A man from Texas was found guilty of killing his twin sister after a jury had not accepted his claim that he was a sleeping walk when he put her deadly in the neck.
Benjamin Elliot, 21, called 911 after he had put his sister Meghan several times in the Katy house of their family on September 29, 2021. They were both 17 years old.
When the police arrived, Benjamin told them that he removed the knife from her neck and reportedly carried out resuscitation on his sister – but it was too late and Meghan was declared dead on the spot.
“I stuck her down and suddenly wasn't,” Benjamin told the researchers during a first interview.
“I went crazy and put the knife down and put a pillow on her to try to stop the bleeding. Then calls, you know, 911 of my phone. '
The teenager at the time was accused of murder in the first degree and has been to Bond. His process finally started last week, in which both Benjamin parents testified to his advantage.
TThe jury of Harris County came to their decision on Monday after the conclusion of arguments, ABC 13 reported.
Benjamin showed images of the courtroom while the judge reads the guilty judgment while his parents started sobbing.
Benjamin Elliot, 21, was found guilty of killing his twin sister on Monday
Benjamin and Meghan would have been the best friends who were very close
During the process, the accused seemed to maintain his calmness – no tears – and was even seen with his head in his hand.
At the start of the process, the defense abandoned their opening statement and the Public Prosecutor Maroun Koutani took the opportunity to invalidate Benjamin's bizarre sleeping claim claim.
Koutani argued that data from Benjamin's telephone demonstrated that he did not use the device long before he stuck Meghan.
She also noted that after he had attacked her, he kept his phone locked for at least 20 minutes before he called the police, Khou reported 11.
“Her last memory is torn from her sleep, her brother stands over her, a knife in her neck and a pillow over her face,” Koutani described the scene lively.
Benjamin's father Michael took the position and unveiled the weapon with which he went to his sister was a survival knife that he 'was in love with'.
“It is no coincidence that the knife he received the night before is the same knife that he used to kill his sister,” argumented prosecutor Megan Long.
When asked to identify a photo of his deceased daughter, Michael broke out in tears and he could hardly find his words.
Kathy, the mother of Benjamin, remembered emotionally the moment she heard her daughter died: “Michael told me that Meghan had stabbed down. And I heard resuscitation. But they wouldn't let me go to her. '
Benjamin's parents Michael and Kathy Snick when they heard the guilty verdict
The twins are shining smiling and enjoying time together throughout their lives
His lawyer Wes Rucker spoke the 'elephant in the Chamber' – the unusual defense of his client – in an attempt to prove the validity of the claim.
The lawyer said in court: “Is this just a made -up Bologna or a really creative defense? The answer is absolutely not. '
Rucker then outlined data that indicate that sleep walking can take place shortly after they have fallen asleep, in an attempt to disprove the earlier feelings of Koutani.
“And this is not a wake, this is not a defense to get Ben a tragic, tragic series of circumstances,” he said.
A forensic psychologist who previously rated with Benjamin served as a witness.
“At the time of my interview, he reported some current psychological problems, but he reported no psychological problems that were clear at the time of the alleged incident,” Dr. Wendy Elliott.
Elizabeth, the older sister of the twins, addressed the court through Zoom and remembered a body of Benjamin Sleepwalking years earlier. His great aunt also spoke about a family history of Parasomnia.
According to testimonies from courtroom and earlier reports, Benjamin and Meghan got along well and they were very close together.
They show photos of the brothers and sisters together as children, standing next to each other on the beach when teenagers and laughing together for a coach who wears crazy costumes.
Benjamin appeared during the process composed and even sunken his head in his hand on some points
Benjamin was arrested in 2021, but has since been on bond. Now his crime could give him everywhere from five to 99 years in prison
Benjamin claims that he was a sleeping walk when he attacked and killed Meghan
“He will live with the pain and regret for the rest of his life and regret that his sister is no longer here,” said Rucker.
'The girl with whom he would wash windows and ride the bus with which he laughed, giggling. The one he walked to, the one he loved.
“He did it, he knows. But he did not deliberately not committed this act. '
Judge Danilo Lacayo will determine Benjamin's punishment. In Texas, murder is a prison sentence of five to 99 years.
