a unique case with a unique set of circumstances

Hi victorywp, That is the saddest case I have come across, I cannot imagine how this man is feeling after all this, he will never be able to live with himself in peace, but I think people should sleep in sperate beds to get a good night sleep as I am thinking of getting a single bed for my hubby and stick him in his computer as he complains that I distub him because I twitches in bed. Tamara

I think he should still be punished, if he did it out of his mind, then he should be in an institution for people out of their mind! When people hear of this , they are going to try killing , and use this as an excuse to get out of punishment!

WOW! He actually got off and the judge was nice to him. I haven't heard of that before. Usually they given the longest sintence and made to look like lunatics. Even put in mental hospitals for life sometimes. It is a bizarre case and I feel for the guy. He must be devistated at what happened. How simply awful to have such a problem.

That was so tragic . I have been thinking about whether he was on medication that made him hallucinating, but it was mentioned that he didn't take any medication for the reason as stated in the news. There will be many theories when one is reading such news like this. Was this the first time he ever tried to kill his wife because of some dreams or has happened before? Did he find out that his wife was having an affair because of him being 'impotent' and took advantage of his rare sleeping disorder to cover up his motive?? I don't know what to believe, but 40 years of marriage was sure a proof of their love and I hope this man was telling the truth and RIP to his wife.

Shouldn't give a wife of 26 years any new ideas LOL

..Hi victorywp, This is strange. I have heard of people sleepwalking and doing things that were odd, not sure that I have heard of anyone killing a person. There was a medication that made people behave strangely while asleep that I also heard about on the news. What I would like to know is, did the man take a lie detector test and did he pass it if he did take it? I don't feel that his word alone should have been accepted as proof that he thought he was fending off intruders. He could be as the judge said a decent man, etc., but people can get involved in things where a wife or husband could not be what they want at the present time. I may be a cynic, but I would also like to know it he gets married again any time soon? Take it easy.

I really don’t know what to say…fact is really stranger than fiction. This is the first time I’ve heard of any such mental illness called automatism. Really scary if you know somebody with this disorder…no guarantee what that perfectly normal person would do! Anyway, justice has indeed prevailed…the gentleman will anyway have to carry the burden of guilt in him forever (more so, she was his childhood sweetheart)…it would have been worse if he had to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

I hope he had real good info about the sleep disorder from Doc. But stil dont think he should have beem let go!

I can imagine him doing it, but I cannot imagine him being innocent. There has been almost an epidemic of this kind of case lately, almost always with a man killing a wife or girlfriend. In one case it was a woman who killed her mother. Personally, I don't think the motive should make a bit of difference. If you kill someone you cannot bring them back to life, so you are responsible. In my view that applies to drunk drivers, sleep-walkers, criminals of passion or anybody else. If it wasn't self-defense then it is still murder in my opinion. So if this man really were innocent, how could he live with himself?

Hi, victorywp. This is very sad to hear about. If they let him off the hook for killing his own wife, the judge should have granted a prison sentence to him for killing his own wife. He needs to get some mental help. Letting him walk free, does not excuse the fact that he killed his own wife of over 40 years.

This is an unusual case and if this man is telling the truth, certainly justice has prevailed and his punishment will be that he has to live with what he’s done for the rest of his life and I know if it were me I would go insane with grief and guilt! If he is guilty he is a murderer and a liar who deserves to be in prison for a very long time and for the key to be preferably thrown away! I guess only he and his wife know the truth and she is no longer here.

Hello my friend victorywp Ji, Well,I do not think and can never imagine even in my dreams that my hubby will ever do that. I suppose it all happened in his dream and Judge allowed him to walk away. Wishing you a very happy Chrismas and New Year-2010. May God bless You and have a great time.

This sounds like an intersting case. I think it could happen if the spose realy wanted to get rid of the other. but then agian who knows what is realy going on.

I have heard of other stories like this and I just can't believe that someone can actually kill someone while "dreaming". That he is not aware of what he is doing. Is it something like sleep walking where you don't even know you are up and around. The only thing with this story that makes me think its legit is the fact they have been married for so many years. I bet if he was alot younger there would have been a bigger investigation.

it certainely is a unique case and very tragic.its heartening to hear that he got out free,obviously his wife trusted him to go out with him alone,maybe he needs a more stringent phsychiatric evaluation.

If he really didn't mean to do it, and had a sleeping disorder, that poor guy is going to spend a lot of money on therapy bills. If I accidentally killed my spouse, or even a family member, I'd be so distraught that they would probably have to sedate me.

hi victorywp I have trouble believing that even in this odd state he would do something supposedly against all his morals unless in his heart of hearts the thought had already been there and he acted on it unknowing he did it. I mean they say under hypnosis you cannot be made to do something you are morally against, that would be acting against your will and you could not be forced to so .I think he should have been given a light prison sentence as least say five to ten,out on good behavior. I still think he wanted to do this or he would not have been able to do it.

Im on the fence about this issue. I know that the court can let a person charged off the hook if its proven that his pleads for not guilty on the grounds of insanity are true. One cannot be really guilty of a crime that he committed if he doesnt have the rationality of even being able to experience guilt. It's just a part of how his brain is wired. However, in this case I think the family and friends may have forgotten that the wife was killed. The article just stressed on the matter that the person charged was a really good man while he's awake. Im gonna have to partly agree that the man is not guilty in terms of feelings, rationality and of the law, but for me, he is absolutely guilty of the crime. He did it but his mind just didnt know what his body was doing. Whichever it is, at the end of the day, the man has to live with the fact that he killed his wife, and he didnt even know he did it.

Wow okay I have to say that this is definately not something that you hear every day. If what this man is saying is true, then he is going to be living with this guilt for the rest of his life, I can't imagion what he must be going through. I think that this is definately one of the strangest things that I have ever heard in my life, makes me wonder if I should continue sleeping with my husband. Who knows what this poor man's wife was thinking when it happened. What a terrible thing to happen, and so close to the holidays too. WOW.

What kind of a nut-case was that judge? Seriously? He was let off the hook for that?! I can't even begin to express my discern for stuff like that.. OMG.