Londra: strangola la moglie in stato di sonnambulismo e torna libero/ Man who killed wife in sleep, Brian Thomas, walks free after charge

Un interessante articolo dalla sezione di Crime news, cronaca nera, del Times online di Londra. Un marito viene rilasciato dopo che la Corte ha accertato che ha commesso l'omicidio della moglie in uno stato di automatismo, sonnambulismo, in cui non era capace di intendere e di volere. Il sig Thomas ha strangolato la moglie Cristine di 40 anni mentre erano in vacanza in camper, durante un incubo in cui ha immaginato l'attacco di alcuni ragazzi che in precedenza avevano realmente dato fastidio alla coppia . L'uomo è descritto come gentile, devoto e innamorato della moglie e sebbene si senta colpevole della morte della consorte, per la corte non ha alcuna responsabiltà per il fatto commesso, Esperti psichiatri consultati dalla corte hanno ritenuto inutile e dannosa la sua reclusione in carcere, essendo praticamente nulla la possibilità di reiterazione del reato. L'uxoricida ha un vissuto di disturbi del sonno documentato da test ed esami.
Il caso è considerato unico in Gran Bretagna per le circostanze particolari in cui si è verificato, ma esistono almeno 50 casi simili registrati nel mondo.
Alla giuria è stato chiesto non di giudicare se Thomas fosse colpevole di omicidio, ma di giudicare se fosse in grado di intendere e di volere, se fosse presente un vizio di mente, durante la commissione del delitto.
Non sono stati resi noti i dettagli del delitto per timore di emulazione del crimine.
Interessante il commento di una lettrice che si domandava:_ Se ad uccidere il marito fosse stata una moglie sonnambula , il verdetto sarebbe stato identico?-
La lettrice risponde negativamente.

Vi allego l'articolo nella sua versione originale dal Times online


The Times
November 21, 2009
Man who killed wife in sleep, Brian Thomas, walks free after charges withdrawn
Simon de Bruxelles

A man who strangled his wife during a nightmare has walked free from court after the prosecution withdrew all charges against him.
Brian Thomas, 59, dreamt that intruders had broken into the couple’s camper van, and then killed his wife Christine while in a state known as automatism.
The judge told him that he had been a “decent man and a devoted husband” and bore no responsibility for his actions.
The Crown Prosecution Service described the case as “almost unique in the UK” and said there had been fewer than 50 recorded instances worldwide. It had argued during the case that Mr Thomas should be detained at a mental hospital but withdrew after three psychiatrists said that it would “serve no useful purpose”.
Mr Thomas, a retired steel worker from Neath, South Wales, was on holiday with his wife, 57, when he woke up beside her lifeless body. The jury at Swansea Crown Court was played a recording of his 999 call and heard that he had been “suicidal” since her death.
Both defence and prosecution had accepted at the start of the trial that Mr Thomas was not in control of his actions at the time of the killing. The jury had been asked to decide not if he had killed his wife but whether he was medically insane at the time that he had done so. Yesterday they were directed to return a not-guilty verdict, allowing Mr Thomas to leave court an innocent man.
Iwan Jenkins, chief Crown prosecutor for CPS Dyfed Powys, said: “This has been a unique case with a unique set of circumstances.
“Following expert evidence from a psychiatrist it was suggested that no useful purpose would be served by Mr Thomas being detained and treated in a psychiatric hospital, which would be the consequence of a special verdict in this case.
“It is now clear that the psychiatrists feel the risk of reoccurrence is very, very small. It is only because of highly sophisticated tests carried out by sleep experts that Mr Thomas’s condition could be confirmed.”
Judge Mr Justice Nigel Davis told Thomas that although he would feel guilty about killing his wife: “In the eyes of the law you bear no responsibility for what happened.”
Mr Thomas’s brother Raymond said: “I wasn’t really surprised that it went to trial given the circumstances of what happened, but he’s a gentle man. Christine and Brian loved each other. Brian is very emotional right now but thankful to be out.”
Mrs Thomas was strangled by her husband in July 2008 while they were on holiday in Aberporth, West Wales. While parked in their camper van Mr Thomas dreamt that one of a group of “boy racers” who had disturbed them earlier had broken into the van and he fought with the intruder. When he came round he realised that he had killed his wife of 40 years.
The court was told that Mr Thomas had suffered from a variety of sleep disorders for most of his life and had a history of sleepwalking.
He had stopped taking medication for depression and Parkinson’s disease because it made him impotent, an omission that also affected his mental state.
The expert witnesses were briefed not to go into too much detail about the condition that affected Mr Thomas for fear of “copycat” killings.