Posted on 08/12/2024 5:38:02 AM PDT by V_TWIN
NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania -- A Montgomery County man has been sentenced to jail time after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a neighbor following a dispute that authorities said was over loud snoring.
Christopher Casey, 56, of Upper Morland was sentenced last week in Montgomery County Court to 11.5 to 23 months in county jail followed by three years' probation after pleading guilty to the manslaughter charge and possession of an instrument of crime.
Casey was originally charged with third-degree murder in the Jan. 14 death of 62-year-old Robert Wallace, who lived next-door in a duplex and with whom he shared a common wall.
Prosecutors said Casey stabbed Wallace after the other man pushed in his first-floor window and threatened to kill him over his snoring.
Relatives of the victim said he had been unable to sleep due to the noise and his fatigue had affected his life and ability to work. Casey apologized to them in court, calling the fatal argument "unfortunate."
Defense attorney James Lyons said his client's life had been threatened multiple times and he was "a really good man who was not equipped to deal with this type of this sustained abuse and threats."
It’s questionable if the killer was in the right. Did he kill the man while he was attempting to enter the house through the window? If so, would that be self-defense?
Also, as poorly as the neighbor was sleeping, couldn’t he have moved to another room? Was it a one room place?
The snorer almost certainly has sleep apnea.
I had it for years & finally was able to get a c-pap to work. I was waking up dozens of times an hour. I also was up physically every 2 hours. I would fall asleep at my desk, at street lights while driving & watching TV. I was afraid to drive any long distances. It was a terrible affliction.
Now I sleep 6-8 hours straight. I am like a new man.
Considering he’s sentenced to less than 2 years max, it sounds like self defense was taken into account.
I’m thinking a better lawyer coulda got him off completely.
But, he also had
“possession of an instrument of crime.”
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