Man Says Sleepwalking Made Him Rob a Woman at Knifepoint
Man Says Sleepwalking Made Him Rob a Woman at Knifepoint
A man accused of trying to rob a woman at knifepoint says he's innocent because -- get this -- he was sleepwalking.
Winston A. Riley claims he awoke only as the frightened, 81-year-old victim was running away from where he allegedly had her cornered in an elevator at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut.
The little old lady told police they were alone in the elevator when Riley flashed his blade and tried to snatch her purse. When she resisted, he ran off.
Riley, who has a clean record otherwise, is sticking to his story. And his lawyers are gathering medical records to back up this claim.
To be fair, this isn't such a strange tactic. This defense has actually been used many times before in cases ranging from petty crime to murder. But it's kinda hard to swallow at first.
You are telling me someone can get up, grab a knife, leave the house, drive someplace, walk past buzzing slot machines and yammering patrons, get into an elevator and -- still sound asleep -- mug a random person?!? REALLY? SERIOUSLY?
This sounds just as wacky as the Twinkie Defense ... or now, the Bath Salts Defense. People will blame their bizarre behavior on anything but themselves. But who knows. It's certainly not implausible. Stranger things certainly have happened.
What do you think of his sleepwalking defense?
You know, that sounds crazy, but when I was in school in a psychology class, we watched a documentary of a case where a man actually drove to his mother's house and murdered her in her sleep, then drove all the way back to his home while sleepwalking. He woke up, bloodied and confused, and called the cops to tell them that he thought he had hurt someone.
I was young, so I don't remember all the details of that case, but it seems that, while rare, this kind of stuff might really happen!
sleep walking is a serious problem. people drive cars while sleep walking. so yes i do believe it. he will have to actually prove that he does sleep walk though.
I don't know. I know it's possible not sure if it's what actually happened in this situation though.
Cleaning
Is it ok to kill the first? :)
- Cafe Beth
on Jun. 8, 2012 at 12:59 PM