Murder Charge Against Australian Woman Accused Of Killing Her Husband Dropped due to Sleep Walking

A Australian woman who was charged in connection with her husband’s death will no longer face a murder trial after prosecutors decided to drop the case following the results of a sleep study. Ilknur Caliskan, 47, had been accused of fatally stabbing her 50-year-old husband in September 2023, with his body found inside a car in Clonbinane, north of Melbourne.

A major consideration for the prosecution was whether Caliskan had a sleep disorder, which could have affected her ability to act consciously and voluntarily. This was discussed during a pre-trial hearing in November.

Caliskan was set to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court in March, but prosecutors informed the court today that the case against her had been discontinued. Although no official reason for the dropped charges was provided, Caliskan’s defense team had previously indicated that they might use parasomnia—a type of sleep disorder that can involve sleepwalking or sleep terrors—as a defense.

In April 2024, Caliskan was granted bail to undergo a sleep study in Sydney. The results of that study were submitted to prosecutors in November. At a directions hearing in January, prosecutors mentioned they were consulting with the deceased’s family in Turkey before making a final decision on the case. Caliskan did not attend today’s brief hearing, during which the case was officially dismissed.