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1st Sleepwalking Occurence
This was the first time that Kenneth Parks experienced somnambulism. -
Commitment of Murder
Kenneth Parks rose quite early in the morning, and drove to his in-laws' house. Whilie there, he picked up a tire iron. His in-laws, Barbara Ann Woods and Dennis Woods, were asleep at the time. He assaulted both of them with the tire iron, and he then proceeded to stab Barbara Ann Woods multiple times with a kitchen knife, killing her. -
Verdict Reached
The jury acquitted parks, the reason being that he did not voluntarily act at the time of the incident. A number of doctors testified that Parks was in fact sleepwalking at the time of the murder, meaning that he did not act out of his own will. -
Decision Upheld by Supreme Court
The Government of Canada appealed the acquittal, but the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the jury's verdict. They said that there was a reasonable doubt that Parks acted voluntarily. Along with this, they established that sleepwalking would be classified as a non-insane automatism, meaning that it would not be considered a mental disorder. -
Parks runs for Durham Trustee
Kenneth Parks ran for the position of Trustee in the Durham School Board. He faced a lot of backlash because of his past, even though he was acquitted.