National

Woman freed of husband murder charge after sleep study

By AAP Newswire

Feb 4, 2025

A file photo of the Supreme Court — Prosecutors have dropped their murder charge against Ilknur Caliskan. -AAP Image

A woman charged over the death of her husband will no longer face a murder trial after prosecutors dropped the case against her following a sleep study.

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Ilknur Caliskan, 47, was accused of stabbing her husband to death in September 2023 after the 50-year-old man was found dead inside a car at Clonbinane, north of Melbourne.

A key issue in the case for prosecutors was whether Ms Caliskan was suffering from a sleep disorder and therefore not acting in a conscious and voluntary state, a pre-trial hearing in November was told.

Caliskan was due to face trial in the Victorian Supreme Court in March but prosecutors on Tuesday told the court the case against her had been discontinued.

There was no reason given for the charges being dropped, but Caliksan's lawyers previously flagged they were considering parasomnia as a defence.

Parasomnia is another term for a sleep disorder, which can include sleepwalking and sleep terrors.

Caliskan was released on bail in April 2024 so she could undergo a sleep study in Sydney and prosecutors received the expert report in November.

At a directions hearing in January, prosecutors said they were seeking the views of the deceased's relatives in Turkey before they could make a decision on the case.

Caliskan did not appear at Tuesday's brief hearing, where the discontinuance was announced.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press