← Crime House 24/7
Loading summary
Transcript11 lines
- [00:01]
Vanessa Richardson
On the Crime House original podcast, Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, we're diving into the psychology of the world's most complex murder cases.
- [00:09]
Dr. Tristan Ingalls
From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes and spree killers, we're examining not just how they killed, but why.
- [00:17]
Vanessa Richardson
Is it uncontrollable rage? Overwhelming fear? Or is it something deeper? Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House Studios original new episodes drop every Monday and Thursday Friday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:43]
Katie Ring
This is Crime House in court, experts debated whether a sleepwalking defense could acquit Scott Flater in the brutal murder of his wife Yarmila. But it would be up to the jury to decide whether he was a killer or a man who simply never knew what he was doing. Welcome to Night watch on Crime House 24 7. I'm your host Katie Ring and together we'll be following the cases making headlines now, where justice is still unfolding. Follow us wherever you are listening and if you want ad free episodes, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts plus subscribe to our YouTube channelightwatchpod. This episode discusses an active criminal case. The information we share is based on what's publicly available at the time of recording and may change as new evidence comes to light. We aim to inform, not to decide guilt or innocence. So everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. On the night of January 16, 1997, investigators arrested 43 year old Scott Flater after his wife Yarmila was discovered dead in the family's pool and had sustained dozens of stab wounds. But Scott claimed that he had no recollection of anything that happened that night. The case moved into a Maricopa county courtroom where prosecutors laid out bloody physical evidence and eyewitness testimony from a neighbor who said he watched Scott commit the crime from his upstairs bedroom window. But the defense introduced a shocking explanation. They admitted that Scott killed his wife, but argued that the only reason he did it was because he had a violent sleepwalking episode. This argument set the stage for one of the most controversial murder trials of the decade. In the spring of 1999, a war of the experts broke out in the courtroom. During Scott's trial, the prosecution's experts argued his actions were too complex for him to have been asleep when he killed his wife. They pointed to the sheer sequence of actions. He stabbed her repeatedly, controlled the physical struggle, moved the body, held her head under cold water, stashed the evidence and changed into clean clothes. They argued that these behaviors required sustained awareness, coordination and decision making that went Far beyond what is seen in sleepwalking episodes. But the defense experts argued that Scott's behavior was completely in line with known sleepwalking tendencies and that Scott was exhibiting behaviors that fit his routine. They argued that he fell asleep and then sleepwalked downstairs to go fix the pool like he had tried earlier and before. He had also brought his hunting knife to try and fix it. Their kids also said that he would keep his yard work clothes in the same bin in the garage that he had put them in. After the murder, Scott's lawyers realized that it was less about the actual actions of sleepwalkers and more about proving if he was actually asleep when he killed Yarmila. So they called neuroscientist and professor Dr. Rosalind Cartwright to the stand, who explained that sleepwalkers possess a genetic defect in the brain that affects the transition from deep sleep into dreaming sleep. Apparently, both of Scott's children were known to possess this trait. This meant his sleepwalking wasn't just habitual. It was genetic. Tonight, we're covering part three of our deep dive on the sleepwalker murder against most defense attorneys, advice. Scott fader decided to testify in his own trial and take control of his own narrative. For nearly a month, everyone picked apart his credibility and his brain, and it was finally his turn to speak. By choosing to testify, Scott took an enormous risk. Defendants rarely testify in their own murder trials because every expression, every answer, and any hint of anger will be used against them. But after weeks of experts dissecting his mind, Scott said he felt like he had no choice but to tell his story himself. Scott addressed the court on June 16, 1999. He wore a dark suit and glasses and appeared pale and worn out. He was put on the stand to defend himself for nearly two hours. He began by saying he understood the jury's dilemma. He said that initially he even questioned the sleepwalking defense. He kept thinking that yarmoula perhaps died as a result of a burglary gone wrong. But he also believed his neighbor would not lie about something this serious. Which is why he volunteered to undergo something called a polysomnogram, Also known as a sleep study. The test measured Scott's brain waves and muscle action over four nights of sleep. And it was his way of proving to himself whether he had really killed Yarmoula in his sleep. Scott's test results showed reduced slow wave activity, which meant his brain wasn't getting as much deep sleep as it should. At the time of Yarmila's death, he was losing sleep because of his stress at work. This lack of deep sleep made his brain more unstable at night and more likely to slip into a sleepwalking episode. Scott told the jury that it wasn't until he got those test results that he finally believed he had killed his own wife in his sleep. Jurors listened quietly as he spoke. His testimony wasn't treated as a confession, but it wasn't ignored either. But the science he relied on still had limits. The sleep study couldn't recreate the night Yarmila died. It could only suggest a vulnerability, not prove what Scott was doing in those final moments. In addition to his sleep study results, he said he had been diagnosed with something known as non insane automatism, a state of sleep in which a person has no control over his or her actions. He also had a long, proven history of sleepwalking that everyone in his life was aware of. Between his personal history with sleepwalking and the signs backing it up, he said it was like he woke up and saw the truth of what happened to his wife. In the end, none of that mattered to him. All the scientific jargon and diagnosis were beside the point. He expressed his utter devastation at the loss of his wife and said her murder would haunt him forever. He loved Yarmila more than anything and didn't know what to do without her. His eyes were filled with tears as he described dreaming of her every night. He hurt for his children too, who believed him, but would still have to grow up without a mother and possibly without a father. As he spoke, Scott looked at his children from the stand. He begged the judge and the jury to let him reunite with them. After Scott delivered his emotional testimony, it was time for the jurors to decide his fate.
- [07:30]
National Debt Relief Advertiser
Confronting high credit card debt can feel scary, but the good news is if you owe $10,000 or more in credit card debt, financial relief options are now available. National Debt Relief is currently offering debt relief designed to reduce what you owe and put you on the fast track to becoming debt free. If you qualify for debt relief, you may be able to back less than what you owe and save thousands of dollars. Just Visit National Debt Relief.com Imagine only paying one low monthly program payment you can afford and saving money as you become debt free. National Debt Relief has already helped bring debt relief to over 550,000 US consumers earning thousands of five star reviews and an A rating with the Better Business Bureau. You're stronger than your credit card debt. Let today be the day you start turning things around. Take the first step and Visit National Debt Relief.com to see what debt relief you may qualify for. That's National Debt Relief dot com.
- [08:27]
Katie Ring
On June 25, 1999, after six weeks of testimony, the jury in Scott Filador's murder trial convened for eight hours. In the end, Scott's emotional outpouring didn't sway the jury and he was found guilty of first degree murder. Post trial interviews with jurors showed that while some thought it was possible Scott began stabbing his wife while sleepwalking, they couldn't believe he remained unconscious through the entire sequence, especially the drowning and staging of the scene. Scott knew the probability of his trial ending this way was very high. But there was still a surprise in store. For weeks, the judge had received dozens of letters from Scott and Yarmoula's friends, family and congregation testifying to his good character. Yarmila's mother even asked that his life be spared. But what influenced the judge the most was Megan and Michael's pleas to save their father's life. Scott avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to life without parole. Over the years, his lawyers filed multiple appeals, arguing that new developments in sleep science could offer more proof that Scott had no control over his actions. But it seems like the court system has maintained the belief that Scott is a danger to society because every request for an appeal has been denied. Decades after his conviction, Scott Filleder maintains that he has no memory of the night Yarmila died. In a Rare interview in 2021, he told 2020 that he never planned the attack and that he had nothing to gain from it, insisting that the responsibility was his alone, even if he didn't recall committing it. Scott said he thinks about what his wife endured that night and he doubts he will ever forgive himself. Today, Scott remains at the Yuma prison complex in San Luis, Arizona, where he teaches professional development courses to his fellow inmates. He even created an anti recidivism program which helps incarcerated people prepare for reintegration into society. His children, Michael and Megan have gone on to lead fulfilling lives. Megan is a respected historian, serving as an awards chair for a well known historical association. And Michael is a successful attorney in Nevada. He has also spoken to the press a few times, expressing how much he misses his mother and says he wishes she could be with the family today and meet her grandchildren. The case of Scott Flater is a haunting one. It forced us to consider what our own minds are capable of. If it's true that Scott was asleep when he killed his wife, it means that the boundary between our waking selves and our unconscious minds might be thinner than we ever believed or that monsters can exist anywhere, whether we realize it or not. Long before Scott Filleder's trial forced Arizona jurors to confront that fear, courts elsewhere had already wrestled with the same question. Whether sleep could excuse the unthinkable or whether responsibility must always follow bloodshed. More than a decade before Scott Flater stood trial, a man named Kenneth James Parks was one of the first defendants ever to use the sleepwalking argument. In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 23, 1987, Kenneth Parks rose from bed inside his townhouse in Pickering, Ontario, a quiet suburb east of Toronto. His wife, Karen Parks, and their infant daughter were sleeping peacefully in the house. There were no reports of arguments, raised voices, or disturbances noticed by neighbors. And Kenneth had also gone to bed believing it was an ordinary night. But sometime after midnight, he got up, left the house, got into his car, and began driving to his in laws house. Their house was roughly 14 miles away, and it was a drive he had made many times before. After parking outside, Kenneth entered the home of his mother and father in law, Barbara and Dennis Woods. What happened next was sudden and violent. Using a tire iron, Kenneth attacked both Barbara and Dennis Woods. Barbara suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. Dennis survived, but sustained serious head trauma and required extensive medical treatment. There were no signs of force entry, the home was not ransacked and nothing appeared stolen. Then, just as abruptly as it began, the violence stopped. After the attack, Kenneth got in his car and drove to a Toronto police station at Finch Avenue East. He parked his car and walked inside. His clothes were soaked with blood and his hands were severely injured, with deep lacerations and exposed tendons. Kenneth approached the front desk and spoke to the officers on duty, according to police testimony. He said, I think I have killed some people. My hands. Officers initially believed Kenneth was in shock. He appeared confused, but calm, cooperative, and deeply distressed. He did not resist arrest. He did not deny involvement. Instead, he repeatedly asked for medical attention and tried to understand what officers were telling him. Toronto homicide investigators later testified that Kenneth repeatedly told them that he had no idea how he ended up in his in law's home and insisted he had no no reason to harm them. Paramedics were called and Parks was transported to the hospital under police supervision. Investigators noted that his behavior did not resemble that of someone attempting to evade responsibility. As police pieced together the events of the night, they encountered a problem that would shape the entire case. There was no obvious motive. Kenneth Parks had no history of violence toward his in laws. Friends and family described his relationship with them as stable and generally positive. And there were no documented disputes, threats or arguments that could explain such an attack. What detectives did uncover was that Parks had been under extreme personal stress. In the months before the killing, Parks had developed a serious gambling addiction. He had accumulated significant debt and had withdrawn large sums of money from his bank account. He was struggling financially and emotionally, but there was no evidence that his stress was directed towards his in laws. Instead, medical experts would later argue that stress played a different role altogether. Not as a motive, but as a trigger. As the case moved forward, Parks defense team began focusing on a condition that had followed him since childhood. Kenneth Parks was a longtime sleepwalker. Family members testified that Parks had experienced episodes since he was young, including wandering the house and performing routine actions while asleep. His wife Karen, confirmed that she had witnessed similar episodes during their marriage, sometimes involving Kenneth leaving the bedroom or attempting tasks without waking. Medical records and testimony supported these accounts. This was not a diagnosis that appeared after the crime. It was a long standing condition. Parks trial began in 1988, drawing intense media attention across Canada. The legal question was not whether Parks had caused Barbara Wood's death. He did not dispute that fact. The question was whether he had done so consciously. His attorneys raised a defense rarely seen in criminal court. Non insane automatism. Under Canadian law, automatism refers to involuntary conduct carried out without conscious awareness. If proven, it negates criminal intent and responsibility. To support this claim, the defense called Dr. Roger Broughton, Director of the sleep disorders clinic at the Ottawa Civic Hospital and one of the world's leading authorities on parasomnias. Dr. Broughton testified that Parks was suffering from a rare but documented condition known as violent somnambulism, a form of parasomnia. He explained that during certain stages of deep sleep, the brain's motor systems can activate while areas responsible for consciousness, judgment and memory remain offline. In that state, a person may be able to walk, drive nice, navigate familiar spaces, and even interact with objects, all without awareness. Dr. Broughton emphasized that Kenneth's behavior fit this pattern. He showed no signs of planning, no effort to conceal the crime, and no attempt to escape. His injury suggested he was unaware of pain during that episode. Most significantly, his immediate surrender to police indicated that his awareness returned only after the violence had ended. Prosecutors dismissed the sleepwalking defense outright, calling it implausible and arguing that Kenneth must have been aware of what he was doing, even if he later blocked out what they described as terrible events. The prosecution argued that driving 14 miles required conscious intent. But Dr. Broughton countered that familiar routes can be navigated automatically, much like habitual actions performed without thought. After weeks of testimony and no nine hours of deliberation, the jury delivered a verdict that would shock the world.
- [17:24]
Vanessa Richardson
What drives a person to kill? Is it uncontrollable rage? Overwhelming fear? Unbearable jealousy? Or is it something deeper? Something in the darkest corners of our psyche?
- [17:38]
Dr. Tristan Ingalls
Every Monday and Thursday, the Crime House Original Podcast Serial Killers and Murderous Minds dives deep into the minds of history's most chilling murderers. From infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes and terrifying spree killers. I'm Dr. Tristan Ingalls, a licensed forensic psychologist. Along with Vanessa Richardson's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns. In every episode of Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, I'll be providing expert analysis of the people involved, not just how they killed, but why.
- [18:14]
Vanessa Richardson
Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House Studios Original new episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
- [18:28]
Katie Ring
On May 18, 1988, after nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Kenneth Parks not guilty of first degree or second degree murder in the case of Barbara woods, and the judge also acquitted him of the charge of attempted murder of Dennis Woods. The verdict stunned the public and ignited widespread debate. Prosecutors appealed, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court of Canada. At the heart of the appeal was a single legal question. Should sleepwalking be classified as a non insane automatism, a state where actions are involuntary and free from criminal intent, or as a disease of the mind which carries its own legal implications? In its ruling, the court upheld Parks acquittal, concluding that the evidence supported a finding of non insane automatism? The decision confirmed that criminal liability requires conscious, voluntary action. Kenneth Parks walked free. It was one of the first times a court had formally recognized that a person could commit homicide while asleep and not be responsible criminally. Prosecutors warned that recognizing sleepwalking as a path to acquittal could open the door to abuse, allowing defendants to explain away intentional violence as unconscious behavior. But in the years that followed, the fear never fully materialized. Successful automatism defenses remained rare, scrutinized more harshly than almost any other claim in criminal court. But that precedent would travel far beyond Canada, including Arizona. By the time Scott Filleder went to trial in 1999, Sleep Science had advanced, but not enough to answer the question jurors cared about most. Brain scans and sleep studies could identify risk factors and vulnerabilities, but they could not reconstruct consciousness during a specific act of violence. There was no test that could say whether or not Scott was asleep when he stabbed his wife or awake when he hid the evidence. Afterwards, science could only describe possibility, not intent. And so the burden shifted back to the jury, forced to interpret behavior, sequence and credibility where medicine reached its limits. When Scott Flater went on trial, Kenneth Park's case loomed in the background. Once again, a defendant claimed he had killed a loved one while sleepwalking. Once again, the defense invoked no non insane automatism. And once again, Dr. Roger Broughton testified. On paper, the similarities were striking. In practice, the differences would prove decisive. Kenneth Parks turned himself in immediately, while Scott Falator did not. Kenneth arrived at the police station injured and confused. Fileter was found inside his home after his wife, Yarmila Falator had been stabbed 44 times, drowned in the backyard pool and left at the scene. Kenneth made no attempt to hide evidence, while Scott's prosecutors argued that he had changed clothes, washed up, hid blood stained items in his car and returned to bed. To jurors, these differences mattered. In both trials, experts agreed that sleepwalkers can perform complex actions. Where the cases differed was interpretation. In Park's case, behavior after the crime reinforced the medical explanation. In Scott's case, behavior after the crime undermined it. The Arizona jury was not asked whether sleepwalking exists. They were asked whether Scott filled actions fit that explanation. They decided it did not. Scott Fileter was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Kenneth Parks was acquitted. Kenneth Parks case remains a touchstone in debates about sleep, consciousness and culprit ability. It stands as proof that the human mind can act without awareness. But it also stands as a warning because once courts accept that sleep can absolve responsibility, they must decide where that acceptance ends. Taken together, the cases of Kenneth Parks and Scott Filleder do not resolve the mystery of sleepwalking and violence. They deepen it. They force us to confront a possibility that is deeply uncomfortable. That under the right conditions, the mind can betray the body entirely. And that justice may hinge not just on what someone did, but on whether they were truly awake when they did it. In the end, these cases do not ask whether the men were sleeping or awake. They ask something far more unsettling. How much control do any of us really have once we close our eyes? What did you think of part three of our series on the sleepwalk walking murder? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you next time if you haven't already. Make sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel at night Watchpod. Your support means everything.
- [23:25]
Vanessa Richardson
What drives a person to murder? Find out from a licensed forensic psychologist on serial killers and Murderous Minds A Crime House Original Podcast. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.