Episode 081: 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...
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.
Several resources were used in the research for this episode including:
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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