Husband 'strangled wife of 40 years during dream that he was tackling a burglar'

A devoted husband strangled his wife in his sleep as he dreamt he was tackling an intruder, a court heard yesterday. But in a highly unusual move, prosecutors have agreed that although Brian Thomas killed his wife Christine, they will not seek a guilty verdict because he was not in control of his actions.

Mr Thomas, 59, suffers from a chronic sleep disorder known as automatism. Both prosecution and defence say he did not intend to kill her and are arguing for different not guilty verdicts.

If the jury finds in favour of the prosecution he could be sent to a secure mental unit, but if they favour the defence he will go free.



The court was told that Thomas 'dreamed that an intruder had broken into their motor home' during a holiday and reached out across the bed to stop him, but ended up strangling his wife of nearly 40 years. Yesterday he wept as a recording was played of the 999 call he made just minutes later.

In the call, which was timed at 3.49am, he can be heard crying: 'What have I done? I've been trying to wake her. 'I think I've killed my wife. Oh my God. I thought someone had broken in.'

Minutes later, when police arrived at the scene to find the father-of-two crying and shaking, he told them: 'She's my world.' The case continues.