Expert tells trial violent dreams like cage fight ‘quite common’

MAN DENIES ATTEMPTING TO MURDER FORMER PARTNER

A SLEEP expert has told a court a Derby builder’s claim he choked his partner in bed while dreaming he was cage fighting is plausible.

Dr John O’Reilly said people lashing out or behaving violently as they sleep was “quite common”.

The doctor, who has interviewed Bradley Souto, who is accused of attempted murder, told him he was cuddling Rebecca Jackson and woke to find he was choking her.

The trial has previously heard how the 31-year-old alcoholic admitted he was responsible for his actions to the paramedics who turned up at their Alvaston home.

Dad-of-two Souto denies the charge of attempting to murder Miss Jackson at the Farm Drive home in November 2019.

Dr O’Reilly told the jury about different types of sleep. One, called REM [rapid eye movement], is a deeper sleep that can leave a person’s body “completely paralysed” as they rest. Defence barrister Nicola Hunter asked him: “How common is it for episodes of violence to occur during REM sleep?”

He replied: “Violent behaviour is quite common, 2% of the population will have [an episode of] violent behaviour in their sleep at some time. With REM sleep it is very common that the subject will act out violent dreams, lash out, shout or scream.

“Mr Souto told me he had his arms around and was cuddling her and was dreaming he was cage fighting and had [his opponent] in this particular hold.”

Miss Jackson, when she gave evidence on the first days of the trial, said she woke to find Souto with his arms around her neck as they lay in bed at around 10pm on November 14, 2019. She heard her then partner say to her “don’t worry this won’t take much longer”.

Miss Jackson said: “He had his arm around my neck, it was so tight, really, really tight, I was really struggling to breathe. I just thought I was going to die, I thought ‘this is it now, I am at the end of my life now.’

“My biggest fear was leaving the children without a mum, I absolutely love my children. I just thought ‘I can’t believe he’s doing this to me, I’m dead.’ I just thought what’s going to happen to my children when I am gone?.’”

On day two of the trial the 999 call Souto made was played at Derby Crown Court In it he told the call operator: “I ran a rampage, I choked my girlfriend out she’s very purple in the face. She’s going purple and red, I did it to her, I choked her, I’m very scared, I would like to keep her alive, I have done this myself.”

Souto and Miss Jackson were in a relationship for around 10 years. The court heard when his drinking was at its worst he would down 18 cans of Strongbow cider per night. He and Miss Jackson separated in January 2019 due to his alcoholism but reconciled in the May after he agreed to stop drinking so much.

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.