A Texas man is claiming he can't be charged with the murder of his wife because he was sleepwalking at the time.
Raymond Lazarine, 67, of Houston admits to shooting his wife six times in December 2013. However, he contends that he wasn't in control of his actions and believed he was dreaming. The man called his son on the day of the shooting and revealed he had shot his wife of 35 years in a dream. He also told the police officers who took him into custody that he had been dreaming.
Lazarine's attorneys are using that as a defense in the case, according to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC.
"Our position over here is this was a dream and it wasn't voluntary," attorney Feroz F. Merchant said at the trial on Nov. 4. "We've had him evaluated, and obviously the experts are going to come by and say, 'Hey, we think he suffers from a medical condition where it's involuntary.'"
A retired homicide detective named Fil Waters corroborated the story Lazarine shared, testifying that Lazarine mentioned being in a dream at the scene.
"He mentioned something there that was more of an off-the-wall comment about, 'This is like a dream I wish I could wake up from,'" Waters said.
Lazarine's son helped build his defense, testifying that his father had been on psychiatric medication at the time and occassionally mixed his pills with alcohol. Lazarine is facing life in prison if he's convicted.
