Joseph Mitchell had pleaded the defense of automatism in relation to the first-degree murder charge.
Joseph Mitchell.
ABC11
A North Carolina man who said he killed his 4-year-old son while sleepwalking was found not guilty of murder on Wednesday.
Joseph Mitchell had pleaded the defense of automatism in relation to the strangulation death of his son, Blake, on Sept. 22, 2010.
He claimed to have been sleepwalking when he attacked his son, his two other children, and his wife in their Durham home.
Mitchell also locked himself inside a bathroom following the incident, where he stabbed himself and slit his throat, according to WRAL.
