麻豆APP

10 Sleepwalkers Who Murdered People While Asleep

Somnambulism, another name for sleepwalking, is a condition in which people engage in sophisticated behaviors while they are asleep. This has caused a lot of people to end up on murder conviction lists for killing their loved ones while they were asleep.

The majority of sleepwalkers dream about being attacked or watching family members being attacked. In the end, they murder their loved ones. Most criminals who commit crimes have no recall of their acts, and sleepwalkers have little control over their activities. They become aware of their dreadful actions when they awaken.

Here are the 10 Sleepwalkers Who Murdered People while Asleep:

1. Ivy Cogdon

Image by from

IVY Cogdon adored her daughter Patricia. When the Korean War started, her daughter considered becoming a transport driver if the war reached Australia. This made Ivy to be devastated. She was afraid that the invaders鈥� soldiers would hurt her daughter.

One night, Mrs. Cogdon wandered out of her bedroom while she was asleep. She claimed that while in this condition, she witnessed her daughter Pat, then 19 years old, being attacked by Korean soldiers. She found an axe and tried to attack the fictitious troops because she feared the worst and was fully engrossed in her sleepwalking. She ended up killing her daughter in the process.

The next morning, Patricia鈥檚 body was found. Her skull had suffered damage. By her bed was a bloody axe. Ivy was questioned by the police, who then accused her of killing her daughter. Ivy was interviewed by several doctors, all of whom expressed the opinion that she hadn鈥檛 realized she was killing her kid. She was acquitted by the jury.

Read 10 Infamous Serial Killers from the 70s.

2. Joan Kiger

Joan was asleep when she heard gunshots in her house. She ran to confront the shooters while carrying two of her father鈥檚 revolvers. When she saw the eerie beings shooting at her, Joan opened fire.

She was holding a gun as she awoke from her dream. Her mother, Jennie, was crying uncontrollably. Her thigh had been shot by Joan. Jerry, her brother, who was six years old, and her father, Carl, had also been shot and killed by Joan.

Joan drove to the neighbors to seek help. When police officers arrived at the Kigers’ residence, they saw that it was securely closed and that there was no sign of any burglars. The police detained Joan. The prosecution requested the death sentence at her adult trial.

The Kigers’ deaths, according to Joan’s defense attorney during her trial, were caused by her night terrors. She experienced frequent, frightening nightmares that felt genuine. With no other possible explanation for the killings, the jury acquitted Joan.

3. Kenneth Parks

Image by from

Being one of the purportedly most completely authentic cases of murderous sleepwalking in recorded history, the Kenneth Parks case gained considerable notoriety. In May 1987, Parks traveled just over 14 miles to his in-laws鈥� house, where he killed his mother-in-law with a knife, dangerously close to killing his father-in-law with a hammer, and nearly killed his adolescent sister-in-law as well, all while sound asleep. 

Parks drove to the police station after realizing what had happened. He confessed to the crimes there while in great sorrow. However, he was ultimately found not guilty because a plethora of examinations and psychological profiles showed that Parks had experienced dissociative analgesia after the killings as a result of his ongoing issues with insomnia and anxiety, not to mention the strain of significant gambling debts.

4. Brian Thomas

Brian Thomas took a trop in an RV with his wife of 40 years. The couple camped out in their car there. They were shocked, though, by the sound of brakes squealing and tires screeching鈥攂oy racer action. The couple moved their RV to a more private location and went back to sleep.

In his dream, Brian imagined one of the racers breaking into their RV. Brian was held in a headlock after the man slid into the bed that the couple shared. The man was successfully repelled by Brian.

Soon after having the dream, Brian awoke. When he turned to look at Christine, he saw that she was not breathing. She had been choked. He reported her death by dialing 999. Since the police didn鈥檛 believe him, they accused Brian of killing his wife.

He was subjected to numerous tests during his ten months in jail. According to two sleep specialists, he killed his wife while suffering from a sleep condition. Even though he was recommended to get therapy for his problem, the jury found Brian not guilty.

Also, read 15 Deranged Serial Killers that Operated in the 80s.

5. Scott Falater

Image by from

Scott Falater, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, and his defense attorney asserted that Yarmila Falater鈥檚 murder was the result of sleepwalking. Falater killed his wife in January 1997 by stabbing her 44 times with a hunting knife. He then put his dog to sleep and carefully hid the body. Falater did not deny killing Yarmila, but he did assert that because he was 鈥渟ound asleep鈥� when the crime was committed, he could not be held responsible. 

Falater maintained that his marriage was blissful, but the prosecution said it was anything but. It was speculated that Yarmila was thinking of leaving her husband because she did not share his enthusiasm for the Mormon faith and his wish to have more children. According to the prosecution, Yarmila was not wearing her wedding band when her body was found.  The jury convicted Falater guilty of all charges in 1999 despite efforts to prove his history of sleepwalking.

6. Jules Lowe

In March 2005, Manchester, UK resident Jules Lowe made legal history when he was declared not guilty of the murder accusation despite having been identified as having an insane automatism. Numerous tests revealed that Lowe鈥檚 82-year-old father鈥檚 murder in the middle of a sleepwalking episode was not the result of drug misuse.  After his acquittal, he was admitted to a mental hospital.

7. Daniel Gudino

Image by from

Daniel Gudino, who was thirteen, had problems falling asleep. He was concerned that his house might be haunted. Daniel tried to fall asleep on the couch, but he was awakened by the presence of two mysterious figures.

He stood up from the sofa and took his father鈥檚 shotgun. Daniel entered his brother鈥檚 room and fired three times at a ghost. He entered the kitchen after that. Daniel awoke to the sound of his mother, Marina, sobbing as she fought for the scissors he was holding.

In response to Marina鈥檚 call, the police detained Daniel. He had shot and killed Ulysses, his nine-year-old brother, in addition to assaulting his mother. Daniel was sleepwalking throughout the ordeal, according to a psychiatrist鈥檚 testimony.

He was, nevertheless, convicted of assault and first-degree attempted murder. On the first-degree murder charge, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Daniel received a sentence of up to five years in a juvenile detention center.

Also, read Who Are the Scariest Chicago serial killers.

8. Antonio Nieto

Image by from

Antonio Nieto of Malaga, Spain, used an axe to kill his wife and mother-in-law on January 11, 2001. He also hurt his daughter before his son, who was also hurt, disarmed him. Police were informed by Nieto鈥檚 children that he had addressed them by name during the attack and warned them not to switch on the lights since their mother, who was already dead, was sound asleep.

In contrast, Nieto said that he had been dreaming about protecting himself against a herd of hostile ostriches while he was sleeping at the time of the killings.   He received a ten-year prison sentence and lost custody of his kids; in addition, the courts ordered him to maintain a 500-meter safe distance from them at all times.

 9. Isom Bradley

Isom Bradley of Texas told his lover Ada Jenkins before he went to bed in 1925 that he was having issues with a man by the name of Lawrence Williams. Bradley was uncomfortable, anxious, and worried that Williams would attack him during the night. He put a revolver beneath his pillow as safety.

Later that night, he was startled by an odd noise, and because he was drowsy, he grabbed his gun and fired randomly into the room. He lit a lamp when he was more alert and saw that he had shot and murdered Jenkins.  He was found guilty of murder by a jury, but after the courts took into account the very real possibility of sleepwalking, he was eventually released.

10. Simon Fraser

Simon Fraser was dreaming about a wild animal. The animal emerged from the floor and jumped into the cradle of Simon Fraser’s infant boy as he slept next to his wife. As soon as he stood up, Fraser grabbed the untamed animal and threw it against the wall.

He was fully woken by his wife鈥檚 screaming. Fraser came to terms with the fact that he had snatched up his 18-month-old son, slammed his head against the wall, and killed the infant.

Murder was alleged against Fraser. I am guilty in my sleep, but I鈥檓 not guilty in my senses, he informed the jury. The savage assaults on Fraser while he slept were confirmed by his relatives. He had made several attempts to attack his father and strangle his sister. Additionally, Fraser had hurt himself.

Although sleepwalker murder cases are extremely uncommon, they serve as a reminder of the complexity of the human mind and the mysteries surrounding sleep and its diseases.

Read 15 Most Cruel Serial Killers in Michigan.