Brian Thomas
BBCBrian Thomas leaves Swansea Crown Court after the verdict.
Brian Thomas had had a long history of night terrors and sleepwalking.
In 2010, he was on vacation with his wife in their camper in Wales just before their 40th anniversary when he strangled her to death after having a nightmare that they were being burglarized. According to Thomas, he vaguely remembered coming out of sleep in a panic and seeing “someone in the camper van, a man with blue jeans and a black fleece lying on top of [his wife] Christine.” Thomas stated that he then shouted “you bastard!” and grabbed the man by the throat.
After coming to a state of wakefulness, Thomas realized what he had done and began desperately looking for help. On the phone with emergency services, Thomas was so hysterical that he could hardly make out the words, “Can you send someone? I think I’ve killed my wife. I’ve killed her. Oh my god.” When police arrived, Brian Thomas was standing outside the camper crying and shaking.
The evening before the murder, the couple had been bothered by “boy racers” zipping around their car park doing noisy tricks. This was thought to have triggered the attack. A team of psychologists showed that Thomas suffered from a disorder that caused him to lose control while sleeping.
Thomas was eventually acquitted of all charges but nevertheless forced to live with the memory of his horrific deed.
Next, read up on five strange sleep disorders that’ll absolutely astound you. Then, have a look at some other unusual disorders that seem too bizarre to be real.
