One January night in 1997, Scott Falater’s next door neighbor looked on in horror as Scott dragged his screaming wife into the family pool and proceeded to hold her head under the water. When the police arrived, they found Yarmila Falater floating in blood filled water with forty-four stab wounds to her body.

Join us at the quiet end for While He Was Sleeping? Scott told the police that he had no memory of hurting his wife, but they didn’t believe him. He was arrested and would go on trial for murder. His defense, that he was sleepwalking when he murdered his wife, was controversial, and prosecutors worked to disprove it with evidence found at the scene.

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Sources

Forgive Me for Killing You by Marci Olsen Blau

His Dad Claimed He Was Sleepwalking When He Killed His Mom-and Now Son is Speaking Out, People.com. Christine Pelisek, 1/29/2021

Scott Falater Today: Where is the Sleepwalking Killer Now? Alyssa Choiniere, Heavy.com, 12/8/2022

Scott Falater: Case of the sleepwalking husband who murdered his wife Yarmila, Daily Crime, Angelica N. Sumter, 1/6/2023

Sleepwalking, Criminal Behavior, and Reliable Scientific Evidence: A Guide for Expert Witnesses, American Psychological Association, M.R. Pressman, 2018.

While He Was Sleeping, 20/20, S43 E11, 1/29/2021

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