The Boy Who Killed His Twin

Summary

---

48 Hours: "The Boy Who Killed His Twin"

Date: September 29, 2025
Host: CBS News
Episode Overview:
This gripping episode explores the tragic, perplexing case of Benjamin Elliott, a 17-year-old from Harris County, Texas, accused and ultimately convicted of murdering his twin sister, Megan, in their family home. Central to the episode is the question: Did Benjamin knowingly kill his sister, or was he sleepwalking and unaware of his actions? Through interviews with family, friends, legal experts, sleep specialists, and prosecutors, “48 Hours” unpacks the complexities of the investigation, the courtroom battle, and the emotional toll on all involved.

---

Main Themes and Purpose

• Exploration of Sleepwalking as a Legal Defense: The episode centers on whether Benjamin’s actions could be attributed to a parasomnia (sleepwalking) episode and if a sleepwalking defense holds weight in a case resulting in such a violent, familial tragedy.
• Family and Community Impact: Delves into the emotional devastation for the Elliots and their circle, grappling with the loss of Megan and the possibility of also losing Benjamin to the prison system.
• Criminal Justice Dilemmas: Highlights the challenges for investigators, prosecutors, and jurors faced with scientific ambiguity, lack of clear motive, and conflicting expert testimonies.
• Courtroom Drama: Follows the twists of the trial: the prosecution’s push for a murder conviction, the defense’s counter-narrative, and the deliberations leading up to a split jury decision.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 911 Call and Immediate Aftermath

• Intense Emotion and Confusion: The episode opens with the original 911 call, where a panicked Benjamin tells the dispatcher, “I stabbed my sister. Please, I don’t want her to die. I’m sorry. … We’re twins.” (00:37)
• Paramedics try CPR while parents are in shock, struggling to make sense of the unimaginable situation.
• Benjamin is handcuffed by police and sits outside in the rain, showing extreme shock and confusion, stating repeatedly, "It was just a dream, and then it wasn’t." (01:55)

2. Interrogation and Lack of Motive

• Benjamin’s Statement: During interrogation, Benjamin says, “You ever have like a really realistic nightmare where like just everything feels real but also off at the same time?” (04:48)
• Insists he would never hurt his sister, describing her as "my best and closest friend." (04:09)
• Initial police focus: No detected motive, no family problems, and a loving sibling relationship.
• Family's Reaction: Deep disbelief—parents and friends reiterate there was no conflict between twins; Benjamin was deeply protective of Megan.

3. Unfolding of the Sleepwalking Defense

• Sleep Specialist Consultation: Dr. Gerald Simmons, neurologist and sleep disorders expert, is approached for his opinion. Initially skeptical, Simmons notes, “In general, think of a parasomnia as an abnormal behavior that occurs during sleep, like sleepwalking.” (16:36)
• History of Sleepwalking: Multiple instances from Benjamin’s childhood and a family history of parasomnias are cited.
  • “My uncle apparently used to sleepwalk when he was a teenager. … [He] would go out into the garage … walked in on my mom one time in the shower.” (17:14)
  • Childhood friend recalls finding Benjamin “asleep on a couch eating a donut.” (16:56, 31:46)
• Sleep Studies: Benjamin is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which Dr. Simmons says can trigger sleepwalking episodes, especially during "non-REM slow wave sleep." (18:13-18:45)
• Critical Timing: Phone records show Benjamin likely fell asleep at around 4:17 am; his 911 call was placed just 24 minutes later, aligning with sleep lab findings that he entered deep sleep unusually fast. (19:00-19:21)

4. The Prosecution’s Doubt and Counter-Expert

• Prosecutors Megan Long and Maroon Khutani challenge the sleepwalking theory:
  • “I just don’t think that was the case with Benjamin Elliot.” (03:21)
  • Long, herself a sleepwalker, disputes the defense’s account, noting lack of direct family history and absence of sleepwalking from Benjamin’s parents. (21:16)
• Dr. Mark Pressman, prosecution’s expert: Argues that sleepwalkers only become violent if physically restrained, and that unsheathing a knife is a "complex conscious action, not an unconscious one." (22:18, 22:28)
• Benjamin’s Recall: Pressman is skeptical because Benjamin recalls the feeling of stabbing — “That’s a memory. [He] shouldn’t be able to have that memory.” (22:48-23:09)

5. Autopsy, Trial, and Theories

• Autopsy revealed two stab wounds, not one as Benjamin initially believed, and a fatal neck injury. (11:36)
• Prosecution suggests Benjamin covered Megan’s face with a pillow not as first aid but to muffle her screams; defense disputes this, saying the pillow was used to stop the bleeding. (24:40-24:52, 40:11)
• The prosecution also finds Benjamin’s calm demeanor and language—describing the scene as a "crime scene" and not his "bedroom"—suspicious, suggesting possible consciousness and guilt. (26:16-26:33)
  • “It’s a nightmare that happened to all of us.” (28:37)

6. The Trial: Testimonies & Verdict

• Defense: Calls friends and family who attest to Benjamin’s gentle nature and past sleepwalking incidents.
  • Dr. Simmons delivers four hours of technical testimony, arguing that this tragedy "totally fits in line with … sleepwalking violent behaviors." (32:24-32:30)
• Prosecution Final Word: Megan Long suggests family coverup: “You can’t let them get away with it. They have been protecting him from the get go.” (33:40)
• Closing: Long stuns the courtroom by saying, “There is not one person here for Megan … You have to be her hero.” (34:07, 34:22)
• Jury: Split 7-5 initially; after four hours, returns a guilty verdict. (34:37-36:23)
  • “We the jury find the defendant, Benjamin David Elliott, guilty of murder as charged in the indictment.” (36:23)

7. Reaction, Sentencing, and Reflection

• Benjamin: “I feel like this has been a … miscarriage of justice. I am not guilty of murder for my sister, Megan Elliott.” (36:46)
• Family: Outraged by prosecution’s hints of problems behind closed doors; insists there’s no evidence. (37:29)
• Judge, swayed by a juror’s request for leniency, sentences Benjamin to 15 years rather than 40. (38:41)
• Benjamin: “If you believe that I crept into my sister’s bedroom and murdered her while she was asleep, why would you possibly want leniency? That person is horrible.” (38:54)
• He expresses continued grief for Megan—“We did everything together … she was a wonderful person. … She would just see beautiful things everywhere.” (41:46)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Benjamin (to 911): “I kicked my wife and I stabbed her. Please, I don’t want her to bother me. I’m sorry. … We’re twins.” (00:24)
• Interviewer: “What makes you so sure that you stabbed your sister while you were sleepwalking?”
  Benjamin: “I would never have done that. I loved her. She was my best and closest friend.” (04:05-04:09)
• Dr. Simmons: “This is not a ruse. This is not some defense to get Ben off of a tragic, tragic set of circumstances. This is a real phenomenon.” (31:04)
• Prosecutor Long: “He knew exactly what he was doing. There’s been no remorse shown here in this courtroom by him.” (34:22)
• Benjamin on being sentenced: "I feel like this has been a … miscarriage of justice. Niggins. I am not guilty of murder for my sister, Megan Elliott." (36:46)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 911 Call & Immediate Response: 00:24–02:40
• Police Interrogation (Benjamin’s Account): 04:36–05:14
• Family & Friend Impressions of Twins: 10:07–11:11
• Introduction of Sleepwalking Defense: 14:43–16:46
• Expert Testimony and Sleep Lab Study: 17:52–19:21
• Prosecution’s Rebuttal and Alternate Theories: 21:12–24:58
• The Trial & Key Testimonies: 28:42–33:29
• Jury Deliberation and Verdict: 34:37–36:23
• Benjamin’s Reaction in Jail: 36:39–40:49
• Post-Verdict Family Reactions and Reflections: 37:29–42:00

---

Overall Takeaways

• The episode is a powerful exploration of the intersection between neuroscience, law, and emotion in the context of family tragedy.
• Key tension: The rare but real possibility of a sleepwalking murder, versus the prosecution’s assertion of conscious intent.
• The trial ultimately ends with a conviction, despite lingering doubts—seen in the jury’s request for leniency—leaving open questions about justice, accountability, and the limits of scientific certainty in the courtroom.
• Benjamin and his family continue to grapple with their loss and the outcome, maintaining his innocence as he faces prison and the prospect of parole in 2032.

---

For listeners seeking a detailed, compassionate account of both the emotional and technical complexities in a true crime story, "The Boy Who Killed His Twin" offers a thought-provoking examination of the limits of knowledge—and the heavy weight of doubt.

Transcript

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Oh, hey, love your shoes. If you're hearing this, this is your sign to try those on. Trust us, you can totally pull them off. In fact, try on every shoe here if you want. We won't stop you in our house. You've got unlimited freedom to play. And hey, fall is the perfect season to do wear. Be whatever you want. And with tons of shoes that get you at prices that get your budget, we'll give you something to brag about. So go ahead, try them on. Let us surprise you. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. Harris County. No Memorial. What's the location of your emergency? I still. My sister. Oh, my God. Tell me what your name is. Benjamin Elliot. Okay, tell me exactly what happened. I thought it was a dream. I. I kicked my wife and I stabbed her. Please, I don't want her to bother me. I'm sorry. How old is she? 17. We're twins. Is she awake? Yes, she's, like, barely alive. Is there anyone else there in the house with you? There is. It's my parents, but they're asleep. Okay, I need you to go wake them up. Mom, we're gonna have to start CPR right now. 1, 3, 4. 1, 2. Keep upping her chest. Just like that. Okay. Where's your son? Where's your son? Okay. Okay, we got that. EMS is coming. Okay, slow down a little bit. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, four. Can we take over? What happened, son? What's the dream? He said it was a dream. Honey. What the. I don't know. I don't know what. It was just a dream, and then it wasn't. I'm gonna do a search of you real quick, and then I'm gonna put you in the back seat out of this rain, okay?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What was your first reaction when you heard about the case?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I was skeptical. Why does he have a knife next to his bed at night? This is the first study that we did ON Ben. I'm Dr. Gerald Simmons. I'm a neurologist, sleep disorder specialist. See, these are rapid eye movements. I was asked to review the case of Benjamin Elliott. The claim was sleepwalking and stabbed his sister. We have a video of him right here.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Oh, there he is.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah. Okay.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You are convinced this was a sleepwalking incident?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Are you Saying then that he did kill his sister, but he didn't intend to kill his sister, correct?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wouldn't say that it's impossible for someone to commit a crime while sleepwalking. I just don't think that was the case with Benjamin Elliot.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Were you able to find any evidence that there was a problem with these twins?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, we definitely looked into it and tried. The biggest thing that they're hanging their hat on is the lack of motive. My name is Megan Long. I'm one of the prosecutors on the case, so.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

This is really hard, isn't it, Mike?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I hate this. I hate that she's gone. This was not Benjamin's fault. I've never thought of him as somebody responsible for this.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What makes you so sure that you stabbed your sister while you were sleepwalking?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I would never have done that. I loved her. She was my best and closest friend. Aaron Moriarty reports the boy who killed his twin.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

On the morning of September 29, 2021, 17 year old Benjamin Elliott was in a Harris county sheriff's interrogation room in Houston, Texas.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So what happened, Benjamin? You ever have like a really realistic nightmare where like just everything feels real but also off at the same time?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin told Detective Freder Munoz that he stabbed his twin sister once with this knife, but had little memory of what had happened.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So you go to sleep, what's the next thing you remember? The next thing I remember is like the feeling of stabbing something. I was in her room and I turned on the light and I was panicking and I tried to stop bleeding with the pillow. So I run in my room and I unplug my phone and I dial 911. What's the location of your emergency? I stabbed my sister. How many times did you stab her? Just once. I heard the 911 call and I screamed, what's going on? You what? And I went to go move into the bedroom. As I moved, I saw Megan. And she was really not. She was gray, you know?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Michael Elliott remembers calling out to his wife, Kathy.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I heard Michael yell. I was trying to figure out what's going on. And Michael said, the police are here. Where's the brother at? And I just.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Arriving. Paramedics took over cpr.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They took Benjamin out of the house. He was shocked. He said it was a dream. What did you make of that? I don't. I mean, I just. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I couldn't.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Not the Ben you knew. So it would have to have been that he was.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Something would have had to happen.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin, his Parents say sat handcuffed at a police car for three hours while police, confronted with an apparent homicide, took control of the crime scene.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I just want to see her. We can't. No, we can't see her. Nobody would tell us if Megan was okay, what was going on. Take a picture for me. Let me see something. Yeah. Can we see something? No, sir.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliot say they felt isolated by the police and eventually called a longtime friend who is also an attorney.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He went and got some information, and he told us that Megan had died.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

It was news police didn't share with Benjamin.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Is she okay?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin asked Detective Munoz several times if his sister was all right.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She is okay.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But the detective withheld the truth.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah, last time I knew about she was being checked out by the ems.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Authorities say this is a textbook police technique to keep a suspect talking, and they wanted Benjamin talking about his feelings for his sister.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

How's your relationship with Megan? Good. She's my twin sister. I'd do anything for her. No rivalry there? No. You guys having any recent fights or anything like that? No, we're pretty close for siblings.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin, who spoke to police without a lawyer, said he loved his sister and described what he says he remembered before the stabbing. Phone records show he was scrolling the web, and Benjamin says he thinks he fell asleep somewhere around 2:30 or 3:30 in the morning.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Where would that phone be at right now? Somewhere at the crime scene.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin provided Munoz with his iPhone, password, and permission to search his phone.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Have you ever been diagnosed with any mental illnesses? No.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin said there were no problems at home and said that he was looking forward to college.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm thinking about mechanical engineering. I'm taking the sat, I think. Friday. No, Saturday. And let me ask you, the knife that you had in your hands, where'd you get it from? From my dad. He had given it to me that day. It was like an Air Force survival knife. I was really enamored with it.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin and Megan's parents had a big collection of knives and gear. The family is big into camping. Kathy is senior manager with the Girl Scouts of America. Michael is a stay at home dad.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I know that if I had not given him that knife, this would not have happened. And.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After two hours in that interrogation room at 11am Munoz finally revealed that Megan was dead.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Megan did not make it. He and Megan are so close, you could never picture anything bad happening between them.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Longtime friend Drew Whitaker was stunned to learn Benjamin was in police custody.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He was very protective of her.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

She says her family and the Elliotts have been close since 2005, Ben was very engineering focused. Whitaker herself an engineer, described Benjamin as soft spoken, smart, funny and a bit nerdy while Meghan was sensitive, wrote poetry and loved to draw. As a teenager, Megan had been diagnosed with autism. And how did she feel about Ben?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She loved him. She looked up to him. You would see her walk up next to him when she would feel uncomfortable and just kind of stand by him.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Did he ever get tired of having to take care of Megan?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think he was proud of it, like he liked being a protector.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliott say the twins seemed happy in the weeks before the stabbing. With their eldest child Elizabeth already off at college, the twins toured separate universities.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Megan at this point had started coming out of Rochelle as well. She was finding her voice and she had found friends online and she had a YouTube channel where she was doing art.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The night before Megan's death, father and son spent hours playing popular video games such as Survive the Nights. It was in that video game that Benjamin noticed a military style knife that his father said resembled one that he owned. Michael offered to give it to Benjamin.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Unfortunately, I went and got the knife out.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliotts remember heading off to bed. Was there any, you know, any problem at all between the twins? The Elliots, like police couldn't make sense of why Benjamin stabbed Megan. But police had the teenager's confession, the bloody knife he used along with a disturbing detail discovered at autopsy. Megan hadn't been stabbed just once. She had two stab wounds. Benjamin Elliot was charged with the murder of his twin sister. After several days on suicide watch, 17 year old Benjamin Elliott was released on bail. His parents were there waiting for him.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I saw them put him out and he just kind of stood there on the sidewalk and I went, sorry. It's okay. I went up to him and he seemed, I told him, I said hey Ben, you know, and he seemed like he didn't see me. He was surprised to see me. We started driving and we were asking him if he was okay and we were getting very, very quiet. Quiet like, you know, single word answers. So Michael pulls the car over and stops and gets up, comes around and takes his face in his hands and he says he's like hi, just, we love you. Hi. And he just, yeah. And I saw him kind of, I'm sort of weak. Melody just hugged us. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliotts knew they could never sleep in their home again and had already moved in with Kathy.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ben was worried that he might walk around and he was worried that he might do something. He wanted to make sure everybody was safe.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliot's were worried too.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The first two nights, I slipped in a chair in front of the door.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The couple even installed an alarm on Benjamin's door because his attorneys had asked them not to speak with their son about the night Megan was killed. They couldn't ask him the burning question, why?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

There's never been anything wrong with him at all. Where my mind went was a mental health something.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Kathy's father was schizophrenic. She now feared her son might be. So did Benjamin's lawyers, Wes Rucker and Carrie Hart.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So we had a psychiatrist sit down with him. I fully expected her to come back and say he's got schizophrenia or he's severely bipolar. When she calls me up, she said, wes, he's fine. It blew my mind.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

They came to suspect that Benjamin experienced something else entirely. He was actually sleepwalking when he killed his sister. Had either one of you ever had a case quite like this?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Never. No. You have a twin causing the death of the other, and the last thing you think of is this a sleepwalking case.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But Benjamin had told police that nightie stabbed his sister. It felt like a dream. And his lawyers say that sleepwalking defenses have been used successfully in the past. In 1987, Canadian Kenneth Parks drove his car 14 miles to his mother in law's home, beat her to death with a tire iron and stabbed her. He claimed he was asleep the whole time and a jury believed him. And in North Carolina in 2010, Joseph Mitchell strangled his four year old son and attacked two of his other children, all while sleepwalking. A jury also found him not guilty. The big question here is just whether Ben Elliot in fact killed his sister while he was sleepwalking.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Correct.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

So Benjamin's lawyers reached out to Dr. Gerald Simmons, a neurologist and a sleep disorder expert.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When I first was approached, I was very skeptical. The next question is, did I even want to deal with this? My first reaction to this is, you know, well, who else are they going to go to? I mean, within the field of sleep medicine, this is what I do.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Simmons wanted to do a sleep study with Benjamin to test if it's possible Benjamin could experience something called a parasomnia.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In general, think of a parasomnia as an abnormal behavior that occurs during sleep, like sleepwalking. Sleepwalking would be a parasomnia.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Simmons asked if Benjamin had a history of sleepwalking, and his lawyers say he did. When he was about 10 years old, Benjamin's older sister Elizabeth found him sleepwalking by her bedroom door. There was also a Sleepover with childhood friends. The night this photo was taken, when Benjamin was found asleep on a couch eating a donut. When they woke him, he seemed surprised and confused. Simmons also learned that there were other members of the Elliot family who sleepwalked.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The likelihood genetically is higher to have parasomnia, specifically non rem parasomnias, if there are other family members that have had that. My uncle apparently used to sleepwalk when he was a teenager. He would go out into the garage and, you know, with tools. And apparently he walked in on my mom one time when she was in the shower.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Kathy also had an aunt who once walked out of her house while she was asleep, ran out into the woods.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In the middle of the night, and was waking up in the middle of a thunderstorm outside. You know, here's a video of him right here.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Simmons conducted two sleep sessions, studies with Benjamin in his sleep lab, six weeks apart. In each, Benjamin was hooked up to machines that monitored just about everything his body did as he slept.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This is brainwave activity here. So we did the sleep study. I saw that he had obstructive sleep apnea.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Obstructive sleep apnea, says Simmons, is where the airway becomes partially blocked, creating a disturbance in the sleep pattern. So he's sleeping, struggling a bit to get breath. Then that could be the trigger. Yes, a trigger that Simmons says could cause a sleepwalking episode, particularly when Benjamin's brainwaves enter what is known as a non rem slow wave sleep.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Now he's in slow wave sleep.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

This is slow wave sleep.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sleepwalking will typically occur in non rem slow wave sleep.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

During the sleep studies. Benjamin did not sleepwalk. But Simmons observed how quickly Benjamin entered that non rem slow wave sleep.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So it was 11 minutes from the time we turned off the lights until he was in slow wave sleep.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

This is important because on the night Benjamin stabbed Megan, his phone activity stopped at 4:17am it was just 24 minutes later that he was on his phone calling 911.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I just found my sister. What's your location?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Simmons says the fact that Benjamin is able to reach slow wave sleep so quickly means it's possible Benjamin was sleepwalking during that period of time. His phone was inactive.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Our father would be clean.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Do you believe Ben killed his sister without even realizing he was doing it in his sleep?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes, Ben definitely killed his sister. He did it. There's no question. He's the one that had the knife and he stabbed her. But I believe it was part of a parasomnia. He didn't do this voluntarily, There was no motivation.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Dr. Simmons findings took Benjamin's parents by surprise.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's scary as hell. If that can happen to us, then that could happen to anybody with. With a sleep problem. He realized he was sinking the knife into something or someone and then woke up and realized it was his sister.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After sleep expert Dr. Gerald Simmons made his assessment that Benjamin was sleepwalking when he killed his twin sister, the Elliott's were hopeful prosecutors might drop the case.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

At that point, we thought it might not go to trial.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But in April 2023, a year and a half after Megan's death, a grand jury indicted Benjamin Elliott, then 19 years of age, of first degree murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We just didn't think that what we saw was sleepwalking.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Megan Long and Maroon Khutani would handle the prosecution. It wasn't Long's first sleepwalking case. In 2019, she successfully convicted a man who claimed he was sleepwalking when he shot and killed his wife. And Long told us she herself was a sleepwalker, as were her children. Still, Long disputes the Elliot's claim of a family history since she says neither of Benjamin's parents have been sleepwalkers.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

From our conversations with our sleep expert, family history of sleepwalking is a factor. It's more prevalent when it's like first degree family members. So your parents.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The prosecutors hired their own sleep consultant, psychologist Dr. Mark Pressman, who concluded Benjamin was not sleepwalking when he stabbed Megan. He says sleepwalkers become aggressive only when someone physically interferes with them, and they.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Respond by hitting or kicking or throwing furniture. But that's, that's like a reflex, you know, an instinctive reflex to protect themselves.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And he points out that Benjamin would have had to have unsheathed the knife before he used it in the stabbing, which Pressman believes is a complex conscious action, not an unconscious one.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The next thing I remember is the feeling of stabbing something.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

He also says it's unusual for a sleepwalker to recall details the way Benjamin did to authorities after he stabbed Megan.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He remembered the feeling of the knife going into the neck. That's a memory shouldn't be able to have that memory.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Aren't there sometimes pockets of memory?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Not in these cases, no.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Dr. Simmons disagrees. He says Benjamin told police what he could recall.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

If he was trying to fabricate this or just use this as an alibi, it would have been just as easy for him to say, I don't remember anything. Instead, he's. I interpret it as he's trying to be as honest as he Can.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But Pressman felt he had enough information to make his determination. You didn't think you needed to talk to Ben?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Prosecutor Long knew she needed more than an expert's assessment to convict Benjamin. Especially because she couldn't identify a motive for murder. No one had witnessed any problems between the twins.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Is there no motive because he was sleepwalking or is there no motive just because no one's willing to come forward and tell us?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And they think they could convince a jury that Benjamin's actions were intentional that night, Stabbing Megan twice. One wound was four inches deep and severed her carotid artery and jugular vein.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So he's saying that he stabbed her in the neck, removed the knife with where she was stabbed, blood would be coming out of her neck. You should see some sort of blood spatter on the walls. And there isn't any of that.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin had told police he used a pillow to stop the bleeding.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And I tried to stop bleeding with the pillow that was behind her. I like to did that.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Long doesn't believe that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think he wanted to cover her face, I think maybe even muffle if she were to scream or anything like that. The only way for there not to be that blood spatter is it had to be there when he took the knife out. It wasn't there for life saving measures.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But he's calling 911, so he's not trying to hide what he had done. Right.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think at that point when he's making that 911 call, he realizes I can't hide what I've just done. What's your name? Benjamin Elliot. I just killed my sister.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Khutani claims Benjamin is whispering on the 911 call and is suspicious why he's not yelling to his parents for help.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I don't want to get on. I'm sorry. I think he's whispering because. Because he doesn't want his parents to come to the same reality that he's now living in, that he took his sister's life. I think that that's why he doesn't awake them before calling 911. I think that's why he doesn't scream in the house when he realizes what he's done.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And they argue. Megan was already dead by the time Benjamin called 911.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Okay, sir, can we. Can we take over? By the time EMS got there, she. She wasn't breathing on her own. She had no heartbeat. Our medical examiner said that with the wound that she suffered from, she would have been dead within minutes.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin's interrogation raised even more Questions, they say, especially when Benjamin described his house as a crime scene.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Benjamin Elliott is asked by Deputy Munoz, where's your phone? Benjamin Elliot responds with, it's at the crime scene. And to us, that was significant. Not many 17 year olds would respond with, at the crime scene. Most people would say, at my house, in my room.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And there is more, says Khutani.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

His demeanor and his behavior is very calm. Certainly not the type of behavior you would expect from somebody who comes to with a knife in their hand and their sister dead in the sleep of her own bedroom.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Could he be in shock? I mean, realizing what he had done? Isn't that possible?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think based on his response to Deputy Munoz in a couple portions of the interview, we can tell that he's not necessarily in shock with what the consequences of his actions were.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

During the interview, Benjamin told police that his sister had struggled with her mental health.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

My sister had a pretty severe depression for a while, Meghan.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

To prosecutors, that suggested maybe everything wasn't so perfect in the Elliot family, a contention that Benjamin's lawyers find ridiculous. They say investigators made virtually no effort to learn about the Elliotts or Benjamin.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They don't have a clue about this kid. They weren't even curious. He would know what was going to happen to him if he killed his sister. There was nothing for him to gain. There was everything for him to lose. There's just no reason why he would have done that.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Before trial, prosecutors offered Benjamin a 30 year plea deal. He turned it down.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The tragedy is now the family lost their daughter, but their now losing their son. He's on trial for his life.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

All right?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He's a victim. He went to sleep, he woke up and he. He found out he had killed his sister.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After struggling with Megan's loss.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You may be seated.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The Elliotts now face the possibility they could lose Benjamin, too.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's a nightmare that happened to all of us. All right, for the jury.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin's first degree murder trial began on February 18, 2025.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You tell your colleagues I have a client who killed his twin sister, and we believe he was sleepwalking, and they think you're crazy.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But with no evidence of any problems between the twins, Benjamin's lawyers hoped they could convince a jury that sleepwalking is the only explanation. Even prosecutors knew the lack of motive could be a problem.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think our biggest hurdle going into this trial was the why.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

So you made sure you had jurors who at least be open to the idea they may never know why Megan Elliot was stabbed. Right in his opening remarks, Maroon Qahtani made it clear that that while there was no motive, they had their murderer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He calls 911 at 4. 41. Hello? Hello? I just killed my sister. I stabbed her with a knife. Oh, my God. He's whispering.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Prosecutors told jurors about Benjamin's behavior during that interrogation.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And you'll see his demeanor in the.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Interview pointing to Benjamin's reaction when the detective tells him Megan is dead.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but Megan has succumbed to her injuries. And the defendant says, hmm.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Witnesses offered details about her wounds, the lack of blood spatter, and the prosecution's theory that Benjamin covered Megan's head with a pillow while he stabbed her. And Benjamin's father was surprised to learn that prosecutors would ask him to identify Megan's body. For the record, this is a photo.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Taken from an autopsy. Yeah, that's Megan. No further question. Drama after.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After the prosecution rested, defense attorneys Carrie Hart and Wes Rucker took over.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Good morning.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Making their case about sleepwalking.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And this is not a ruse. This is not some defense to get Ben off of a tragic, tragic set of circumstances. This is a real phenomenon.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And that call Benjamin made to 911, the defense says that's evidence he was the desperate to save Megan.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He's saying things like, oh, my God, I thought it was a dream. I thought it was a dream. I don't want her to die. I don't want her to die. He's trying to do CPR. 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Family friend Drew Whitaker told the jury about Benjamin's devotion to Megan.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ever notice that if the sweet kid or the tender kid changed into somebody else? Absolutely not.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Appearing by zoom, childhood friend Anand Singh told the jury about that sleepover when he found Benjamin asleep and eating a donut.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Just the sheer confusion on his face, like he genuinely seemed baffled as to how that happened.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin's great aunt, Martha Knight Oakley, a psychologist, told the jury about her own sleepwalking history, including finding herself in the woods one night.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All I know is I came to in the bushes clutching my dog.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But the defense team's star witness was Dr. Gerald Simmons. He testified for four hours, detailing the science and sleep studies that convinced him of Benjamin's innocence.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It totally fits in line with the process we. We call sleepwalking violent behaviors.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

On rebuttal, prosecutors called their own sleepwalking expert, Dr. Mark Preston.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I concluded he was not in a sleepwalking state. How did you come to that conclusion? He had memory. He is said to have come out of the state much faster than any Sleepwalker could ever do.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

In closing arguments, prosecutors described a deliberate murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Benjamin Elliot walked into his sister's room with this very knife and he stabbed her in the neck twice. There's no blood spraying in the room. You know why? The only thing soaked in blood is the pillow that he muffled her screams with.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin's defense attorneys push back.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

If you're trying to cover something up, you're not calling 911. You're not begging for someone to help your sister.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And they appealed for justice.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You do not convict a young man, a 17 year old, because of how he looks or because how he answers interrogation questions.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But prosecutor Megan Long had the final word. And she suggested the family was involved in a cover up that began with calling the friend who is a lawyer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Look, I'm a mother. I understand wanting to protect your children. I get it. But you can't let them get away with it. They have been protecting him from the get go.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Long didn't leave it there.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They want to say that this family life was perfect, but we don't necessarily know what happens behind closed doors.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And what she said next stunned the courtroom filled with the Elliot family and friends.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I want you to look in this courtroom. There are so many people here. There is not one person here for Megan. I'm gonna object to that.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But the judge let the prosecution continue.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You have to be her hero. He knew exactly what he was doing. There's been no remorse shown here in this courtroom by him.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After four days of testimony, the case went to the jury.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We took a vote immediately.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Jurors were divided.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was split seven to five.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Could they reach a verdict?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm Ashley Graham and as a parent, I know the back to school transition can be a lot when it comes to wellness. Ollie supports me and my family through it all. Kids, multi is big in my house. It supports their immune system and they love to take it. A win win for everyone. Shop these [e-mail] or retailers nationwide. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. I was a sleepwalker and one of my own children used to sleepwalk too, as a young.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Several of the jurors who decided Benjamin's fate knew a lot about sleepwalking. You know someone who was a sleepwalker?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Absolutely, yes. Had a family member. Yes. On my mom's side, my grandfather.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

But even with their experience, they were deeply conflicted about Benjamin.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We spent a lot of time with the interview by the detective. I'm taking the sat, I think Friday he talked about how he was going to go take the sat. He just seemed to not have a lot of remorse.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

It didn't take them long to come to a unanimous decision.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All right. For the jury, my understanding is that y' all have a verdict. Is that correct?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

After four hours of deliberation, we the.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jury find the defendant, Benjamin David Elliott, guilty of murder as charged in the indictment. Signed by the foreman of the jury, printed by the foreman of the jury. I remember hearing guilty, and I was completely shocked.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin Elliott, who did not testify at trial, later spoke to 48 Hours inside the county jail.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I feel like this has been a. I don't know, a miscarriage of justice. Niggins. I am not guilty of murder for my sister, Megan elliott.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin, now 21 years old, said he and his family were appalled by the way prosecutor Megan Long ended her closing argument.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

There are so many people here for Benjamin. There is not one person here for Megan. That was crazy to me.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What do you mean?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Everyone in that courtroom was there for Megan. I understand wanting to protect your children.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And his parents were outraged by the statements made by prosecutors hinting to problems within the family.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We don't necessarily know what happens behind closed doors. They were lying. Yeah, it was horrible. They waited until the closing when they knew that nothing could be said afterwards to. To pull out these outlandish implications about. You don't know what happens behind closed doors. Yeah, she knows damn well. There's not a shred of evidence that anything untoward was happening in our house, in our.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin and his parents had little time to let the guilty verdict sink in.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Does he have to say hug? Yes.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

They were back in court for sentencing the following day.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And he is the one that went into her room that night and snuffed the life out of her.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Prosecutors asked for 40 years, but a member of the jury asked the judge for leniency because he worried about Benjamin's family.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Stand up, Mr. Elliot.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Judge Danilo Lucayo told the court he wanted a sentence that he could live with.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I sentence you to 15 years in prison. This time, you will go with the.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The request for leniency, says Benjamin, makes him wonder if a few jurors had more doubts than they wanted to admit.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

If you believe that I crept into my sister's bedroom and murdered her while she was asleep, why would you possibly want leniency for that person? That person is horrible.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Are you that person?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, I'm not. I'm not that person. I mean, I'm. I. I try to be Genuine. I try to be honest. I'm. I'd like to think of myself as a good person.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Benjamin says authorities misconstrued everything he did, starting with that 911 call. The prosecutors say. You were whispering on the phone, were you?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, that's ridiculous. I wasn't whispering. Please, I don't want to get by him. Sorry. I was panicked. I wasn't screaming into the phone because I'm just not a. I don't really yell.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And Benjamin insists that as soon as he realized what he had done, he was trying to help Megan, using the pillow to try to stop the bleeding. The state says that you didn't use the pillow to try to stop the bleeding. You did it to keep her from screaming.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What do you say to that?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That's crazy to me. And there's absolutely, absolutely zero forensic evidence for that at all.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And what about his seemingly calm demeanor throughout the police interview?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The plan is I'm taking the SAT.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You're talking to a deputy, and you're talking about SATs and colleges.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm trying to get my mind off of things. I've had some issues with school stuff sometimes where I think you can see it in the conversation. I keep pretty much steering the conversation away from what happened. I don't want to think about it.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

As for learning Megan had died, Benjamin says he just shut down and that he was desperately hoping she'd be okay. Do you feel you're guilty of anything?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You don't?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No. No. And I don't think this is my fault at all. I used to blame myself for it because it's like I was the one holding the knife. Right. But, I mean, I've come to realize that I'm not, you know, I couldn't have done anything any different than what I had done.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And Benjamin says he misses his twin.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's really hard that she's not here.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Isn't it hard to know that it's because of you she's not here?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah. Yeah, it's really hard. We did everything together like we were. We were very, very. She was a wonderful person. She was an artist. The way she looked at the world, she looked at it with, like, a creative mind. So she would just see just beautiful things everywhere. Benjamin Elliott will be eligible for parole in 2032 when he is 28 years old. He is appealing his conviction.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Join me Tuesday for post mortem from.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

48 hours, where we'll dive even deeper.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Into today's episode and answer your questions about the case.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's okay not to be perfect with finances. Experian is your big financial friend and here to help. Did you know you can get matched with credit cards on the app? Some cards are labeled no Ding decline, which means if you're not approved, they won't hurt your credit scores. Download the Experian app for free today. Applying for no Ding decline cards won't hurt your credit scores. If you aren't initially approved, initial approval will result in a hard inquiry which may impact your credit scores. Experian. Tulsa is my home now. Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone stars in the Paramount original series Tulsa King. This distillery is a very interesting business, and we gotta know the enemy. From Taylor Sheridan, co creator of Landman. What are you saying? I'm all right if you think you're gonna take me out. It's gonna be really difficult. Tulsa King New season now streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.