'Night terror' husband cleared of murder
Poe
during night terrors. I've been known to go running down the halls
screaming, eventually waking up slightly embarrassed I head back to bed.
They can last a minute or so based in my experience, and from what I've
seen they do get triggered by a noise or touch that 1/2 awakens, but not
fully.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/night-terror-husband-cleared-of-murder-20091121-is6u.html
'Night terror' husband cleared of murder
STEVEN MORRIS, LONDON
November 22, 2009
A ''DECENT and devoted'' husband who strangled his wife while he dreamt
she was an intruder has been cleared of murder after prosecutors
accepted he had not been in control of his actions but was not a danger
to anyone else.
Father-of-two Brian Thomas killed his wife, Christine, as he was in the
throes of a nightmare about a ''boy racer'' who had broken into the
campervan they were sleeping in. Members of the jury at the crown court
in Swansea, Wales, wept after they were ordered formally to acquit Mr
Thomas, who had suffered ''night terrors'' for about 50 years without
ever being treated.
Experts said afterwards about 2 per cent of the British population
suffered from the condition, also known as pavor nocturnus. It was
possible many other similar attacks were carried out, though not with
fatal consequences and so went unreported. Mr Thomas, a retired
steelworker from Neath in south Wales, will be advised to seek treatment
for his condition.
Friends and family said he was devastated by the loss of his beloved
wife of almost 40 years. In court he was described as a ''broken man''
who might try to harm himself.
Mr Thomas had been prone to sleepwalking and other sleep disorders since
he was a child. At home he and his wife slept in separate bedrooms but
shared a double bed when they went away in their campervan. Mr Thomas,
59, stopped taking tablets for depression when he and his wife, 57,
stayed in their van because they made him impotent.
In July last year the couple went on one of their regular jaunts in
their campervan. They parked in a car park in the seaside village of
Aberporth, west Wales, but were disturbed by ''boy racers'' performing
wheel spins and handbrake turns at 11.30pm. They moved to the nearby car
park of the Ship Inn and later Mr Thomas made an emergency call. He said
to the operator: ''What have I done? I've been trying to wake her. I
think I've killed my wife. Oh my God. I thought someone had broken in.
''I was fighting with those boys but it was Christine. I must have been
dreaming or something. What have I done? What have I done? Can you send
someone?''
At first police were sceptical but friends and relatives told detectives
they were a loving couple. They enjoyed regular nights out, watched
rugby together and had booked a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate their
40th wedding anniversary. Tests carried out on Mr Thomas, some while he
spent 10 months in prison on remand, confirmed he suffered from night
terrors.
At the start of the trial the prosecution said it was a unique case. It
accepted Mr Thomas should be found not guilty but initially called for a
special verdict of not guilty due to insanity, which would have meant he
could have been held in a secure psychiatric hospital. The law dictates
that this is a verdict that cannot be determined by anyone other than a
jury, which is why the case had to go to court. But the Crown
Prosecution Service decided to offer no more evidence and the jury
returned a straightforward verdict of not guilty.
The judge, Mr Justice Nigel Davis, told Mr Thomas: ''You are a decent
man and a devoted husband. I strongly suspect that you may well be
feeling a sense of guilt. In the eyes of the law you bear no
responsibility. You are discharged.
''All of us who have been in court and who listened to the 999 call know
exactly what your feelings were when you found that your wife was dead.''
The jury had been told that Mr Thomas' sleep disorder meant he was in a
state of ''automatism'' - his mind was not in control of his body.
MaryL
"Poe" <hau...@terrible-thought.com> wrote in message
news:7mq9t1F...@mid.individual.net...
Even if all this is true, I wonder how the judge determined that he would
not be a danger to anyone else. What would prevent him from doing something
similar in the future? Precautions could be taken, but none were mentioned.
If nothing else, this is fascinating.
MaryL
MaryL
"Bart Bailey" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:4b0840b3...@bart.spawar.mil...
> In Message-ID:<7mq9t1F...@mid.individual.net> posted on Sat, 21 Nov
> 2009
> 08:56:48 -0500, Poe wrote: Begin
>
>>Members of the jury at the crown court
>>in Swansea, Wales, wept after they were ordered formally to acquit Mr
>>Thomas,
>
> Sorta defeats the whole judicial process to have some solitary judge usurp
> the
> deliberative conclusions of a jury.
It's not a decision of the jury. Judges do sometimes give directed
verdicts, and the jury has no choice (at least, in the U.S.).
MaryL
Michael Snyder
> Kind of surprised by this, however I can vouch for strange behavior
> during night terrors. I've been known to go running down the halls
> screaming, eventually waking up slightly embarrassed I head back to bed.
> They can last a minute or so based in my experience, and from what I've
> seen they do get triggered by a noise or touch that 1/2 awakens, but not
> fully.
>
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/world/night-terror-husband-cleared-of-murder-20091121-is6u.html
>
>
> 'Night terror' husband cleared of murder
> STEVEN MORRIS, LONDON
> November 22, 2009
>
> A ''DECENT and devoted'' husband who strangled his wife while he dreamt
> she was an intruder has been cleared of murder after prosecutors
> accepted he had not been in control of his actions but was not a danger
> to anyone else.
>
> Father-of-two Brian Thomas killed his wife, Christine, as he was in the
> throes of a nightmare about a ''boy racer'' who had broken into the
> campervan they were sleeping in. Members of the jury at the crown court
> in Swansea, Wales, wept after they were ordered formally to acquit Mr
> Thomas, who had suffered ''night terrors'' for about 50 years without
> ever being treated.
Funny. I would have said he was a danger to anyone
who spent time around him when he was asleep. Which
could include his kids.
JonesieCat
"Michael Snyder" <msn...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:4b084666$0$1641$742e...@news.sonic.net...
They're going to advise him to do that, huh? <eyeroll>
jc
Ruthless
>Kind of surprised by this, however I can vouch for strange behavior
>during night terrors. I've been known to go running down the halls
>screaming, eventually waking up slightly embarrassed I head back to bed.
>They can last a minute or so based in my experience, and from what I've
>seen they do get triggered by a noise or touch that 1/2 awakens, but not
>fully.
>A ''DECENT and devoted'' husband who strangled his wife while he dreamt
>she was an intruder has been cleared of murder after prosecutors
>accepted he had not been in control of his actions but was not a danger
>to anyone else.
I once woke up in agonizing pain... although what actually woke me was the
sound of my own voice screaming "OW! OW! OW!". My husband had grabbed a
huge chunk of the flesh inside my upper arm, just below my armpit, with
his whole hand, and he was squeezing/pinching it as hard as he could. My
hollers woke *him* up and he let me go. He'd been dreaming he was trying
to stop a shoplifter who then tried to kill him, and that he had the
shoplifter by the throat. Glad he grabbed my arm and not my throat. The
bruise I had in the morning was horrendous.
He'd never done anything like that before and has never done anything like
it since, but that experience convinced me that cases like this *are*
possible, and I don't rush to judgement anymore.
Davi
M
wrote:
> "Poe" <haun...@terrible-thought.com> wrote in message
>
> news:7mq9t1F...@mid.individual.net...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Kind of surprised by this, however I can vouch for strange behavior during
> > night terrors. I've been known to go running down the halls screaming,
> > eventually waking up slightly embarrassed I head back to bed. They can
> > last a minute or so based in my experience, and from what I've seen they
> > do get triggered by a noise or touch that 1/2 awakens, but not fully.
>
I'm not sure what precautions could be taken when the jury gave a
straight "no Guilty" verdict.
Mick
MaryL
"M" <mc...@pitt.edu> wrote in message
news:fe28f71e-9d8d-4af8...@g31g2000vbr.googlegroups.com...
Mick
I was responding to the judge's decision that he "would not be a danger" to
anyone else. I am also not sure what precautions could be taken, but I'm
surprised that no recommendations were made (perhaps even somthing so simple
as sleeping alone in the future or a "strong" suggestion that he continue
with his medication).
MaryL
JonesieCat
"Msg. Scooter" <monsigno...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:n222h550md8mlbj5r...@4ax.com...
> On , , Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:04:03 GMT, Re: 'Night terror' husband cleared
> of
> It sounded as though he was taking treatment before the killing, it said
> he
> stopped taking his medication because it made him impotent and he wanted
> to be
> able to have sex while on holiday.
>
Yes, he was taking an antidepressant which may or may not have had impact on
his sleep disorder. The courts can order all kind of mandatory treatment,
one way or another.
jc