He previously served 14 years in prison for killing a man in 1991 at a block party while high on alcohol, LSD and paint fumes. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Champagne in what marks the second time he has been charged with murder. Prosecutors say Alan Mathew Champagne fatally shot 32-year-old Philmon Tapaha and choked to death 26-year-old Brandi Nicole Hoffner at his apartment, put their bodies in the box, poured in lime to help with decomposition and buried it a half mile away at his mother's home.
#Arizona man backyard discovery trial#
The discovery was made at the former home of a woman whose son is scheduled to go on trial next week in the 2011 deaths. Terms under which this service is provided to you.A landscaper made a discovery four years ago at a Phoenix home that provided a big break in a missing-persons case: A plywood box buried in the backyard that contained the mummified corpses of a couple. Related sites: Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowĮxternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.Īll Rights Reserved. If a jury agrees, police say, the threat of bogeymen in the night may be little too real. Sleep disorder experts say even that aspect of Falater's actions is possible while sleepwalking.Īlthough the sleepwalking defense is extremely rare, it has been used successfully a few times. And he put his clothes and the knife he used into a plastic container in the trunk of his car.
He put on a pair of gloves before pushing his wife into the pool. Mike Torres.īut police say Falater was aware enough to try to cover up the crime. We don't know, and I don't know that we ever will," says Phoenix police Sgt. "Usually you're able to find motive and you're able to find out reasons behind an action. A neighbor who called the police says he heard Yramila's screams and saw Falater drown her.Ī neighbor watched while Falater pushed his wife into the pool Nothing was out of the ordinary.īut an hour later Falater's wife was dead. Their mother was on the couch, reading a book. On the night of the murder, Falater's two children, ages 12 and 15, told police their father went to bed about 10 p.m. Active in the Mormon church, Falater never drank, did drugs or argued with his wife, neighbors said. They think something terrible is happening, and they have to defend themselves, so often they will fight."įalater, then 41, was a successful product manager with Motorola. But this is a state in which they are confused. Rosalind Cartwright, who analyzed Falater, says it is possible. It could happen, experts say Falater talks to police after his wife is found murderedĬNN's Greg LaMotte details this unusual defense "Are you saying to me my wife is dead?" he says to officers on a police tape.įalater's attorney, who declined to be interviewed, is planning a defense based on sleepwalking.
In January 1997, with his two children asleep in the house, Scott Falater brutally stabbed his wife, Yarmila, then dragged her to the backyard pool, where he held her head underwater.įalater doesn't deny he killed his wife, but he says he doesn't remember - because he was asleep. PHOENIX (CNN) - An inventor accused of stabbing his wife 44 times and drowning her in their swimming pool says he was sleepwalking at the time and remembers none of it. CNN - Arizona man says he was sleepwalking when he killed wife - May 8, 1998Īrizona man says he was sleepwalking when he killed wife
0 kommentar(er)
