A young Texas man has learned that he will spend the next 15 years behind bars after a jury could not accept his claim that he was sleepwalking when he killed his twin.
Benjamin Elliot, 21, dialed 911 after he stabbed his sister Meghan several times inside their family’s Katy home in the early morning hours of a school day on September 29, 2021. They were both 17 years old at the time.
After nearly five hours of deliberations on Monday, a jury found a blankly-staring Elliot guilty as his parents sobbed at the verdict.
On Tuesday, Judge Danilo Lacayo determined Elliot’s punishment to be 15 years in prison, despite the state asking for at least 40. The 21-year-old will be eligible for parole after serving seven and a half years, ABC13 reported.
‘We are very happy with the sentence. We think it reflects what the judge thought was a weakness in the State’s case,’ Wes Rucker, Elliot’s defense attorney, told ABC13. ‘We are pleased.’
Elliot’s fate comes more than three years after the then-teenager reported to cops that he thought he was dreaming about stabbing his twin sister in the neck but woke up to discover it had never been a dream at all.
When police arrived, Elliot told them he removed the knife from her neck and was reportedly performing CPR on his sister.
‘I stabbed her and then suddenly wasn’t,’ Elliot told investigators during an initial interview.
Benjamin Elliot, 21, was handed a 15-year sentence behind bars on Tuesday for fatally stabbing his twin sister, Meghan, inside their Texas home in 2021 – an act in which he claimed happened when he was ‘sleepwalking’
The then-17-year-old dialed 911 after he stabbed his sister Meghan several times in the neck inside their family’s Katy home in the early morning hours of a school day on September 29, 2021
Elliot was charged with first-degree murder after the 2021 stabbing but has since been out on a $100,000 bond
‘I freaked out and, like, put the knife down and put a pillow on her to try and stop the bleeding. Then called, you know, 911 from my phone.’
However, it was too late by the time help arrived and Meghan was tragically pronounced dead in her own bed.
The then-17-year-old Elliot was charged with first-degree murder and has since been out on a $100,000 bond. His trial finally began last week, during which both of Elliot’s parents testified in his favor.
During the week-long trial, Elliot doubled down on the same defense – he was sleepwalking when he killed his sister.
At the start of the trial, the defense waived their opening statement, and state prosecutor Maroun Koutani took the opportunity to invalidate Elliot’s bizarre sleepwalking claim.
Koutani argued that data from Benjamin’s phone showed that he was using the device not long before stabbing Meghan.
She also noted that after he had attacked her, he kept his phone locked for at least 20 minutes before calling the police, KHOU 11 reported.
‘Her last memory is being ripped out of her sleep, her brother standing over her, a knife plunged in her neck and a pillow over her face,’ Koutani said as she vividly described the scene.
While sentencing, the judge addressed Elliot’s lack of criminal history – adding that the 21-year-old had no issues while out on bond – as an important factor that went into the final decision’
Elliot will be eligible for parole after serving seven and a half years behind bars
Rucker argued back, asking the jury: ‘How could a kid who cherishes his sister, who loves her, protects her – how could someone commit a crime that heinous without a reasonable explanation?’
Both sides brought in experts that testified about parasomnia and other abnormal behaviors that could potentially take place during sleep.
‘I think the jury got it wrong,’ Dr. Jerald Simmons, a neurologist who testified for the defense, told ABC13.
‘It’s totally possible. If it wasn’t possible, I would have not taken the position,’ he added. ‘There are other cases. They are rare, but they can occur.’
Prosecutors on the case argued that the evidence did not support any sleep walking claims, citing the fact that Elliot was awake and on his phone before the killing.
They argued that not only did his phone log his steps to and from his sister’s bedroom, but he was awake enough to turn off his school alarm and to call 911 after the brutal stabbing.
It was also of the prosecutors belief that Elliot used a pillow as a way to muffle his sister’s screams during the unexpected attack, ABC13 reported.
A forensic psychologist who previously assessed with Benjamin also served as a witness.
Courtroom footage showed Elliot with a blank stare upon hearing his guilty verdict, all while his parents began to sob
When police arrived at the home in 2021, Elliot told them he removed the knife from his sister’s neck and was reportedly performing CPR
By the time officers arrived at the Texas home in the early morning hours of a school day in September, Meghan was tragically found already dead in her own bed
At the time, Elliot told police that he thought he was dreaming about stabbing his twin sister in the neck but woke up to discover it had never been a dream at all
‘At the time of my interview, he was reporting some current mental health issues but he reported no mental health issues that were evident at the time of the alleged incident,’ Dr. Wendy Elliott said.
When Elliot’s father Michael took the stand, he revealed that the weapon his son went at his sister with was a survival knife that he had become ‘enamored with.’
Megan Long, a prosecutor, piggy-backed off Elliot’s father’s statements, noting how the knife itself gives premeditation rather than motive.
‘It’s not a coincidence that the knife he got the night before is the same knife he used to kill his sister,’ she argued.
Kathy, Elliot’s mother, emotionally recalled the moment she learned her daughter had died: ‘Michael told me Meghan had been stabbed. And I could hear CPR going on. But they wouldn’t let me go to her.’
Elizabeth, the twins’ older sister, addressed the court via Zoom and recalled an instance of Elliot sleepwalking from years prior. His great-aunt also spoke about a family history of parasomnia.
Throughout the trial, Elliot appeared to maintain his composure – not shedding any tears – and was even seen with his head rested in his hand.
According to courtroom testimonies and previous reports, Elliot and his sister got along well and were very close with each other.
Photos of the siblings showed them huddling together as children, standing side-by-side on the beach as teens, and laughing together on a coach wearing silly costumes.
‘He is going to live the rest of his life with the pain and regret and remorse that at his hands, his sister is no longer here,’ Rucker said.
‘The girl that he would wash windows with and ride the bus with, that he laughed with, that he giggled with. The one that he watched over, the one he loved.
‘He did it, he knows it. But he did not intentionally, knowingly, commit this act.’
On Monday, Elizabeth, the twins’ older sister, addressed the court via Zoom and recalled an instance of Elliot sleepwalking from years prior
Elliot’s trial, which started this week, showed photos of the siblings as children, citing that they allegedly got along very well and were very close to each other
Prosecutors said that the evidence did not support any sleep walking claims, citing the fact that Elliot was awake and on his phone before the killing – arguing that not only did his phone log his steps to and from his sister’s bedroom, but he was awake enough to turn off his school alarm and to call 911 after the brutal stabbing
However, after closing arguments on Monday, the Harris County jury came to their decision as the judge read the guilty verdict aloud.
Courtroom footage showed Elliot with a blank stare upon hearing his guilty verdict, all while his parents began to sob.
The defense argued a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and asked the judge for five years. The prosecution asked for nothing less than 40 years, KHOU 11 reported.
In Texas, murder carries a prison sentence ranging from five to 99 years.
Judge Lacayo ultimately settled on a 15-year punishment on Tuesday, adding how the jury had asked him to be lenient, ABC13 reported.
While sentencing, the judge addressed Elliot’s lack of criminal history – adding that the 21-year-old had no issues while out on bond – as an important factor that went into the final decision.
