Whenever someone says they don’t remember a crime they committed because they weren’t conscious for it, they are rarely believed. Yet, there is evidence that proves one can be in a deep state of sleep when they pick up a weapon and take someone’s life. The science of sleeping is fascinating; it was the culprit in this particular homicide.
Death By Sleepwalker
Homicidal somnambulism or homicidal sleepwalking has been written about for ages; at least 100 people have come forward saying that they merely dreamed about doing the unthinkable only to find that it really happened when they woke up.
In 1987, Kenneth James Parks drove to his in-laws house, broke-in, attacked his father-in-law, murdered his mother-in-law, and drove himself to the police station to confess. He claimed to be asleep the entire time. While no one believed him at first, EEG readings proved that he had serious sleeping problems.
His body constantly tried to enter sleepwalking phases every night. At the time of the incident, Kenneth was very close to his in-laws, but he was planning on confessing his gambling addiction to them the next day. The stress he felt about it, combined with his extreme parasomnia, created a stage for him to unconsciously attack them. He was acquitted of the murder.
Now 28-year-old Matthew Phelps is set to use the same defense. The North Carolina man had a picture-perfect life; he was an aspiring pastor and graduated from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in 2011. He was currently working as a lawn care specialist. He had gotten married to his sweetheart Lauren Hugelmaier less than a year ago, and they appeared to be living in bliss. Lauren was selling Scentsy products and posted a video about her business on Facebook on August 31. Hours later, she would be pronounced dead.
Matthew called 911 at 1:10 AM on September ; “I think I killed my wife,” he said.
Bloody Confusion
