Podcast Summary: "Like a Bad Dream" – Criminal (Jan 9, 2026)

Main Theme

This episode of Criminal, hosted by Phoebe Judge, investigates the eerie intersection of crime and sleep—specifically, how sleepwalking and sleep-related behaviors (often triggered by medications like Ambien) have led individuals to commit acts ranging from the bizarre to the tragic. Through real-life stories, historic cases, and expert insights, the episode delves into the medical, legal, and moral complexities of criminal acts committed while asleep.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lindsay Schweigert’s Sleep-Driven Crime (01:04–04:56, 32:49–33:37)

• Background: In 2011, after returning from a tiring work trip, Lindsay took her prescribed sleeping pill (Ambien's generic, Zolpidem) and went to bed. The next thing she remembered, she was cold, wet, in handcuffs, and in a police car—she had driven her car (with her dog inside), crashed it, and was arrested for DUI.
  • "I told him, I have no idea what just happened to me, but I'm in jail and Tyson is at the dog pound, and we have to go save my dog." — Lindsay Schweigert (03:46)
• Aftermath: Lindsay was initially charged with DUI but, after her lawyer highlighted Ambien's side effects, she ultimately pleaded guilty to careless driving to avoid jail time. She lost her license for a year and paid significant legal fees.
  • “I think the other silver lining I took from it is at least I didn’t hurt somebody. Talk about never being able to sleep again.” — Lindsay Schweigert (33:25)

2. The Science & History of Sleepwalking Crimes (04:56–26:52)

• Expert Guest: Ramya Nagesh, UK lawyer and sleepwalking legal expert.
• Sleepwalking Behaviors: Includes not just aimless wandering, but complex actions such as driving, cooking, and even aggression.
  • Example: A man repeatedly picked up his wife in his sleep and put her outside (09:35).
  • "People can do quite a lot of actions whilst they're asleep. It's not just kind of mindlessly walking around." — Ramya Nagesh (07:52)
• Historic Case: Robert Ledru, French detective, solved a beach murder only to realize (via missing bullets and fitting footprints) he was the killer—he’d committed murder in his sleep (05:22–07:42).
  • Ledru was later observed to “sleepwalk-homicide” with a gun loaded with blanks, confirming his somnambulism (07:09).
  • “It's a case of the truth being almost stranger than fiction, I think.” — Ramya Nagesh (07:42)
• Legal Precedent: In 1859, a London woman who threw her baby out a window (believing she was saving them from a dream fire) is acquitted after argument of sleep-related automatism (10:41–12:25).

3. Medical Understanding of Sleepwalking (13:00–13:48)

• Discoveries at The University of Chicago’s sleep lab (1950s) showed REM cycles involvement in sleepwalking, with “slow wave sleep” and genetics contributing. Most sleepwalking doesn’t involve dreaming but rather partial arousal from deep sleep.

4. Landmark Legal Cases of Sleepwalking Crime

• Kenneth Parks (Canada, 1987): (14:10–22:32)
  • Parks, with a history of sleepwalking and under stress, killed his mother-in-law and injured his father-in-law while asleep. He showed no awareness during the act, and medical evidence confirmed somnambulism. He was acquitted under “non-insane automatism.”
  • "The public say, well, hang on a minute, somebody’s died here and we know who did it, but we can’t say anything more than that. We can’t do anything about it." — Ramya Nagesh (21:19)
• Scott Falater (Phoenix, AZ, 1997): (23:47–26:52)
  • Killed his wife and claimed sleepwalking. Prosecution argued he concealed evidence and tried to calm his dog—signs of conscious, complex thinking. He was convicted.
  • "We can attack somebody, but we can't do things that require complex, intelligent thoughts." — Ramya Nagesh (25:29)

5. The Role of Ambien and Medications (27:49–32:49)

• Ambien (Zolpidem): Became popular in the late 1990s. Reports of sleep-eating, sleep-driving, and other side effects began to emerge.
  • Peter Buck (R.E.M. guitarist) caused havoc on a plane under Ambien, later acquitted—experts affirmed possible unanticipated side effects (28:57–31:07).
  • Patrick Kennedy (Congressman) crashed his car on Ambien, claiming disorientation.
  • FDA mandated stronger sleep-driving and abnormal behavior warnings in 2007.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sleep Crime Realizations:
  • "I just went. I went to bed. I mean, I was so out of it... My sweatshirt was on backwards. I was completely disoriented." — Lindsay Schweigert (03:03)
• On Legal Complexity:
  • "Non-insane automatism is effectively when your body is doing something, but your mind isn’t in control of it." — Ramya Nagesh (20:01)
• On Sleepwalking Defense:
  • “It’s not an easy defense. It’s not something that people can just fall onto and say, oh, I was asleep.” — Ramya Nagesh (23:47)
• On Awe at the Phenomenon:
  • “It's a case of the truth being almost stranger than fiction…” — Ramya Nagesh (07:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:04–04:56]: Lindsay Schweigert’s story—her night of sleep-driving and arrest.
• [04:56–13:48]: The history, science, and law of sleepwalking, including the Ledru and London baby cases, and sleep-lab discoveries.
• [14:10–22:32]: Kenneth Parks: the sleepwalking murder that shocked Canada and set a major legal precedent.
• [23:47–26:52]: Scott Falater: Sleepwalking defense debunked.
• [27:49–32:49]: Ambien, its explosive popularity, and resulting legal controversies.
• [32:49–33:37]: Lindsay reflects on her fate and the terror of unremembered “waking” crimes.

Additional Insights

• “Sleep Forensics” is a specialty where experts reconstruct possibilities of sleepcrime using sleep studies and interviews (23:04–23:47).
• Having a history of violence is not usual in sleepwalking-related crimes, confounding legal expectations regarding accountability and rehabilitation.

Episode Takeaway

The episode raises unnerving questions: Are we always responsible for what we do, and how does the law cope when our bodies act without our awareness? Sleep, medication, and stress can make anyone the “criminal”—if only for one unremembered, surreal night.

This summary preserves the episode’s tone: curious, factual, empathetic, and occasionally chilling.