Psychology of Consciousness: Sleepwalking
On the night of January 16, 1997, Scott Falater committed an unforgivable crime of murdering his wife with whom they were married for more than twenty years. A neighbor had heard noises from the property and upon deciding to investigate, witnessed as Scott Falater stabbed his wife, Yarmila Falater, more than forty times, before drowning her into the family’s swimming pool. Given that there was a credible witness who saw the entire thing, the police were confident that the suspect would confess on tape, thereby rendering it an open and shut case. Shockingly, Scott claimed he had no recollection of the crime and appeared dazed and unbelieving of what had happened. Experts and prosecutors allege that his actions were part of a deliberate and calculated plan to eliminate his wife and blame an assailant. However, there is sufficient evidence also to prove that Scott Falater was sleepwalking through the entire period and, thus, not criminally liable for his actions. Firstly, the defendant’s sister was certain that it was not the first time Scott experienced a sleepwalking session. According to her, his brother once had an episode where she interrupted him while he was sleepwalking. He turned aggressive and pushed her apathetically and with excessive force. Fortunately, the sister was aware that he was not conscious and thus understood his actions. It is also critical to note that Scott’s sister volunteered this information only after learning that he could not remember the events that transpired that night. The chronology of the events of this previous incident is consistent with what occurred on the night of January 16. He had gone to bed before finishing to repair his broken pump and carried this unfinished business on his mind to his sleep. Later in the night, he woke up and went to complete the repair only for Yarmila to interrupt him, which prompted his aggression, typical in all sleepwalkers. It is also critical to note that sleepwalkers are incapable of facial recognition, and this hindered the ability of Scott knowing that it was his wife he was killing. The initial witness report also suggested that Scott threw his wife’s body in the pool as if it was an obstacle on his way (FilmRise, 2019). He was not headed directly towards the almost-lifeless body of Yarmila, because he had resumed the repairing of the broken pump.
In light of this, Scott Falater was sleepwalking when he committed these atrocities and is not a morally blameworthy party for the crimes committed. Furthermore, most of the qualifications of the plea of parasomnia, as described by Popat and Winslade, affirm this argument. Firstly, his childhood history bolstered the argument that Scott Falater was a victim of somnambulism, given that he had experienced it several times years before the incident. Also important to note is that his previous episodes had signs of aggression, especially when he was interrupted while sleepwalking. Secondly, Scott was dazed at what he had done and even deemed himself incapable of committing such atrocious crimes. Stabbing someone more than forty-four times spoke of high levels of passion for the crime, and he could not imagine anything that could have motivated him to that extent. Also, according to Popat and Winslade, “the lack of memory is a significant factor in support of true parasomnias (Popat & Winslade, 2015).” While in the interrogation room, immediately after arresting him, the police were shocked when he claimed he had no recollection of the crime when the only thing they were expecting was a confession. Also, although he did not deny killing the wife, seeing that all evidence pointed towards that conclusion, Scott could not accept himself as the author of those choices he made that night. Further interrogation revealed that there was a memory gap between when Falater went to sleep and when his sleepwalking episode supposedly ended, moments after the police arrived at the scene. Police reports also mention that when answering initial questions at the scene, the defendant claimed that there four people in the house, including himself, his wife, and their two children. This statement shows that Scott did not remember that his actions earlier in the night led to the death of his wife. Thirdly, there was no apparent motivation or incentive to kill his wife and to do in such a disturbing manner. They were married for more than twenty years, with neighbors attesting to the fact that they had no previous significant altercation that resulted in either one of them resorting to the use of violence. It is also worth noting that Scott was a dedicated Mormon and strived to live a Christ-like life. Also noteworthy is that Scott Falater did not seek out his wife, but she instead confronted him about fixing the broken pump at such odd hours of the night. This interruption is what activated the fight-or-flight response, leading to the aggression that resulted in Scott stabbing Yarmila forty-four times.
Dissociation is often considered an involuntary and primitive psychological defense exhibited by individuals with a lack of advanced and adaptive defenses during moments of intense fear and hopelessness (Hartman et al., 2001). Here, an individual loses his or her sense of self, and the capacity for rational judgment fails. Thus, the person might resort to violence and extremely aggressive actions that they might later regret. Criminal activities committed during episodes of sleepwalking also resemble those during dissociation. For instance, in the case of Scott Falater, he was busy finishing the repair of his broken water pump when his wife startled him and interrupted his session (FilmRise, 2019). This shock activated some form of fight or flight mechanism that prompted him to resort to violence. In both states of altered consciousness, the individual is incapable of choosing to do otherwise, in that they report a loss of control and appear unbelieving that they were the authors of those choices. It is also important to note that individuals who report dissociation or sleepwalking also report having no recollection of the incident. This amnesia, typical in both conditions, thus shows that there is a significant similarity between crimes committed during dissociation and those committed during sleepwalking. They are similar because, firstly, the defendant’s actions do not result from a deliberate plan to commit those crimes. An individual enters dissociation due to the pressure to defend themselves and the lack of an adaptive defense mechanism. On their hand, sleepwalkers get violent went interrupted during their half-unconscious somnambulistic episodes. These individuals often lack the motivation to act in such horrifying manners, thereby rendering them also as victims of these same circumstances. In this manner, when confronted by relevant authorities, they always exhibit remorse, given that that they cannot believe themselves capable of the crimes that the evidence suggests they committed. For these reasons, the law should find individuals in both situations as not morally blameworthy parties, given their apparent lack of criminal intent.
References
FilmRise. (2019). Forensic Files – Season 9, Episode 30: Walking Terror. Retrieved May 1 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcrR92IelfU
Hartman, D., Crisp, A. H., Sedgwick, P., & Borrow, S. (2001). Is there a dissociative process in sleepwalking and night terrors? The postgraduate medical journal, 77(906), 244-249.
Popat, S., & Winslade, W. (2015). While you were sleepwalking; Science and neurobiology of sleep disorders & the enigma of legal responsibility of violence during parasomnia. Neuroethics, 8(2), 203-214.