was accused of killing his wife and acquitted on the grounds of temporary insanity. 1991, R v Burgess: Burgess was accused of hitting his girlfriend on the head with a wine bottle and then a video tape recorder. He was found not guilty at Bristol Crown Court, by reason of insane automatism. 1992, R. v. Parks: Parks was accused of killing his mother-in-law and attempting to kill his father-in-law. He was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Canada. 1994, Pennsylvania v. Ricksgers: Ricksgers was accused of killing his wife. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 1999, Arizona v. Falater: Scott Falater, of Phoenix, Arizona, was accused of killing his wife. The court concluded that the murder was too complex to be committed while sleepwalking. Falater was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole. 2001, California v. Reitz: Stephen Reitz killed his lover, Eva Weinfurtner. He told police he had no recollection of the attack but he had "flashbacks" of believing he was in a scuffle with a male intruder. His parents testified in court that he had been a sleepwalker from childhood. The court convicted Reitz of first-degree murder in 2004. In 2001, Antonio Nieto murdered his wife and mother-in-law and attempted to murder his daughter and son, before being disarmed. Nieto claimed to have been asleep during the attack and dreaming that he was defending himself against aggressive ostriches. However, his children stated that he had recognized them and had told his son to not turn on the lights because their mother (gravely injured already) was sleeping. In 2007, Nieto was sentenced to 10 years internment in a psychiatric hospital and ordered to pay 171,100 euros as compensation to the victims. Jules Lowe confessed to causing the death of his father Edward in 2004, but did not remember committing the act. Jules used automatism as his defense, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity and detained indefinitely in a secure hospital. He was released after ten months. Brian Thomas was accused of killing his wife in 2008 while dreaming that he was fighting off intruders. He was freed in 2009 by a judge, who found him not guilty of murder. See also Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder References Sources Walker, N., Crime and Insanity in England Volume One: The Historical Perspective, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1968) External