The 17-year-old Texas boy who claimed he was sleepwalking when he stabbed his twin sister to death called 911 and began performing CPR more than an hour after the attack.
17-year-old boy stabbed his twin sister to death while sleepwalking
Benjamin Elliott remained in Harris County Jail overnight, charged with first-degree murder for the slaying of Meghan Elliott at the family’s Katy home early Wednesday.
An attorney for the Elliott family released a statement to local media, saying Benjamin and Meghan “were extremely close and the best of friends.”
Recently released photos of the brothers show them cuddling together as children, standing next to each other on the beach as teenagers and laughing together on a coach in silly costumes.
During the initial hearing, a prosecutor said he admitted to stabbing Meghan Elliott, but told officers he believed she was sleeping or dreaming at the time. He said he only realized what happened when he pulled the knife out of his twin’s neck between 2.30 and 3am.
‘The defendant stated that after realizing he was not dreaming, he removed the knife and placed it next to the complainant, turned on the bedroom light and applied pressure to the wound with a pillow,’ a prosecutor stated, according to Click2Houston.
Benjamin called 911 to report the stabbing, and the operator instructed him to perform CPR on his sister until paramedics arrived.
While on the call with the emergency dispatcher, the teen alerted his parents, who woke up and ran to Meghan’s room to find their son performing CPR.
According to prosecutors, the parents could be heard screaming and crying in the background.
The first sheriff’s units responded to the Elliott home at 4:45 a.m., more than an hour and a half after Benjamin claimed to have found the knife protruding from his sister’s neck.
In court Thursday, attorneys said Benjamin had no history of sleep disorders and had not ingested drugs or alcohol.
Authorities said the 17-year-old suspect will be tried for murder as an adult.
