48 Hours Season 38 Episode 1

Reality Realm US

48 Hours Season 38 Episode 1  #RealityRealmUS Reality Realm US

Transcript

00:00I stabbed her.

00:04I don't want her to buy her.

00:08How old is she?

00:1017. We're twins.

00:13Is she awake?

00:14Yes. She's, like, barely alive.

00:17Is there anyone else there in the house with you?

00:19There is. It's my parents, but they're asleep.

00:21Okay, I need you to go wake them up.

00:24Mom!

00:25We're gonna have to start CPR right now.

00:28One, two, three, four.

00:30One, two, keep pumping her chest just like that, okay?

00:34Where's your son? Where's your son?

00:36Okay, okay, we got EMS is coming.

00:41Okay, slow down a little bit.

00:43One, two, three, four.

00:45One, two, three, four.

00:48Can we take over? Can you step out?

00:51What happened, son?

00:52It was a dream.

00:53He said it was a dream, honey.

00:56What the f***?

00:58I don't know what...

00:59I don't know what I'll do with Sheila.

01:02It was just a dream, and then it wasn't...

01:05I'm gonna do a search of you real quick,

01:07and then I'm gonna put you in the backseat out of this rain, okay?

01:11What was your first reaction when you heard about the case?

01:15I was skeptical.

01:16Why does he have a knife next to his bed at night?

01:19This is the first study that we did on Ben.

01:22I'm Dr. Gerald Simmons.

01:23I'm a neurologist, sleep disorder specialist.

01:25See, these are rapid eye movements.

01:27I was asked to review the case of Benjamin Elliott.

01:31The claim was that he was sleepwalking and stabbed his sister.

01:35We have a video of him right here.

01:37Oh, there he is?

01:39Yeah, okay.

01:39You are convinced this was a sleepwalking incident?

01:43Yes.

01:44Are you saying, then, that he did kill his sister,

01:48but he didn't intend to kill his sister?

01:53I wouldn't say that it's impossible

01:54for someone to commit a crime while sleepwalking.

01:58I just don't think that was the case with Benjamin Elliott.

02:00Were you able to find any evidence

02:02that there was a problem with these twins?

02:06No, we definitely looked into it and tried.

02:08The biggest thing that they're hanging their hat on

02:12is the lack of motive.

02:13My name is Megan Long.

02:15I'm one of the prosecutors on the case.

02:22This is really hard, isn't it, Mike?

02:25I hate this.

02:27I hate that she's gone.

02:31This was not Benjamin's fault.

02:33I've never thought of him as somebody responsible for this.

02:36What makes you so sure that you stabbed your sister

02:39while you were sleepwalking?

02:40I would never have done that.

02:42I loved her.

02:44She was my best and closest friend.

02:46So,

02:54I don't know if I'm über Cultivate.

03:29On the morning of September 29, 2021, 17-year-old Benjamin Elliott was in a Harris County Sheriff's

03:47interrogation room in Houston, Texas.

03:50So what happened, Benjamin?

03:52Do you ever have, like, a really realistic nightmare, where, like, just everything feels

04:00real, but also off at the same time?

04:06Benjamin told Detective Frederick Munoz that he stabbed his twin sister once with this

04:12knife, but had little memory of what had happened.

04:16So you go to sleep.

04:18What's the next thing you remember?

04:20The next thing I remember is, like, the feeling of stabbing something.

04:30I was in her room, and I turned on the light, and I was panicking, and I tried to stop bleeding

04:37with the pillow.

04:39So I run in my room, and I unplugged my phone, and I dialed 911.

04:44911, what's the location of your emergency?

04:46I stabbed my sister.

04:50How many times did you stab her?

04:51Just once.

04:53I heard the 911 call, and I screamed.

04:55What's going on?

04:56I was just telling you what?

04:59And I went to go move into the bedroom.

05:00As I moved, I saw Megan, and she was, uh...

05:05She was, uh, gray, you know?

05:13Michael Elliott remembers calling out to his wife, Kathy.

05:17I heard Michael yell.

05:19Oh, my God!

05:21I was trying to figure out what was going on, and Michael said, the police are here.

05:24Where's the brother at?

05:25And I just...

05:27Arriving paramedics took over CPR.

05:33They took Benjamin out of the house.

05:35He was shocked.

05:36He said it was a dream.

05:37What the...

05:38What did you make of that?

05:40I don't...

05:40I mean, I just...

05:41I couldn't believe it.

05:41I mean, I couldn't...

05:42Not the Ben you knew, so it would have to have been that he was.

05:45Something would have had to happen.

05:47Benjamin, his parents say, sat handcuffed in a police car for three hours,

05:52while police, confronted with an apparent homicide,

05:57took control of the crime scene.

06:00I just need to see her.

06:00No, I see her.

06:01We can't...

06:02No, we can't.

06:02We can't see her.

06:03Nobody would tell us if Megan was okay, what's going on.

06:06Take a picture for me.

06:07Let me see something.

06:08Yeah, can we see something?

06:09No, sir.

06:09The Allianz say they felt isolated by the police

06:13and eventually called a longtime friend, who is also an attorney.

06:18He went and got some information, and he told us that Megan had died.

06:22It was news police didn't share with Benjamin.

06:28Is she okay?

06:30Benjamin asked Detective Munoz several times if his sister was all right.

06:34She is okay.

06:36But the detective withheld the truth.

06:38Yeah, last time I know about, she was being checked out by the EMS.

06:42Authorities say this is a textbook police technique to keep a suspect talking,

06:48and they wanted Benjamin talking about his feelings for his sister.

06:53So how's your relationship with Megan?

06:55Good.

06:56She's my twin sister.

06:57I'd do anything for her.

06:59No rivalry there?

07:00No.

07:01You guys have any recent fights or anything like that?

07:03No.

07:04We're pretty close for siblings.

07:06Benjamin, who spoke to police without a lawyer,

07:09said he loved his sister,

07:11and described what he says he remembered before the stabbing.

07:15Phone records show he was scrolling the web,

07:18and Benjamin says he thinks he fell asleep

07:21somewhere around 2.30 or 3.30 in the morning.

07:25Where would that phone be at right now?

07:27Somewhere at the crime scene.

07:30Benjamin provided Munoz with his iPhone password

07:34and permission to search his phone.

07:37Have you ever been diagnosed with an email?

07:39Illnesses?

07:40No.

07:40Benjamin said there were no problems at home

07:43and said that he was looking forward to college.

07:47I'm thinking about mechanical engineering.

07:50I'm taking the SAT, I think, Friday?

07:54No, Saturday.

07:56Let me ask you, the knife that you had in your hands,

07:58where'd you get it from?

08:00From my dad.

08:01He had given it to me that day.

08:03It was like an Air Force survival knife.

08:07I was really enamored with it.

08:10Benjamin and Megan's parents had a big collection of knives and gear.

08:15The family is big into camping.

08:17Kathy is senior manager with the Girl Scouts of America.

08:21Michael is a stay-at-home dad.

08:23I know that if I had not given him that knife,

08:26this would not have happened.

08:29And I, um...

08:34After two hours in that interrogation room,

08:41at 11 a.m., Munoz finally revealed that Megan was dead.

08:47I'm sorry to be the mayor of Daniel.

08:49Megan did not make him.

08:56He and Megan are so close,

08:58you could never picture anything bad happening between them.

09:01Long-time friend Drew Whitaker

09:03was stunned to learn Benjamin was in police custody.

09:07He was very protective of her.

09:09She says her family and the Elliots

09:12have been closed since 2005.

09:15Ben was very engineering-focused.

09:18Whitaker, herself an engineer,

09:20described Benjamin as soft-spoken,

09:22smart, funny, and a bit nerdy,

09:25while Megan was sensitive,

09:27wrote poetry, and loved to draw.

09:30As a teenager, Megan had been diagnosed with autism.

09:34And how did she feel about Ben?

09:36She loved him.

09:37She looked up to him.

09:39You would see her walk up next to him

09:42when she would feel uncomfortable

09:43and just kind of stand by him.

09:46Did he ever get tired of having to take care of Megan?

09:48I think he was proud of it.

09:49Like, he liked being a protector.

09:52The Elliots say the twins seemed happy

09:54in the weeks before the stabbing.

09:56With their eldest child, Elizabeth,

09:58already off at college,

10:00the twins toured separate universities.

10:03Megan, at this point,

10:04had started coming out of Michelle as well.

10:06She was finding her voice.

10:07Yeah.

10:08And she had found friends online,

10:09and she had a YouTube channel

10:11where she was doing art.

10:13The night before Megan's death,

10:16father and son spent hours

10:17playing popular video games,

10:20such as Survive the Nights.

10:22It was in that video game

10:24that Benjamin noticed a military-style knife

10:27that his father said

10:29resembled one that he owned.

10:32Michael offered to give it to Benjamin.

10:34Unfortunately, I went and got the knife out.

10:36The Elliots, remember, heading off to bed.

10:39Was there any, you know,

10:42any problem at all between the twins?

10:46The Elliots, like police,

10:49couldn't make sense of why Benjamin stabbed Megan.

10:53But police had the teenager's confession,

10:57the bloody knife he used,

10:59along with a disturbing detail

11:01discovered at autopsy.

11:03Megan hadn't been stabbed just once.

11:07She had two stab wounds.

11:11Benjamin Elliott was charged

11:13with the murder of his twin sister.

11:15After several days on suicide watch,

11:3517-year-old Benjamin Elliott was released on bail.

11:39His parents were there waiting for him.

11:47I saw them put him out,

11:48and he just kind of stood there on the sidewalk.

11:50And I went...

11:51Sorry.

11:52It's okay.

11:53I went up to him,

11:55and he seemed...

11:56I told him, I said,

11:57Ben, you know,

11:58and he seemed like he didn't see me.

12:00He was surprised to see me.

12:01We started driving,

12:06and we were asking him if he was okay,

12:09and we were getting very...

12:11Very quiet.

12:13Sort of quiet, like, you know,

12:15single-word answers.

12:16So, Michael pulls the car over

12:19and stops,

12:21and he gets out and comes around

12:23and takes his face in his hands,

12:26and he says,

12:26he's like,

12:26Hi.

12:27Hi.

12:28We love you.

12:29Hi.

12:30And he just...

12:32Yeah.

12:33And so I'm kind of...

12:35I'm sort of waking.

12:36And then he just hugged us.

12:44Yeah.

12:47The Elliotts knew

12:48they could never sleep in their home again

12:50and had already moved in with Kathy's mother.

12:54Ben was worried that he might walk around

12:56and he was worried that he might do something,

12:58and he wanted to make sure everybody was safe.

12:59The Elliotts were worried, too.

13:02The first two nights I slept in a chair

13:03in front of the door.

13:04The couple even installed an alarm

13:07on Benjamin's door.

13:09Because his attorneys had asked them

13:11not to speak with their son

13:13about the night Megan was killed,

13:15they couldn't ask him the burning question,

13:18why?

13:19There's never been anything wrong with him at all.

13:20For my bad,

13:21it was a mental health...

13:24something.

13:25Kathy's father was schizophrenic.

13:27She now feared her son might be.

13:30So did Benjamin's lawyers,

13:32Wes Rucker and Carrie Hart.

13:34So we had a psychiatrist sit down with him.

13:37I fully expected her to come back and say,

13:40he's got schizophrenia,

13:41or he's severely bipolar.

13:43When she calls me up,

13:45she said,

13:45Wes, he's fine.

13:47It blew my mind.

13:48They came to suspect that Benjamin experienced

13:51something else entirely.

13:53He was actually sleepwalking

13:56when he killed his sister.

13:58Had either one of you

13:59ever had a case quite like this?

14:01Never.

14:02No.

14:03You have a twin

14:04causing the death of the other.

14:06And the last thing you think of

14:08is just a sleepwalking case.

14:11But Benjamin had told police

14:12the night he stabbed his sister.

14:14It felt like a dream.

14:16And his lawyers say

14:18that sleepwalking defenses

14:19have been used successfully

14:22in the past.

14:23In 1987,

14:25Canadian Kenneth Parks

14:26drove his car 14 miles

14:29to his mother-in-law's home,

14:31beat her to death

14:32with a tire iron,

14:34and stabbed her.

14:35He claimed he was asleep

14:37the whole time.

14:38And a jury believed him.

14:41And in North Carolina

14:42in 2010,

14:44Joseph Mitchell strangled

14:46his four-year-old son

14:47and attacked

14:48two of his other children

14:50all while sleepwalking.

14:53A jury also found him

14:54not guilty.

14:56The big question here

14:57is just whether

14:58Ben Elliott, in fact,

15:00killed his sister

15:00while he was sleepwalking.

15:02Correct.

15:08So Benjamin's lawyers

15:09reached out to

15:10Dr. Gerald Simmons,

15:12a neurologist,

15:13and a sleep disorder expert.

15:15When I first was approached,

15:17I was very skeptical.

15:19The next question is,

15:20did I even want

15:20to deal with this?

15:21My first reaction

15:23to this is,

15:24you know,

15:24well,

15:25who else are they

15:27going to go to?

15:28I mean,

15:28within the field

15:29of sleep medicine,

15:30this is what I do.

15:31Simmons wanted to do

15:33a sleep study

15:34with Benjamin

15:34to test if it's possible

15:36Benjamin could experience

15:38something called

15:39a parasomnia.

15:40In general,

15:42think of a parasomnia

15:43as an abnormal behavior

15:44that occurs during sleep.

15:47Like sleepwalking.

15:48Sleepwalking would be

15:49a parasomnia.

15:50Simmons asked if Benjamin

15:52had a history

15:53of sleepwalking,

15:54and his lawyers say

15:55he did.

15:57When he was about

15:5710 years old,

15:59Benjamin's older sister,

16:00Elizabeth,

16:01found him sleepwalking

16:02by her bedroom door.

16:04There was also

16:05a sleepover

16:06with childhood friends

16:08the night

16:09this photo was taken

16:10when Benjamin

16:11was found asleep

16:12on a couch

16:13eating a donut.

16:15When they woke him,

16:17he seemed surprised

16:18and confused.

16:20Simmons also learned

16:21that there were

16:21other members

16:22of the Elliott family

16:24who sleepwalked.

16:24The likelihood

16:26genetically is higher

16:27to have parasomnia,

16:29specifically non-run parasomnia,

16:31if there are other

16:32family members

16:32that have had that.

16:34My uncle apparently

16:35used to sleepwalk

16:36when he was a teenager.

16:38He would go out

16:38into the garage

16:39and, you know,

16:40with the tools,

16:41and apparently

16:42he walked in on my mom

16:42one time

16:43when she was in the shower.

16:44Kathy also had an aunt

16:46who once walked out

16:47of her house

16:47while she was asleep.

16:49Ran out into the woods

16:50in the middle of the night

16:51and, you know...

16:52He was waking up

16:53in the middle

16:53of a thunderstorm outside.

16:55You know,

16:55and here's a video

16:56of him right here.

16:57Simmons conducted

16:58two sleep studies

16:59with Benjamin

17:00in his sleep lab

17:01six weeks apart.

17:04In each,

17:04Benjamin was hooked up

17:06to machines

17:06that monitored

17:07just about everything

17:09his body did

17:10as he slept.

17:11This is brainwave

17:13activity here.

17:14So we did the sleep study.

17:15I saw that he had

17:16obstructive sleep apnea.

17:18Obstructive sleep apnea,

17:20says Simmons,

17:20is where the airway

17:22becomes partially blocked,

17:24creating a disturbance

17:25in the sleep pattern.

17:27So he's sleeping,

17:29struggling a bit

17:31to get breath.

17:32Right, yes.

17:32And that could be

17:33the trigger.

17:34Yes, yes.

17:34A trigger that Simmons says

17:36could cause

17:37a sleepwalking episode,

17:40particularly when

17:41Benjamin's brainwaves

17:42enter what is known

17:44as a non-REM

17:45slow-wave sleep.

17:47Now he's in

17:47slow-wave sleep.

17:48This is slow-wave sleep.

17:50Sleepwalking

17:51will typically occur

17:53in non-REM

17:53slow-wave sleep.

17:54During the sleep studies,

17:56Benjamin did not

17:57sleepwalk,

17:58but Simmons observed

18:00how quickly

18:01Benjamin entered

18:02that non-REM

18:03slow-wave sleep.

18:04So it was 11 minutes

18:06from the time

18:06we turned off the lights

18:07until he was

18:08in slow-wave sleep.

18:10This is important

18:11because on the night

18:12Benjamin stabbed Megan,

18:14his phone activity

18:16stopped at 4.17 a.m.

18:19It was just 24 minutes

18:21later that he was

18:23on his phone

18:24calling 911.

18:26I just killed my sister.

18:28What's your location?

18:29Simmons says

18:29the fact that Benjamin

18:31is able to reach

18:32slow-wave sleep

18:33so quickly

18:34means it's possible

18:36Benjamin was sleepwalking

18:38during that period of time

18:40his phone was inactive.

18:42Do you believe

18:48Ben killed his sister

18:50without even realizing

18:51he was doing it

18:52in his sleep?

18:53Yes.

18:56Ben definitely

18:57killed his sister.

18:59He did it.

19:01There's no question.

19:02He's the one

19:02that had the knife

19:03and he stabbed her.

19:04But I believe

19:04it was part of

19:05a parasomnia.

19:07He didn't do this

19:08voluntarily.

19:09There was no motivation.

19:10Dr. Simmons' findings

19:13took Benjamin's parents

19:15by surprise.

19:16It's scary as hell.

19:18If that can happen

19:19to us

19:20then that could happen

19:21to anybody

19:22with a sleep problem.

19:23He realized

19:39he was sinking

19:40the knife

19:41into something

19:42or someone

19:42and then

19:44woke up

19:45and realized

19:46it was his sister.

19:49After sleep expert

19:50Dr. Gerald Simmons

19:51made his assessment

19:52that Benjamin

19:53was sleepwalking

19:54when he killed

19:55his twin sister

19:56the Elliotts

19:57were hopeful

19:58prosecutors

19:59might drop the case.

20:01At that point

20:01we thought

20:02it might not

20:02go to trial.

20:05But in April

20:062023

20:07a year and a half

20:08after Megan's death

20:09a grand jury

20:11indicted

20:11Benjamin Elliot

20:12then 19 years of age

20:15a first degree murder.

20:16We just didn't think

20:19that what we saw

20:21was sleepwalking.

20:22Megan Long

20:23and Maroon Kutani

20:24would handle

20:25the prosecution.

20:26It wasn't Long's

20:28first sleepwalking case.

20:30In 2019

20:31she successfully

20:33convicted a man

20:34who claimed

20:35he was sleepwalking

20:36when he shot

20:37and killed his wife.

20:39And Long told us

20:40she herself

20:41was a sleepwalker

20:42as were her children.

20:44Still Long disputes

20:46the Elliotts claim

20:47of a family history

20:49since she says

20:50neither of Benjamin's

20:52parents

20:52have been sleepwalkers.

20:54From our conversations

20:55with our sleep expert

20:57family history

20:58of sleepwalking

20:59is a factor.

21:00It's more prevalent

21:01when it's

21:02like first degree

21:03family members

21:04so your parents.

21:06The prosecutors

21:06hired their own

21:07sleep consultant

21:08psychologist

21:09Dr. Mark Pressman

21:11who concluded

21:12Benjamin

21:13was not sleepwalking

21:15when he stabbed Megan.

21:16He says

21:17sleepwalkers

21:18become aggressive

21:19only when someone

21:20physically interferes

21:22with them.

21:23And they respond

21:24by hitting

21:25or kicking

21:25or throwing furniture

21:27but that's

21:28that's like

21:29a reflex

21:30you know

21:31an instinctive reflex

21:32to protect themselves.

21:34And he points out

21:35that Benjamin

21:35would have had

21:36to have unsheathed

21:38the knife

21:38before he used it

21:40in the stabbing

21:41which Pressman believes

21:42is a complex

21:44conscious action

21:45not an unconscious one.

21:48The next thing

21:49I remember

21:49is the feeling

21:52of stabbing something.

21:54He also says

21:55it's unusual

21:56for a sleepwalker

21:57to recall details

21:59the way Benjamin

22:00did to authorities

22:01after he stabbed Megan.

22:03He remembered

22:04the feeling

22:05of the knife

22:05going into

22:06the neck.

22:08That's a memory.

22:10Shouldn't be able

22:11to have that memory.

22:12Aren't there sometimes

22:13pockets of memory?

22:15Not in these cases

22:16no.

22:16Dr. Simmons

22:17disagrees.

22:19He says Benjamin

22:20told police

22:21what he could recall.

22:23If he was trying

22:23to fabricate this

22:25or just use this

22:25as an alibi

22:26it would have been

22:26just as easy

22:27for him to say

22:28I don't remember anything.

22:29Instead he's

22:29I interpret it

22:32as he's trying

22:32to be as honest

22:33as he can.

22:34But Pressman felt

22:35he had enough

22:36information

22:37to make his determination.

22:39You didn't think

22:40you needed to talk

22:41to Ben?

22:42No.

22:43Prosecutor Long

22:44knew she needed

22:45more than an

22:46expert's assessment

22:47to convict Benjamin

22:48especially

22:49because she couldn't

22:51identify a motive

22:52for murder.

22:54No one had witnessed

22:55any problems

22:56between the twins.

22:58Is there no motive

22:59because he was

23:00sleepwalking

23:01or is there

23:01no motive

23:01just because

23:02no one's willing

23:03to come forward

23:03and tell us?

23:04And they think

23:05they could convince

23:06a jury

23:07that Benjamin's

23:08actions were

23:09intentional that night

23:10stabbing Megan

23:11twice.

23:13One wound

23:13was four inches

23:14deep and severed

23:16her carotid artery

23:17and jugular vein.

23:19So he's saying

23:20that he stabbed

23:21her in the neck

23:22removed the knife

23:23with where

23:24she was stabbed

23:25blood would be

23:26coming out

23:27of her neck

23:28you should see

23:28some sort of

23:29blood spatter

23:29on the walls

23:30and there isn't

23:31any of that.

23:33Benjamin had told

23:33police he used

23:34a pillow

23:35to stop the bleeding.

23:37And I tried

23:38to stop bleeding

23:38with the pillow

23:39when it was behind her.

23:41I like to do that.

23:43Long doesn't believe

23:44that.

23:45I think he wanted

23:46to cover her face.

23:48I think maybe

23:49even muffle

23:49if she were to scream

23:50or anything like that.

23:52The only way

23:52for there not

23:53to be that blood spatter

23:54is it had to be there

23:55when he took the knife out.

23:56It wasn't there

23:57for life-saving measures.

23:58But he's calling 911

24:00so he's not trying

24:01to hide what he had done,

24:03right?

24:03I think at that point

24:05when he's making

24:05that 911 call

24:07he realizes

24:07I can't hide

24:09what I've just done.

24:11What's your name?

24:12What's your name?

24:13I don't know you.

24:15I just killed my sister.

24:16Khutani claims

24:18Benjamin is whispering

24:19on the 911 call.

24:21I just thank you.

24:22And he's suspicious

24:24why he's not yelling

24:26to his parents

24:27for help.

24:28I'm sorry.

24:29I don't want to get by him.

24:30I'm sorry.

24:32I think he's whispering

24:34because he doesn't want

24:35his parents

24:36to come to the same reality

24:37that he's now living in,

24:39that he took

24:39his sister's life.

24:40I think that that's why

24:41he doesn't awake them

24:42before calling 911.

24:44I think that's why

24:45he doesn't scream

24:46in the house

24:46when he realizes

24:48what he's done.

24:49And they argue

24:51Megan was already dead

24:52by the time

24:53Benjamin called 911.

24:55Okay, sir,

24:56can we take over?

24:58By the time EMS got there,

25:00she wasn't breathing

25:01on her own.

25:02She had no heartbeat.

25:04Our medical examiner

25:06said that with the wound

25:07that she suffered from,

25:09she would have

25:10been dead within minutes.

25:12Benjamin's interrogation

25:14raised even more questions,

25:16they say,

25:17especially when Benjamin

25:18described his house

25:19as a crime scene.

25:22Benjamin Elliott

25:22is asked by Deputy Munoz,

25:24where's your phone?

25:25Benjamin Elliott responds with,

25:27it's at the crime scene.

25:29And to us,

25:30that was significant.

25:31Not many 17-year-olds

25:33would respond with,

25:34at the crime scene.

25:35Most people would say,

25:36at my house,

25:37in my room.

25:39And there is more,

25:40says Kutani.

25:41His demeanor

25:42and his behavior

25:43is very calm.

25:44Certainly not the type

25:46of behavior

25:46you would expect

25:47from somebody

25:47who comes to

25:49with a knife in their hand

25:50and their sister

25:52dead in the sleep

25:53of her own bedroom.

25:55Could he be in shock?

25:57I mean,

25:57realizing what he had done?

26:00Isn't that possible?

26:01I think based on

26:03his response

26:03to Deputy Munoz

26:04in a couple portions

26:05of the interview,

26:06we can tell that

26:07he's not necessarily

26:08in shock

26:09with what the consequences

26:10of his actions were.

26:12During the interview,

26:13Benjamin told police

26:14that his sister

26:15had struggled

26:16with her mental health.

26:18My sister had

26:19a pretty severe depression

26:23for a while.

26:23Megan.

26:25To prosecutors,

26:26that suggested

26:27maybe everything

26:28wasn't so perfect

26:30in the Elliott family,

26:31a contention

26:33that Benjamin's lawyers

26:35find ridiculous.

26:36They say investigators

26:39made virtually

26:40no effort

26:41to learn about

26:42the Elliots

26:43or Benjamin.

26:45They don't have a clue

26:46about this kid.

26:47They weren't even curious.

26:49He would know

26:50what was going to happen

26:51to him if he killed

26:52his sister.

26:53There was nothing

26:54for him to gain.

26:55There was everything

26:55for him to lose.

26:57There's just

26:58no reason why

26:59he would have done that.

27:00Before trial,

27:03prosecutors offered

27:04Benjamin a 30-year

27:06plea deal.

27:07He turned it down.

27:09The tragedy is now

27:10the family lost

27:11their daughter,

27:12but they're now

27:13losing their son.

27:15He's on trial

27:16for his life.

27:26All rise.

27:28He's a victim.

27:29He went to sleep.

27:31He woke up

27:32and he found out

27:34he had killed his sister.

27:35After struggling

27:36with Megan's loss,

27:38the Elliots

27:39now face the possibility

27:40they could lose

27:41Benjamin, too.

27:43It's a nightmare

27:44that happened

27:44to all of us.

27:46All rise for the jury.

27:47Benjamin's first-degree

27:49murder trial

27:50began on February 18,

27:522025.

27:54You tell your colleagues,

27:55I have a client

27:55who killed his twin sister

27:57and we believe

27:58he was sleepwalking.

27:58And they think

27:59you're crazy.

28:00But with no evidence

28:01of any problems

28:02between the twins,

28:04Benjamin's lawyers

28:05hoped they could

28:06convince a jury

28:06that sleepwalking

28:08is the only explanation.

28:11Even prosecutors

28:12knew the lack

28:13of motive

28:13could be a problem.

28:15I think our biggest hurdle

28:16going into this trial

28:17was the why.

28:18So you made sure

28:19you had jurors

28:20who at least be open

28:21to the idea

28:22they may never know

28:23why Megan Elliott

28:25was stabbed.

28:27Right.

28:28In his opening remarks,

28:30Maroon Katani

28:31made it clear

28:32that while there was

28:33no motive,

28:34they had their murderer.

28:36He calls 911

28:37at 441.

28:41Hello?

28:43Hello?

28:44I just killed my sister.

28:46I stabbed her

28:47with a knife.

28:48Oh my God.

28:49He's whispering.

28:51Prosecutors told jurors

28:52about Benjamin's behavior

28:54during that interrogation.

28:56And you'll see

28:57his demeanor

28:58in the interview.

28:59Pointing to

29:00Benjamin's reaction

29:01when the detective

29:02tells him

29:03Megan is dead.

29:04Sorry to tell you this,

29:06but Megan has succumbed

29:08to her injuries.

29:09And the defendant says,

29:10Hmm.

29:12Hmm.

29:14Witnesses

29:15offer details

29:16about her wounds,

29:17the lack of blood spatter,

29:19and the prosecution's

29:20theory that Benjamin

29:22covered Megan's head

29:23with a pillow

29:24while he stabbed her.

29:26And Benjamin's father

29:27was surprised to learn

29:28that prosecutors

29:29would ask him

29:30to identify

29:31Megan's body

29:32for the record.

29:34This is a photo

29:34taken from an autopsy.

29:37Sorry.

29:44Yeah, that's Megan.

29:47Enough of the question,

29:49drama.

29:49After the prosecution

29:50rested,

29:52defense attorneys

29:53Carrie Hart

29:54and Wes Rucker

29:55took over.

29:56Good morning.

29:56Making their case

29:58about sleepwalking.

29:59And this is not

30:00a ruse.

30:02This is not

30:02some defense

30:03to get in

30:03off of a tragic,

30:06tragic set of circumstances.

30:07This is a real phenomenon.

30:09And that call

30:10Benjamin made

30:11to 911,

30:12the defense says

30:14that's evidence

30:15he was desperate

30:16to save Megan.

30:17He's saying things

30:18like, oh my God.

30:19I thought it was a dream.

30:21I thought it was a dream.

30:22I don't want her to die.

30:23I don't want her to die.

30:25He's trying to do CPR.

30:27One, two, three, four.

30:29Family friend

30:30Drew Whitaker

30:31told the jury

30:32about Benjamin's

30:33devotion to Megan.

30:34Ever notice

30:35that the sweet kid

30:37or the tender kid

30:38change into somebody else?

30:40Absolutely not.

30:41Appearing by Zoom,

30:43childhood friend

30:44Anand Singh

30:45told the jury

30:46about that sleepover

30:47when he found

30:48Benjamin asleep

30:49and eating a donut.

30:51Just the sheer confusion

30:53on his face,

30:54like he genuinely

30:55seemed baffled

30:56as to how that happened.

30:58Benjamin's great aunt,

30:59Martha Knight Oakley,

31:00a psychologist,

31:02told the jury

31:03about her own

31:04sleepwalking history,

31:05including finding

31:07herself in the woods

31:08one night.

31:09All I know

31:09is I came to

31:11in the bushes

31:12clutching my dog.

31:16But the defense team's

31:17star witness

31:18was Dr. Gerald Simmons.

31:21He testified

31:22for four hours

31:23detailing the science

31:25and sleep studies

31:26that convinced him

31:28of Benjamin's innocence.

31:30It totally fits

31:31in line with a process

31:33we call sleepwalking

31:35violent behaviors.

31:36On rebuttal,

31:37prosecutors called

31:38their own

31:39sleepwalking expert,

31:41Dr. Mark Pressman.

31:42I concluded

31:43he was not

31:44in a sleepwalking state.

31:46How did you come

31:46to that conclusion?

31:48He had memory.

31:49He is said

31:51to have come out

31:52of the state

31:52much faster

31:53than any sleepwalker

31:54could ever do.

31:55In closing arguments,

31:57prosecutors described

31:59a deliberate murder.

32:01Benjamin Elliott

32:02walked into his

32:03sister's room

32:04with this very knife

32:05and he stabbed her

32:06in the neck twice.

32:08There's no blood

32:08spraying in the room.

32:09You know why?

32:10The only thing

32:11soaked in blood

32:11is the pillow

32:12that he muffled

32:13her screams with.

32:15Benjamin's defense

32:16attorneys pushed back.

32:18If you're trying

32:19to cover something up,

32:20you're not calling 911.

32:22You're not begging

32:23for someone

32:23to help your sister.

32:25And they appealed

32:26for justice.

32:27You do not convict

32:28a young man,

32:29a 17-year-old,

32:29because of how he looks

32:31or because how he answers

32:33interrogation questions.

32:35But prosecutor Megan Long

32:36had the final word

32:38and she suggested

32:39the family was involved

32:41in a cover-up

32:42that began with calling

32:44the friend who is a lawyer.

32:45Look, I'm a mother.

32:47I understand

32:48wanting to protect

32:50your children.

32:51I get it.

32:52But you can't let them

32:53get away with it.

32:54They have been protecting him

32:56from the get-go.

32:58Long didn't leave it there.

33:00They want to say

33:01that this family life

33:02was perfect,

33:03but we don't necessarily

33:04know what happens

33:05behind closed doors.

33:07And what she said next

33:08stunned the courtroom,

33:10filled with the Elliott family

33:12and friends.

33:13I want you to look

33:14in this courtroom.

33:16There are so many people

33:17here for Benjamin.

33:19There is not one person

33:21here for Megan.

33:22I'm going to have a joke

33:23about this.

33:24But the judge

33:25let the prosecution continue.

33:28You have to be her hero.

33:29He knew exactly

33:31what he was doing.

33:32There's been no remorse

33:33shown here in this courtroom

33:35by him.

33:37After four days

33:39of testimony,

33:40the case went to the jury.

33:42We took a vote immediately.

33:44Jurors were divided.

33:46It was split seven to five.

33:49Could they reach a verdict?

33:51I was a sleepwalker

34:06and one of my own children

34:07used to sleepwalk too.

34:09Several of the jurors

34:10who decided Benjamin's fate

34:12knew a lot about sleepwalking.

34:14You know someone

34:15who was a sleepwalker?

34:16Absolutely, yes.

34:18Had a family member, yes.

34:19On my mom's side,

34:20my grandfather.

34:21But even with their experience,

34:23they were deeply conflicted

34:25about Benjamin.

34:26We spent a lot of time

34:27with the interview

34:28by the detective.

34:30I'm taking the SAT,

34:31I think, Friday.

34:34He talked about how

34:35he was going to go

34:36take the SAT.

34:38He just seemed

34:39to not have

34:41a lot of remorse.

34:42It didn't take them long

34:46to come to

34:47a unanimous decision.

34:49All right,

34:50we'll hear it.

34:52My understanding is

34:53that y'all have a verdict,

34:54is that correct?

34:54Yes.

34:55After four hours

34:56of deliberations.

34:58We, the jury,

34:59find the defendant

34:59Benjamin David Elliott

35:01guilty of murder

35:01as charged in the indictment

35:02signed by the foreman

35:04of the jury,

35:05printed by the foreman

35:06of the jury.

35:08I remember hearing guilty.

35:09And I was

35:12completely shocked.

35:15Benjamin Elliott,

35:16who did not testify at trial,

35:18later spoke to 48 hours

35:20inside the county jail.

35:21I feel

35:22like this has been a,

35:26I don't know,

35:28a miscarriage of justice,

35:29I guess.

35:30I am not guilty

35:31of murder

35:33for my sister,

35:35Megan Elliott.

35:36Benjamin,

35:37now 21 years old,

35:39said he and his family

35:40were appalled

35:41by the way

35:42Prosecutor Megan Long

35:43ended her closing argument.

35:46There are so many people

35:48here for Benjamin.

35:49There is not one person

35:51here for Megan.

35:53That was crazy to me.

35:57What do you mean?

35:59Everyone in that courtroom

36:01was there for Megan.

36:02I understand wanting

36:04to protect your children.

36:05And his parents

36:06were outraged

36:07by the statements

36:08made by prosecutors

36:09hinting to problems

36:11within the family.

36:13We don't necessarily

36:14know what happens

36:15behind closed doors.

36:16They were lying.

36:17Yeah, it was horrible.

36:18They waited

36:19until the closing

36:19when they knew

36:20that nothing could

36:21be said afterwards

36:22to pull out

36:24these outlandish

36:25implications about

36:26you don't know

36:27what happens

36:27behind closed doors.

36:28Yeah.

36:28She knows damn well

36:29there's not a shred

36:30of evidence

36:30that anything untoward

36:31was happening

36:32in our house,

36:33in our family.

36:33Benjamin and his parents

36:44had little time

36:45to let the guilty

36:46verdict sink in.

36:47Does he have to say

36:48hug?

36:49Yes.

36:50They were back in court

36:52for sentencing

36:53the following day.

36:54And he is the one

36:57that went into her room

36:58that night

36:59and snuffed

37:00the life out of her.

37:01Prosecutors asked

37:03for 40 years

37:04but a member

37:05of the jury

37:05asked the judge

37:06for leniency

37:07because he worried

37:08about Benjamin's family.

37:11Stand up, Mr. Elliott.

37:12Judge Danilo Licayo

37:13told the court

37:14he wanted a sentence

37:16that he could live with.

37:17I sentence you

37:18to 15 years in prison.

37:20This time

37:21you will go with the...

37:22The request

37:22for leniency

37:23says Benjamin

37:24makes him wonder

37:25if a few jurors

37:26had more doubts

37:28than they wanted

37:28to admit.

37:30If you believe

37:31that I crept

37:33into my sister's bedroom

37:34and murdered her

37:36while she was asleep

37:36why would you

37:39possibly want

37:40leniency

37:41for that person?

37:43That person

37:44is horrible.

37:46Are you that person?

37:47No.

37:48I'm not.

37:49I'm not that person.

37:52I mean,

37:52I'm...

37:54I try to be genuine.

37:56I try to be honest.

37:58I'm...

37:59I'd like to think

37:59of myself

38:00as a good person.

38:01Benjamin says

38:02authorities

38:03misconstrued

38:04everything he did.

38:05I stopped you.

38:07I'm not.

38:08Started with

38:09that 911 call.

38:11The prosecutors

38:12say you were

38:12whispering on the phone.

38:14Were you?

38:15No.

38:15That's ridiculous.

38:16I wasn't whispering.

38:17Please,

38:17I don't want you to buy it.

38:19I'm sorry.

38:20I was panicked.

38:21I wasn't screaming

38:23into the phone

38:23because I'm just not a...

38:25I don't really yell.

38:27And Benjamin insists

38:29that as soon as

38:30he realized

38:30what he had done,

38:32he was trying

38:32to help Megan,

38:33using the pillow

38:34to try to stop

38:36the bleeding.

38:36The state says

38:37that you didn't use

38:39the pillow

38:39to try to stop

38:40the bleeding.

38:42You did it

38:42to keep her

38:43from screaming.

38:45Yeah.

38:45What do you say

38:46to that?

38:47That's crazy to me.

38:49And there's

38:50absolutely,

38:51absolutely

38:52zero

38:53forensic evidence

38:55for that at all.

38:56And what about

38:57his seemingly

38:58calm demeanor

38:59throughout the

39:00police interview?

39:01The plan is

39:02I'm taking the SAT.

39:04You're talking

39:05to a deputy

39:05and you're talking

39:07about SATs

39:08and colleges.

39:10I'm trying

39:11to get my mind

39:12off of things.

39:13I've got some issues

39:14with school stuff

39:15sometimes.

39:16I think you can

39:17see it in the conversation.

39:18I keep pretty much

39:19steering the conversation

39:20away from

39:21what happened.

39:22I don't want

39:24to think about it.

39:26As for learning

39:26Megan had died,

39:28Benjamin says

39:29he just shut down

39:30and that he was

39:31desperately hoping

39:33she'd be okay.

39:34Do you feel

39:35you're guilty

39:35of anything?

39:37No.

39:38You don't?

39:38No.

39:40No.

39:41I don't think

39:41this is my fault

39:43at all.

39:44I used to blame

39:44myself for it

39:45because it's like

39:46I was the one

39:49holding the knife.

39:50right?

39:52But I mean

39:53I've come to realize

39:54that I'm not

39:55you know

39:56I couldn't have

39:57done anything

39:57any different

39:58than what I had

39:58done.

40:04And Benjamin

40:05says he misses

40:06his twin.

40:11It's really hard

40:12that she's not

40:15here.

40:18Isn't it hard

40:18to know that

40:19it's because of

40:21you she's not

40:21here?

40:22Yeah.

40:24Yeah, it's

40:24really hard.

40:27We did

40:28everything together.

40:29Like we were

40:30very, very close.

40:34She was a

40:35wonderful person.

40:36She was an

40:37artist.

40:39The way she

40:40looked at the

40:40world, she

40:41looked at it

40:42with like a

40:42creative mind.

40:44So she would

40:45just see just

40:46beautiful things

40:47everywhere.

41:05New CBS

41:05next Saturday.

41:07This is the

41:07parking garage

41:08right here.

41:08A man is

41:09found murdered

41:09in his car.

41:10I saw a

41:11body, a

41:11person sitting

41:12in the

41:12driver's seat.

41:13How do

41:13investigators

41:14catch the

41:14masked killer?

41:15Look at him

41:15just coming

41:16around the

41:16corner like

41:17that.

41:17Who painted

41:18cameras to

41:19hide the

41:19crime?

41:1948 hours is

41:20all new.

41:21Next Saturday

41:21on CBS

41:22and streaming

41:23on Paramount

41:24Plus.

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