Defense attorney Michael Kimerer told jurors that Scott Falater's killing of his wife was so senseless that it could not have been premeditated.

				SLEEPWALKING MURDER TRIAL
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PHOENIX (Court TV) — While the prosecution referred to Scott Falater's sleepwalking murder defense as a fantasy, the defense told jurors Wednesday that they must acquit Falater because he did not have a motive to kill his wife.

"The marriage was better than it had ever been [at the time of the killing]," said Falater's attorney, Michael Kimerer. "There is simply no basis, no motive for murder. There is nothing here that shows premeditation."

Jurors are deciding whether Falater purposely killed his wife, Yarmila, on January 16, 1997. Falater stabbed her 44 times at their home, dragged her into their pool and then held her head under water.

During the four-week trial and closing arguments, the defense did not deny that Falater killed his wife, but insisted that he did not commit murder because he was sleepwalking at the time, and therefore lacked the intent to kill. Yarmila, the defense said, was killed when she tried to awaken a sleepwalking Falater while he was trying to fix a pool water pump with a hunting knife.

Kimerer acknowledged that the defense is far-fetched, but he suggested that jurors should remember that Falater has a history of sleepwalking. The Falaters, Kimerer stressed, were devoted to each other and led a nearly perfect life. Kimerer said that Yarmila's killing did not make sense — and neither does the prosecution's theory that Falater committed premeditated murder. Calling the prosecution's allegations of premeditated murder "the real fantasy, " he said that his client had absolutely no reason to kill his wife and throw his life away. If there is reasonable doubt about premeditation, Kimerer said, then jurors must acquit Falater.

"The perfect life he led is gone, his children are gone, the wife he loved is gone," Kimerer said. "And Scott doesn't know why. Scott doesn't remember anything about the killing and the only logical explanation seems to be sleepwalking."

Kimerer reminded jurors that Falater's sister and mother had told them about his prior sleepwalking episodes, particularly the incident where he threw his sister across a room. The defense attorney also argued that even if Falater did purposely kill Yarmila, it is highly unlikely he would have accepted a risky sleepwalking defense. This, Kimerer stressed, suggests that Falater's defense is most likely true.

During his closing arguments, prosecutor Juan Martinez urged jurors not to believe Falater's defense. Martinez sarcastically cast doubt the sleepwalking theory and claimed that Falater's actions — such as changing his bloody clothes and placing them in the trunk of his car — suggest that he was not sleepwalking at all during the attack. Martinez focused on proving the incompetence of the parade of defense experts in the trial.

"It doesn't mean anything that [Falater] took the pants, took the knife, took the sheet, the mouthpiece. He took his socks, puts them in this Tupperware container and seals them very nicely," Martinez said sarcastically. "But of course he's not concealing anything."

Except for one witness' claim that Yarmila was unhappy with the demands of Falater's Mormon church, no witnesses have been able to suggest a possible motive for murder. But while Martinez pointed out that the law did not require him to prove motive, he suggested that difference of opinion in religion and Yarmila's reluctance to have more children may have driven the deeply religious Falater to murder.

In addition to first degree murder, jurors are also considering a second degree murder charge. If convicted of first degree murder, Falater could face the death penalty.

— Bryan Robinson and Kristin Savarese