Man who killed wife while dreaming is freed

[Turborama]

Source: CNN International

A British man who strangled his wife in his sleep while dreaming that she was an intruder walked free from court Friday after the case against him was withdrawn, prosecutors said.

The UK's Crown Prosecution Service requested that the case against Brian Thomas, who killed wife Christine while they were on vacation in 2008, be dropped due to a "unique set of circumstances."

Thomas, 59, of Neath, South Wales, had been on trial for murder at Swansea Crown Court, with prosecutors seeking a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity that would have resulted in psychiatric custody.

But they said a closer study of evidence led them to believe the defendant should be released without further action.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/20/uk.crime.strangle/index.html

[Orrex]

1. Hmm...

I had this dream in which I ran up $20,000 in student loans and about $8,000 in credit card debt. I wonder if a court will sympathize with my side of the story...

[Kittycat]

2. I had this dream that...

I had a special needs child, and insurance actually covered his claims and stopped over-ruling the drs. Wonder if that can be cured with hypno-therapy? Probably not, I don't think my insurance would cover the psych bills.

[Teaser]

3. Your neuroscientific expertise stuns me.

.

[nyc 4 Biden]

4. this is my worst nightmare (no pun intended)

sometimes I sleep walk and talk. usually my girl thinks its hysterical though.

[Javaman]

5. For the many many British Soldiers that suffer PTSD, this is a good thing.

I recall stories, that were spoken in low voices, of my uncle (while sleeping) trying to kill my aunt while she slept, thinking she was a Japanese soldier.

[vadawg]

17. its the 20 second rule, it used to be that you wouldnt be held responsible for any harm you did on

first waking up, you learned to wake people by touching their boot so you were out of fist range and to be really careful if they had their rifle to hand.

[Robb]

20. I heard those stories, too. nt

[BreweryYardRat]

6. Yeah...this sort of thing is why I'm uncomfortable actually SLEEPING with anyone else.

I thrash and fight and struggle in my sleep a lot.

Hell, I once woke up from a very violent dream where I'd ripped someone's throat out with my teeth...to discover that I'd locked my jaws on my pillow.

I shudder to think what could have happened if someone else had been sharing the bed with me.

[Lance_Boyle]

7. This guy voluntarily ceased his meds while on vacation. Result? Dead wife.

The verdict astonishes me. This is what "not guilty by virtue of insanity" is FOR. We can only hope he never has a partner to sleep with again.

[pitohui]

12. where are you getting he voluntarily withdrew from the meds? (asking not telling)

i know of this case only from this one article and i see nothing to suggest that he was voluntarily withdrawing from the anti-depressants -- it just says that he was in fact in withdrawal and that he was having terrible side effects (the nightmares) which may be why he was on vacation and not at work in the first place

i think people who are experiencing a change in these medications need to be monitored in a hospital setting but it will never happen, too many people are maintained on these drugs and their doses get changed all the time -- most of the time, nothing much bad happens, but every once in awhile you get an andrea yates or a story like this -- but the innocent bystanders killed are i guess cheaper for society to throw away, than to have everybody on SSRIs monitored in hospital to be sure they are adjusting to the drugs (or withdrawal) correctly


people need to be made aware of what the side effects of these drugs are, and the difficulty of withdrawal, before they start taking them in the first place -- they need to be aware that if they one day have to stop taking the drug (the dude was 59 and i don't know the effects of these on an aging system) then they are going to need to taper off and that the withdrawal is quite dangerous

[UndertheOcean]

8. Macabre .... poor fellow , if this happened to me I don't think I can bear the pain

I will off myself right away, if I don't go completely crazy by the shock and end up in an institution ...

Man , it would have been easier and less disturbing if there is really foul play and the prosecution fucked this up.

[Bette Noir]

9. I slugged my SO in my sleep, once, when I was having a bad dream.

All I do to my current husband is steal the blankets.

I feel bad for this guy, but I also feel afraid for any future bedmates he might have.

[Oldtimeralso]

10. I frequently walk, talk, and doe many other things

in my sleep, my wife likes to question my in my sleep and thinks it is real funny. I have gone to my basement and operated machinery. After I went to our detached garage and started my motorcycle with the door closed I installed double cylinder dead bolt locks on my doors.

[GreenTea]

11. Now if I can just get my mother-in-law to sleep over.

[vadawg]

18. rofl not sure if you can convince her to share a bed with you

but if you can get her to sneak around the house then you could accidently shoot her thinking shes a burglar ;)

[slackmaster]

13. I knew that story had to be from the UK from the headline

:argh:

[Turborama]

16. Why did that make you angry?

Or am I misreading the use of the computer throwing emoticon?

[EFerrari]

19. Shh. Maybe slackmaster is napping.

[slackmaster]

23. Not angry, but sad for how far such a great nation has fallen

I don't have any stake in the UK really, only about 5% of my ancestors hail from the British Isles.

[superconnected]

14. This is not uncommon. I've read stories in the US of this happening, but they still go to prison

for murder.

Here's someone who claims he stabbed his wife in his sleep.

http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/07/08/sleepwalking/

[pitohui]

15. well that guy's case was completely unbelievable

he stabbed her 44 times and didn't wake up?

yeah, alrighty then

and i liked the other case they cite in your link where the guy stabs his wife and flees all the way to mexico before he wakes up

c'mon, make a LITTLE believable

[superconnected]

21. The artical was quite good if you read it all. And no, I don't believe any of them either.

[woodsprite]

22. I believe it could happen in some cases.

I'll tell you though, living with someone that sleep walks/talks makes you a VERY light sleeper. I feel that after almost 25 yrs, I can wake up if a fly walks across the room. I've had covers thrown over me and held down, woke up to the sound of breaking glass (put his hand through a porch window), and woke up to find him in his pajamas and tool belt hammering a piece of plywood over a door way that he said was letting in too much light. Those were the most memorable. He does it during times of great stress at work. I've always been very mindful of the kids - that if they needed someone in the night, I'd get there before him (not knowing if he'd really be 'awake' or not).

So yeah, I can see where it could happen.

[rhiannon55]

24. My completely non-violent, loving hubby punched me

in the temple about ten years ago in the middle of the night when he was dreaming he was being attacked by thugs. He hit me so hard I woke up literally seeing stars and promptly threw up. Scared the hell out of both of us. He felt SO bad about it and I slept lightly for awhile after that. I've often thought about how much worse that could have ended up... :scared:

[DFW]

25. Released without future action?

How about a requirement to offer any future girlfriends separate bedrooms?