A jury found a Texas man guilty of killing his twin sister after they refused to believe that he was sleepwalking. According to 21-year-old Benjamin Elliot, he was simply sleepwalking when he stabbed Meghan Elliot to death in her neck.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Texas Man Blames Murder Of Twin On Sleepwalking
After the horrifying incident on September 29, 2021, he dialed 911. At the time, the twins were 17 years old, and he murdered her in their family home. While waiting for the cops to arrive, Benjamin attempted to perform CPR after removing the knife from her neck. But by the time they arrived, it was too late.
Just this Monday, the Harris County jury came to an agreement and the judge pronounced him guilty of first-degree murder. This was after hearing Benjamin claim it was an accident caused by his sleepwalking. "I stabbed her and then suddenly wasn't," Benjamin had said to investigators during early interviews.
"I freaked out and, like, put the knife down and put a pillow on her to try and stop the bleeding. Then called, you know, 911 from my phone."
Despite the weight of the tragedy on the parents, they insisted that their son wasn't guilty and testified for him. In response to the guilty verdict, his parents began to cry.
Jury Refuses To Believe Benjamin's Bizarre Defense
State prosecutor Maroun Koutani took no time to discredit Benjamin's claims of sleepwalking, as per KHOU. Her argument stated that based on the data from Benjamin's phone, he was using the device soon before the stabbing. On top of that, he locked his phone for around 20 minutes before calling the police after the attack.
Her last memory is being ripped out of her sleep, her brother standing over her, a knife plunged in her neck, and a pillow over her face," said Koutani. With the way she described the scene, it's hard to believe that someone sleepwalking could act so strategically.
The boy's lawyer, Wes Rucker, attempted to claim that his client's defense was uncommon enough to be valid. "Is this just some made-up bologna or a really creative defense?" Rucker said. "The answer is absolutely not."
Rucker also tried to prove that sleepwalking can happen soon after falling asleep. This was his failed attempt at convincing the jury that Koutani's phone theories were useless.
Another reason why Benjamin's claims are suspicious comes from information his father spilled. While on the stand, his father Michael revealed that the murder weapon was a survival knife he bought the night before. Apparently, Benjamin was "enamored with" this knife.
In the end, the jury decided to deem Benjamin guilty of murder. This can lead the young man to life in prison, but Judge Danilo Lacayo is still figuring out how many years to grant him.

Drama and defending the indefensible. Want to know why he is going to spend life in prison. Look at the one who birthed him. Those actions speak a volume.
It's been a horror story for 60 years. "These people" can't live in civilized society. The Civil Rights Act was the beginning of the end of white civilization.
Closure is nonsense...something made up. Stop using the word.
Please save your vile racism for your MAGA rallies.
My racism is wonderful. It means I notice the vile behavior of useless usual suspects. I'm not a MAGA rally type person, by the way, so I say things so you'll get to see it, too.
Oh sure, tell that to the parents from the Uvalde school shooting—or any of the countless other school shootings. But please, go on about how Black people are the 'uncivilized' ones. Because, you know, it was totally Black people who started two world wars and colonized half the planet. Makes perfect sense
Yea, no. Regardless, they're worse.
There's a mass shooting in Chicago every weekend. But it's so common that the media never bothers to cover them.
What the hell is she wearing at Court? I guess she was heading to the local watering hole after the sentencing.
White civilization.....that is laughable!!!