Since he could remember only vague fragments of the murder (e.g., flashes of his mother-in-law’s face with a “help me” look on it), had no motive, and had a long history of sleepwalking (as did other members of his family), a team of defense experts concluded that Ken Parks was asleep when he committed the crime, suffering a severe episode of sleepwalking. They argued that he was unaware of his actions, and thus not culpable. On May 25, 1988, a jury rendered a verdict of not guilty. This defense has been attempted in a number of subsequent cases, most of which have been unsuccessful.
