Brian Thomas, a British man who claims to have strangled his wife during a nightmare about fighting off an intruder has been found innocent in her death. Prosecutors seem to have accepted Thomas’ claim that he had a sleep disorder and had no control over his body when he attacked his wife of 40 years while they were both asleep.
Mr. Thomas admitted being responsible but instead of charging him with murder or manslaughter, prosecutors had sought a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, the Press Association reported.
“The consequences of such a finding would have meant Mr. Thomas’s detention in a psychiatric hospital, but it is now clear that the psychiatrists feel that that would serve no useful purpose,” Mr. Jenkins said.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mr. Thomas regularly took anti-depressant drugs which made him impotent, and he had stopped doing so before the holiday as the couple, who slept in separate bedrooms at home, wanted to be “intimate”.
Medical experts said the sudden withdrawal of the drugs could have led to him having very vivid dreams.
Wonder how long before we see this story on Law & Order?
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