Sleep-related automatism

摘要

When Briton Brian Thomas killed his wife by strangulation onholiday in 2008, he was asleep and not in control of his actions.In the official jargon, he had experienced a sleep-relatedautomatism. That was the verdict of expert witnesses for the prosecution and defence in a trial that concluded in November.Consequently, the judge told Thomas that he bore no culpabilityfor his wife's death.