous behaviors can appear. And it is that the motor system is active while the consciousness is only partially active. This could lead to the performance of different actions beyond one's own will. And depending on the case this could generate violent behaviors in people subject to great stress, frustration and generate aggressive responses.
A homicidal sleepwalker is a person who commits a homicide in a non-wakeful state, i.e. while asleep.that is to say while asleep. The subject would not be aware of the situation and it would be beyond his will and control. As in most cases, the somnambulist does not remember what happened afterwards, although he/she may retain some fragmented image of the situation.
This phenomenon is not very frequent, but it is technically possible (brain alterations during sleep have been verified in some subjects studied) and in fact it has occurred on several occasions throughout history (there are more than fifty recorded cases). However, it is necessary to reiterate that these cases are very rare: the majority of sleepwalkers do not commit this type of acts and limit themselves to wandering.
Some known homicidal sleepwalkers
Although it may seem to be an excuse used to request unimputability or to be used as a mitigating factor in a trial, the truth is that there have been occasions in which it has been ruled that a murderer acted while asleep or in a state of semi-consciousness, resulting in the subject being declared innocent. Some of the cases of homicidal sleepwalkers that have been recorded in this regard are shown below. are shown below.
1. Robert Ledru
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 of Le Havre. The victim was André Monet, who had been shot dead. There was no obvious motive, and the subject was not known in the area and had all 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 the body, he could see that these footprints showed a missing thumb on the right foot.. After a moment in which he seemed to be frightened, he ordered a plaster cast of the footprints, which he subsequently examined. After this examination, he informed 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 damp, and after analyzing the scene of the crime he observed that his gun was missing a bullet of the same caliber as the one that killed the victim.. And the most remarkable thing: he was missing the thumb of his right foot, corresponding the footprints found with his own.
The inspector declared that he was not aware of having committed the crime, which had probably been committed in his sleep. However, he requested to be detained, considering that he could be a danger to security, However, he requested to be detained as he considered that he could be a danger to the safety of other citizens. to the safety of other citizens. To verify this fact, it was decided to lock him in a cell with a pistol containing blanks. Once the officer fell asleep, he got up and started shooting at the guards guarding 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 in the suburbs, under medical supervision.
Kenneth Parks
One of the most famous and well-known cases is that of Kenneth Parks, in 1978. This man, a compulsive gambler with numerous debts, left his home to take his 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. He then drove to a police station and turned himself in. The event has the particularity that during the whole process, the subject was asleep..
Kenneth, who had been sleepwalking for a long time, was analyzed with the encephalography technique and the measurement of his sleep waves showed that he changed sleep cycles quickly and abruptly. Being in a period of non-deep sleep, he was able to commit the acts without real awareness of carrying them out. He was found not guilty.
3. Simon Fraser
Another well-known case is that of Simon Fraser, who, while asleep, dreamt that a creature dreamed that a creature was trying to murder his son.. Apparently trying to protect him, he attacked the creature, and shortly thereafter regained consciousness, only to discover to his horror that he had killed his son, smashing his head against the wall.
Fraser had a previous history of violent actions during sleep; he had attacked his father and sister, and had even self-injured in his sleep. On one occasion he even pulled his wife out of bed by her legs, dreaming that there was a fire. After a series of studies, the subject was finally considered innocent and acquitted, although it was established that he had to sleep separated from other people in a locked room.
4. Brian Thomas
One more case of a homicidal sleepwalker can be found in Brian Thomas, a man with an extensive history of parasomnias, who in 2009 strangled who in 2009 strangled his wife in her sleep. This British man had been under stress, having had an argument with some young men at a time when he and his wife were celebrating the conclusion of a Cancer treatment. After going to bed, Thomas dreamed that 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 thereafter, he awoke to find that he had killed his wife during the dream. He was found not guilty.
5. Scott Falater
A case of an alleged homicidal sleepwalker is found in the figure of Scott Falater, who in 1997 stabbed his wife 44 times, after which he threw her into the pool and kept the blood-stained dress in the car. After his arrest, Falater could not find an explanation for the acts that he felt, based on the evidence, he must have carried out himself..
An expert in sleep disorders examined the murderer and ruled that it could be possible that the perpetrator had committed the acts while sleepwalking. However, it was deemed that his actions were too complex to have been done while asleep and unplanned, and after being convicted he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Causes?
Given the examples we have seen, it is worth asking what could cause a person to kill another person while unconscious.
As we have seen, sleepwalking is produced by an imbalance in the activation and inhibition of the different brain regions that follow one after the other that follow one another 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 REM sleep. 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 among mental and organic disorders, or as a consequence of substance abuse. A factor that may have some influence in altering sleep patterns is the presence of factors such as stress or depression. In addition, in almost all cases of homicidal sleepwalkers, it has been seen that the aggressor suffered or had suffered from 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 suffered from a certain level of depression and fatigue. suffered from a certain level of depression and fatigue from his work, in addition to suffering from syphilis.He had been suffering from syphilis for a decade. Something similar happened with Parks (with economic 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 regulating appropriate behavior and personal morality, while the amygdala and limbic system would remain active and generating the aggressive response.
The great doubt
Taking into account the above definitions and the cases shown, a question may arise that may seem obvious: are we dealing with real cases of murders committed unconsciously during sleep, or with an attempt to justify or get oneself declared innocent? In most cases, experts in sleep and sleep disorders have been consulted and sleep records have been made to verify the possible existence of this problem, as well as the brain functioning during sleep.
The answer to this question is not simple: as with other mental disorders, the defendant's level of consciousness at the time of the crime must be taken into account, and whether his condition caused his conduct. and if at that moment his condition generated his conduct. This can only be known indirectly, and with a margin of error to be taken 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 on the part of the other person), and the conviction of Scott Falater which raised controversy as the expert considered that he was not conscious but was applied due to the jury's consideration that his acts were too detailed to be performed without any consciousness.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)