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[Music] Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at
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any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential
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support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
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our website. At around 1000 p.m. on Thursday, January 16, 1997, Gregory Coons was watching the late night news
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at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. After 10 or so minutes, he turned the television off and headed to
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bed where his girlfriend Stephanie lay awake looking obviously concerned. Moments earlier, she had heard what
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sounded like a woman outside screaming, "Please no!" or "Please don't." The screams had since subsided,
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giving way to the faint sounds of someone moaning or crying. Years of working in construction
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had damaged Gregory's hearing. And while he hadn't heard anything unusual himself, he still felt compelled to
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check if everything was all right. After stepping out onto his back patio and listening closely, he soon heard the
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strange noise Stephanie had described. It was coming from the other side of the tall gray cinder block fence
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that separated his yard from that of his next door neighbors, the Fela family. [Music]
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At first, Gregory Coons thought the noises might be a couple having sex, but with the 6-ft high fence blocking his
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view, he couldn't be floor. He went into his garage, quietly opened an exterior door closer to the
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fence, and listened again, only to realize the moaning had stopped. Then he heard the sound of
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footsteps crunching along the gravel path that lined the fa's side of the fence. Driven by curiosity, Gregory
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silently crept to a flower planter at the rear of his backyard. He stepped onto the railroad ties that
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held the planter together, giving him just enough height to peer discreetly over the
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fence. The file property featured a two-story stucco home in a warm cream color that occupied most of the lot.
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Their backyard, like Gregory's, was compact and fully enclosed. It had a cozy patio, a
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towering pine tree, and a small curved swimming pool. Though the FA's yard was unlit, Gregory
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could make out a figure writhing on the ground near the pool. It was a fully clothed
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woman. She lay with her head facing the house and her feet pointing towards the pool pump
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equipment. She sluggishly shifted onto her left side, draped her right arm over her head, moved her legs slightly, then
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rolled onto her back again. Her slow, uncoordinated movements led Gregory to suspect she was heavily
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intoxicated. Glancing toward the FA's house, Gregory noticed multiple lights on inside, including one in the
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downstairs kitchen and another in the garage. Suddenly, a light flicked on in an upstairs
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bedroom. The windows blinds were open, giving Gregory a clear view inside. A man wearing a white t-shirt
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and red flannel sweatpants walked past the window and into an adjoining bathroom where he turned on another
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light. Even though the bathroom window was frosted, Gregory could see the man's silhouette as he moved
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about. It was 43-year-old Scott Fada, the family's husband and father. Scott moved in and out of sight before
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switching off both the bathroom and bedroom lights, then disappeared entirely. Moments later, Gregory spotted
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him again. Now he was downstairs near a sliding glass door that opened out to the
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patio. Through the surrounding windows, Gregory watched Scott move from the kitchen to the living room, appearing to
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ring his hands as if he had just washed them. He then started towards the staircase
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leading back upstairs, but abruptly changed direction to enter another room instead. He reappeared at the patio door
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again a short while [Music] later. Scott slid open the door and stepped outside. One of the family's two pet
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dogs approached him and he motioned to them to lie down. They obeyed as he moved towards the
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woman lying near the pool. By now, Gregory had deduced that the woman was Scott's wife, 41-year-old
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Yamala Fa. The situation was undeniably strange, but he hesitated to jump to conclusions. The Faters had always been
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good, peaceful neighbors, well-liked within their community, and known for their pious and pleasant nature.
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Nothing about them had ever suggested trouble. Yet, something about Scott's demeanor was deeply
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unsettling. He stopped just a few feet from Yamala and stood completely still while staring down at her in
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silence. It was as if he was lost in thought, contemplating his next move. Time stretched uncomfortably by.
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Then, without a word, Scott turned and walked back toward the house. Suddenly, a noise rang out near
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Gregory. He hadn't made it, but Scott heard it. His head snapped in Gregory's direction, scanning the
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darkness. Gregory froze, holding his breath, afraid he'd been caught spying. A tense moment passed before Scott
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finally turned away and disappeared through the sliding door, seemingly unaware of Gregory's
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presence. The next time Gregory saw Scott, he was emerging from the garage. He wore a glove on one hand and was
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slipping the matching on as he walked along their shared fence. Upon reaching Yamala once more, he
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stepped over her, grabbed her by the wrists, and pulled her arms over her head. He then began dragging her
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backward toward the pool. At the water's edge, Scott laid Yamala's arms down, walked around her,
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lifted her legs, and dropped them into the shallow end of the pool. Gregory struggled to make sense of
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what he was witnessing. Scott knelt beside Yamala, pushed her entire body into the water, and leaned
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over her. At first, it seemed as though Scott was splashing Yamala's face to wake her
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from a drunken stuper. But as Gregory watched on, the truth became far more sinister. Scott wasn't trying to help
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Yamala. He was forcibly holding her head under water. Gregory jumped down from his vantage
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point and ran inside his house. "Oh my god," he put her head under water. He blurted to his
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girlfriend Stephanie before calling 911. "When the dispatcher asked about the unfolding emergency, Gregory
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struggled to process what he had just seen." "I don't know," he said breathlessly. "My neighbors, there was a
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bunch of yelling and screaming going on." I looked over the fence and the husband had just threw I believe the
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wife into the pool and it looks like he's holding her underwater. After the call, Gregory
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rushed back outside to check on the faders. Yamala was now floating face down in the pool. Scott was nowhere to
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be seen. Gregory called 911 again, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. Within minutes, officers arrived at his
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house, swiftly scaled the block fence, and dropped into the Fad's backyard. Tensions ran high. They had no
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idea where Scott Fa was or what level of danger he posed. Was he inside the house, armed
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and waiting? In the pool lay a gruesome sight. The faint glow of a motion sensor
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light dimly illuminated Yamala Fa's motionless body. The water around her tinged with a faint pink
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hue. The moment an officer pulled her out to begin resuscitation efforts, the water darkened, swirling into a deep
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red. It was then that the full horror of the scene became clear. Yamala's body was riddled with the
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dozens of open wounds. Her blood transforming the pool into what officers would later compare to the aftermath of
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a shark attack. An autopsy later confirmed that Yamala had been stabbed 44 times with a
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hunting knife. She suffered multiple wounds to her face, neck, breasts, torso, and back, most of which were
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deemed defensive. The blade had pierced her lungs, heart, spleen, spinal cord, and
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jugular vein. The deepest wounds spanned the full 5 1/2 in length of the blade. Several of her ribs and vertebrae
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were also fractured. Her hands and fingers bore 12 deep cuts. evidence of a desperate
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struggle. She had tried to grab the knife during the attack, nearly severing her ring finger in the
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process. The exact sequence of the injuries remained unclear, as did the total number of times the knife had been
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thrust at Yamala. The medical examiner determined she had died from massive blood loss and
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estimated she could have survived upwards of 30 minutes after the attack commenced.
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A key point of contention among experts was whether Yamala was already deceased when she was pushed into the
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pool. Whatever the case, her official cause of death was listed as multiple stab wounds with the
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drowning. As the first responders processed the grim scene, one of them noticed movement inside the Feder's
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house. Scott Feder's silhouette appeared at an upstairs window before vanishing again. Guns drawn, officers advanced
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toward the patio where they found the sliding glass door partially open. They entered
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cautiously. The house was silent, save for the low hum of an unwatched television in the living
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room. Suddenly, Scott appeared at the top of the staircase inside. It didn't look like he had been involved
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in a violent altercation recently. His white t-shirt and red flannel sweatpants were spotless and an
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expression of pure confusion was painted across his face. What's going on? What are you
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doing in my house? Why are you here? He shouted down at the police. The officers kept their guns trained on
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Scott, barking at him to shut up, show his hands, and to get on the ground. He hesitated for a moment before
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complying and was swiftly handcuffed as he lay prone on the floor. His demeanor was dazed yet eerily
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calm, as if he was completely detached from the chaos around him. To some, he looked as though he had
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just woken up. He kept asking what's going on over and over and repeatedly inquired as to his
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wife's whereabouts. No one told him that Yamala laid dead in the backyard. But with the
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flurry of police activity, Scott began to piece together that something terrible had
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happened. He urged the officers to search for whoever was responsible, expressing concern that the perpetrator
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might still be inside the house. But the police weren't buying Scott's innocent act. Little did he know, his neighbor,
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Gregory Coons, had witnessed him drowning Yamala in the pool moments before they
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arrived. "How many people are in the house?" an officer demanded. "Scott's answer caught them off
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guard." "Four," he revealed. "Himself, his wife, and their two children. Concern surged for the welfare
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of the Federa's 15-year-old daughter, Megan, and 12-year-old son, Michael. Officers swept through the home
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and to their relief, found the siblings in their respective bedrooms, unharmed and fast
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asleep. Megan and Michael had no idea of the horror that had unfolded at their home that night.
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Upon waking the pair, officers initially told them that their parents had gotten
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into a fight and something bad had happened. The siblings immediately found this strange. They had never seen their
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parents argue, let alone fight. As they were escorted from the house, they were given the devastating
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news that their mother was dead. In an interview years later with ABC's 2020, Michael Fa recalled that moment
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tearfully. I went to bed as a 12-year-old kid with a happy life, and I woke up to a police officer telling me
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that my mother died, and it's everything you think it would be and more. Scott Fa was taken into custody as
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investigators began searching the crime scene. Aside from some blood stains splattered
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throughout the house and garage, everything appeared relatively normal with no signs of a
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struggle. In the backyard, a large flashlight illuminated the pool pump equipment and the surrounding ground was
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stained with blood. The police collected the flashlight as well as a few bloody gravel stones and eyeglasses with blood
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stains. However, the most significant discovery lay in the garage. Through the window of Scott's
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white Volvo hatchback, investigators spotted a bloody white t-shirt in the rear cargo
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area. A search of the vehicle uncovered blue jeans, a denim jacket with a small Swiss Army knife in the pocket, and
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white socks. Hidden inside the spare tire compartment was a black trash bag and a large clear
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plastic container. The trash bag contained a pair of black leather gloves and brown
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leather hiking boots. The plastic container, typically used to store food, held the murder
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weapon. All the items were stained with varying amounts of Yamala's blood. Shortly before 2:00 a.m., Scott Fa was
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led into an interrogation room at the Phoenix Police Department to be formally interviewed by a veteran homicide
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detective, John Norman. He sat barefoot and hunched in a chair pressed into the corner, still
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wearing his pajamas and handcuffs. Though no one had explicitly told him Yamala's fate, he stated that he assumed
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she was dead after noticing the homicide division signage around. Detective Norman confirmed,
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"Yes, she is." "Obviously, you think I did it," Scott replied flatly. After a pause, he added, "I
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don't know what makes you think that." Detective Norman informed Scott that there was a witness who had seen what
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happened. Gez, Scott said coolly. As the details of Gregory Coon's account were laid out before him, Scott
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maintained his demeanor of disbelief. He asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice. Neighbors saw me pushing her into
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the pool. Detective Norman said, "Well, actually, there was a lot more described than
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that." Scott retorted, "You've got to be kidding." Detective Norman replied firmly. "Absolutely
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not." To police, there was no doubt that Scott had killed his wife. Yet, it was clear from the outset that he wasn't a
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typical murder suspect. Unlike most suspects who would vehemently deny the allegations, offer a
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staunch defense, or demand a lawyer, Scott meekly accepted everything Detective Norman asserted had happened
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regarding Yamala's death. His only response was to apologize and repeat that he didn't
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remember anything. He offered no explanation as to why, just that he couldn't. Scott did recall the events leading up
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to it, though. After a day at work, he returned home and went upstairs to change into a
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t-shirt and jeans. Yamala had dinner ready, so the family sat at the dining table
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together. According to the FA children, their dinner conversation was normal with nothing seeming out of the ordinary
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between their parents. However, 12-year-old Michael noted that his father seemed very stressed about a
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work meeting and his mother was concerned because the pool pump wasn't working properly. After dinner, Yamala went into
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the living room to watch television. Michael remembered seeing his father seated on the couch beside
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her. Sometime between 9 and 9:30 p.m., Michael went to his room to play video games.
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Before he went to sleep that evening, he headed back downstairs to kiss both his
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parents good night. He didn't notice any tension between them, nor did he hear any strife
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before falling asleep. 15-year-old Megan Feder's account was similar, though she added a few extra
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details as she had watched television with her parents until going to bed around 9:30
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p.m. She remembered them discussing the broken pool pump with her father, saying
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he would take care of it. Scott then got up to do some work at the family computer
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nearby. Before heading upstairs, Megan kissed her parents and told them she loved
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them. Like her brother, she didn't sense any animosity between them and didn't hear anything worrying that
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[Music] night. There was no one to verify Scott's version of events once his children had gone to bed. According to
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him, after finishing work on the computer, he went into the garage to fetch a pair of pliers, a screwdriver,
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and a large flashlight to repair the faulty pool pump. He then headed outside to inspect
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the equipment, noticing that a ring on the pump was broken and not sealing properly. Scott decided it would be
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easier to fix it in the daylight after buying a replacement. He put his tools back in the garage and
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washed his hands before re-entering the house. He found Yamala sitting upright asleep on the
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couch. Gently, Scott woke her and explained that he wouldn't be able to fix the pool pump until the following
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day. He then kissed her good night and went upstairs to bed. It was between 9:30 and 1000
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p.m. He was adamant that this was the last time he saw Yamala. The next thing he remembered was
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waking up to the flurry of police activity, at which point his wife was dead. He maintained that he had no
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recollection of the events that took place in between. Unconvinced, Detective John Norman
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pressed Scott for a motive. With his face buried in his hands, Scott professed, "I just don't know. I loved
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Yamala. We've been married all my adult life. She certainly didn't deserve to die. She's a good wife, a great mother.
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What will I do?" Detective Norman observed Scott's body language, the way he avoided eye
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contact, sighed deeply, leaned exasperated against the wall, and cradled himself curled up in the fetal
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position. To Norman, Scott carried himself like a guiltridden man. He wasn't at all convinced by
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Scott's claims of amnesia. "You remember more than that," he insisted. Scott took a deep breath and replied,
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"No." Scott's clean clothing raised suspicions that he must have showered and changed immediately after stabbing
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Yamala to conceal evidence. But as Detective Norman observed, he had missed a spot, a small
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smear of blood behind his ear. Pointing to Scott's ear, Detective Norman asked, "How'd you get the blood on
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you?" Scott seemingly feigned ignorance, "What blood?" Detective Norman pushed on. "The
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blood all over your neck?" Scott reached up, touched his neck, and said, "I didn't know there was
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blood on me." Detective Norman didn't believe him, but pressed on to another significant
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discovery. A freshly applied band-aid covered a small recent wound above Scott's index
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finger. It wasn't unusual for someone wielding a knife during a violent encounter to injure themselves,
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especially if, as in Yamala's case, the victim had desperately fought back. Detective Norman asked Scott
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directly, "How'd you cut your hand?" Scott hesitated, clearly contemplating his answer. Detective Norman broke the long
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silence with the sarcastic jab. "Forget that, too." Finally, Scott muttered, "I don't remember putting that
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on." By now, Detective Norman had heard enough. Reflecting on the interrogation for ABC's 2020, he
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remarked, "The only thing I believed about his story was that his name was Scott
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Faer." The brief interview ended without a confession, but the evidence and witness accounts painted a damning
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picture. Investigators believed Scott confronted Yamala shortly before 1000 p.m. Given the lack of blood staining
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inside the home, the attack likely began in the backyard. Scott then cleaned himself up,
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hid the hunting knife and blooded clothing in his car, and drowned Yamala to ensure she was
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dead. By leaving her body in the pool, he intended for their children to find her in the morning, allowing him to
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feain ignorance. By then, he would have driven under cover of darkness to dispose of
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the evidence somewhere. What he didn't account for was that his neighbor had witnessed part
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of the assault and alerted the police. As a result, Scott Fa was charged with the first-degree murder of
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Yamala. He faced the possibility of the death penalty if [Music] convicted. Scott maintained his
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innocence while awaiting trial, spending his time in jail formulating theories about Yamala's death. He suggested that
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he was being framed, that his neighbor Gregory Coons might have been responsible, or that he had unknowingly
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made an enemy who sought to ruin him. At the same time, investigators searched for a
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motive. Scott and Yamala had been high school sweethearts who married soon after
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graduation. They had supported each other through further studies, interstate relocations, and life's
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challenges, often being each other's only close friend and confidant. In Scott's words, Yamala was his
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emotional lifeline, and her unwavering love and support had earned his lifelong devotion. Humility, kindness, and
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selflessness defined Yamala. A trained nurse, she had devoted years to raising her two children before
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recently returning to work as a preschool teachers aid. She planned to become a certified
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teacher once she completed her qualifications. Outside of work, she enjoyed arts and crafts, particularly
00:27:43
basket making. Friends described her as intelligent, witty, and practical. While her marriage to Scott
00:27:52
had its ups and downs, she never spoke ill of him. In the weeks leading up to her murder, Yamala was in good spirits,
00:28:00
showing no signs of distress or fear. The tragedy occurred just weeks before her 42nd
00:28:10
birthday. Scott's reputation was just as positive. No one had a bad word to say about him. He had no criminal record, no
00:28:19
history of domestic violence, and no issues with substance abuse. Known as a mildmannered nerd, Scott was
00:28:28
seen as an earnest and hard-working family man. He built a successful career as an
00:28:34
electrical engineer at Motorola, a leading electronics manufacturer while also dedicating time to teaching daily
00:28:41
religious instruction for high school students as part of his involvement in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
00:28:48
Saints. Though Scott excelled in engineering, he had long-term plans to shift careers,
00:28:55
aspiring to follow in Yamala's footsteps by becoming a teacher. The Faders lived a comfortable
00:29:03
upper middle-class life in a quiet, safe neighborhood. Their finances were stable
00:29:09
and their home life was peaceful. According to their children, Megan and Michael, their upbringing was
00:29:16
full of love. The family had no secrets. Everyone was open, close, and supportive. Their parents helped with
00:29:26
homework, encouraged their hobbies, took them on vacations, and even went carolling together at
00:29:33
Christmas. Prior to the events of Thursday, January 16, 1997, Scott and Yamala had been planning a family trip
00:29:41
to Europe. Megan and Michael had never seen their parents argue or in conflict. They
00:29:50
insisted that Scott and Yamala typically saw eye to eye, only ever having minor disagreements that were resolved calmly
00:29:57
and amicably. While Megan had seen her father become angry, she clarified that she had never witnessed him enter a
00:30:06
full-blown rage. Scott and Yamala's relationship was affectionate. They frequently
00:30:12
kissed, held hands, and went on date nights. Friends of the couple echoed this sentiment, describing the Feda's
00:30:21
marriage as harmonious and deeply committed. This made Scott's violent actions all the more baffling.
00:30:34
Weeks into his incarceration, Scott Fer obtained his case file and studied it, including Gregory Coon's account of
00:30:41
Yamala's drowning. Scott knew Gregory well and considered him trustworthy. He couldn't fathom why he
00:30:49
would ever fabricate such a story. At that moment, Scott began to accept that everything being said about
00:30:58
him must have been true. he had killed Yamala. Yet he continued to insist that the reason behind the attack remained a
00:31:07
mystery to him. In a jail house interview with ABC's 2020, Scott reiterated that he had
00:31:16
been hopelessly confused when police arrived at his house that January evening. Nothing felt real and he was
00:31:24
certain he hadn't been 100% coherent as he was taken into custody. Even in the interrogation room, he
00:31:32
struggled to believe Yamala was truly dead. He maintained that he loved his wife and was still trying to make sense
00:31:40
of what happened, stating, "I accept the fact that the neighbor saw me do the physical act. Would I have consciously
00:31:49
and intentionally killed Yamala? Absolutely not." Despite his growing acceptance of the
00:31:57
facts, Scott remained adamant that he had no memory of the murder. He began to question whether
00:32:04
something was wrong with his brain. Perhaps an undiagnosed tumor was affecting his behavior or he had an
00:32:11
undetected mental illness. The uncertainty prompted Scott's attorney to pursue an insanity
00:32:18
defense. Scott's loved ones were outraged by this decision, convinced that he was a sane
00:32:27
man. Their belief was reinforced by a stateappointed psychologist who found Scott to be an unusual case entirely
00:32:35
devoid of pathology. He exhibited no signs of mental illness that might have explained
00:32:42
an intentional act of murder. Instead, the psychologist noted Scott's admirable qualities, describing him as a
00:32:50
non-aggressive thinker who preferred resolving conflicts through discussion rather than
00:32:57
violence. They concluded that Scott deeply loved Yamala and felt genuine remorse for what had happened.
00:33:06
Megan and Michael Fa stood by their father, unable to accept that he could have intentionally harmed their
00:33:13
mother. Scott's mother and siblings felt the same. They spent countless hours dissecting his past, hoping to uncover
00:33:22
an explanation for such a shocking, outof character act. Scott's childhood was marked by
00:33:29
trauma as he'd grown up with an abusive father who struggled with alcoholism. As the oldest child, Scott took on the
00:33:37
role of protector, shielding his mother and siblings from his father's violent outbursts. The turmoil at home led to
00:33:46
him withdrawing from his peers. During his adolescence, he also experienced occasional bedwedding
00:33:53
episodes, which amplified his feelings of shame and embarrassment. Despite this, Scott became, in the eyes
00:34:02
of his mother, Lois, every mother's dream of the perfect child. He was incredibly helpful with
00:34:09
his four younger siblings, highly intelligent, had a great sense of humor, and never displayed a
00:34:16
temper. To Scott's family, nothing in his background indicated he would grow up to be a cold-blooded killer.
00:34:25
Then one day while discussing the case with their mother, Scott's sister Laura had a sudden
00:34:33
realization. A med school graduate and a writer for a medical website, she recalled a murder case from her studies
00:34:40
that bore eerie similarities to what happened to [Music] Yamala. Early on the morning of Sunday,
00:34:51
May 24, 1987, 23-year-old electronics worker Kenneth Parks walked into a police station. Appearing confused and
00:35:00
asking for help, he announced, "I think I have killed some people." Kenneth lived in Pickering,
00:35:09
Canada with his wife and 5-month-old daughter. He had been going through a difficult time lately.
00:35:17
A gambling addiction had led to severe financial debt and in desperation he stole from his family
00:35:24
savings. He had also been fired after he was caught embezzling money from his workplace. That May, Kenneth had been
00:35:33
trying to overcome his addiction by attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings. He had come clean to his wife about his
00:35:41
struggles and also planned to tell his in-laws Dennis and Barbara Woods on Sunday, May
00:35:48
24. But that conversation never happened. Instead, sometime after 1:30 that morning, Kenneth drove 14 mi to his
00:35:58
in-laws home in Toronto. Using a key they had previously given him, he entered the house and went
00:36:06
into their bedroom while they slept. Armed with a tire iron, he brutally bludgeoned Barbara before stabbing her
00:36:14
multiple times. He then attacked Dennis, choking him until he lost consciousness before
00:36:21
stabbing him as well. After the attack, still covered in blood, Kenneth got into his car and
00:36:29
drove to a nearby police station where he immediately confessed. Dennis Woods survived the ordeal, but
00:36:37
42-year-old Barbara Woods succumbed to her injuries. Kenneth told police that before the attack, he had been watching
00:36:47
television on his sofa at home. At around 1:30 a.m., he fell asleep. The next thing he remembered was
00:36:56
standing inside his in-laws house, covered in blood, with a knife in his hands. Their beaten and bloodied bodies
00:37:05
lay in front of him. Kenneth claimed to have no memory of the drive to their house or of
00:37:11
carrying out the violence. He insisted he had no reason to harm Dennis or Barbara and expressed
00:37:18
a deep remorse for what had happened. Over the course of seven police interviews, his story remained
00:37:27
consistent. He never admitted to acting intentionally. Nevertheless, he was ultimately charged
00:37:35
with Barbara's murder and the attempted murder of Dennis. At trial, Kenneth's legal team
00:37:44
presented an extraordinary theory that their client suffered from some nambulism, more commonly known as
00:37:52
sleepwalking. They asserted that he had been in this state at the time of the attack with no will or conscious mind
00:38:00
directing him. The defense cited 35 documented cases worldwide in which homicides were
00:38:08
allegedly committed while the perpetrator was sleepwalking. One case from 1859 involved a London woman who threw her
00:38:18
infant son out of a window while screaming, "Save my children." She later claimed she had
00:38:25
been dreaming that her house was on fire and believed she was rescuing him. She was found not responsible for her
00:38:34
actions. Another case in 1878 involved a Scottish man who dreamed of a wild beast
00:38:41
breaking through the floorboards of his home. In his dream, he was protecting his family by smashing the beast's head
00:38:49
against the ground. In reality, he killed his 18-month-old son. He escaped conviction but was ordered to
00:38:59
sleep alone in a locked room for the rest of his life. The first successful use of the
00:39:07
sleepwalking defense in the US occurred in 1846 when a Boston man was found not guilty of murder after slitting a sex
00:39:16
worker's throat. Since then, there had been more cases of apparent sleepwalking murders or near
00:39:23
misses, including a wife stabbing her husband, a young girl killing her father and a brother, and a boy gravely
00:39:31
injuring his cousin, none of which resulted in conviction. However, the controversial
00:39:38
defense didn't guarantee freedom. A Pennsylvania man used the sleepwalking defense after fatally shooting his wife
00:39:47
in the back. While it was found that he had a history of disruptive sleep, the fact
00:39:53
that he knew his wife was about to leave him provided a clear motive, one that ultimately led to a guilty verdict.
00:40:03
Kenneth Park's defense presented psychiatric and scientific evidence supporting their argument that he was
00:40:10
sleepwalking when he attacked his in-laws. This included abnormal readings of his brain activity during sleep, as
00:40:18
well as five expert witnesses who backed the defense's theory. In contrast, the prosecution posited
00:40:26
that Kenneth knew what he was doing to the woods, but blocked out the very terrible events, which resulted in an
00:40:33
amnesia effect. They suggested that his gambling and financial struggles provided a
00:40:40
likely motive for the attack. After 9 hours of deliberation, the jury sided with the defense, accepting that
00:40:50
Kenneth was not conscious at the time of the assault. He was acquitted of all charges
00:40:56
and returned to a normal life. [Music] Kenneth Park's case peaked the interest of Scott Fer's loved ones a decade later
00:41:08
in 1997 as they sought to understand why he had suddenly stabbed and drowned his
00:41:14
beloved wife Yamala. During discussions about Scott's past, multiple people mentioned that he
00:41:22
had been a restless sleeper throughout his life and was prone to getting up in the middle of the night.
00:41:29
Scott's mother, Lois, recalled several sleepwalking incidents from his childhood. He once tapped a sleeping
00:41:36
Lois on the shoulder, fully dressed and ready to go to school in the middle of the
00:41:41
night. On another occasion, Scott put on a coat and picked up a Christmas present. When his father attempted to
00:41:49
take the present from him, Scott resisted and retrieved another. He then returned to his room, took off his coat,
00:41:58
placed the present under his bed, and crawled back under the blankets. When Scott was 15, he wandered
00:42:06
into the living room completely naked while in a sleep state. During each of his sleepwalking
00:42:13
episodes, his eyes remained open, his facial expression was flat, and he was unresponsive to those around him.
00:42:22
By morning, he had no recollection of what had happened. To Lois, Scott's history of
00:42:29
bedwedding made more sense in this context, as it was linked to sleepwalking. Furthermore, sleepwalking
00:42:37
is considered a highly heritable disorder, and several of Scott's family members, including his own daughter,
00:42:44
reported experiencing episodes themselves. Scott's most troubling episode was one
00:42:51
that his sister Laura recalled. One night when Scott was around 20 years old, Laura was watching
00:42:59
television in the living room. Scott had gone to bed about an hour earlier, needing rest before his college finals
00:43:07
the next day. Suddenly, Laura noticed him walking into the kitchen. She asked why he was up, but he didn't
00:43:17
respond. Instead, he began fiddling with items around the sink before moving toward a door that led
00:43:25
outside. Concerned, Laura rushed to the door and locked it. In that instant, an angry expression
00:43:33
she had never seen before flashed across Scott's face. It was almost demonic. Without warning, he grabbed Laura by the
00:43:43
shoulders, lifted her off the ground, and threw her across the kitchen. Stunned, Laura watched as Scott
00:43:51
struggled with the locked door for nearly 20 minutes until he gave up and wandered back to his
00:43:58
bedroom. The next morning, when Laura tried to talk to Scott about the incident, he brushed her off, too
00:44:05
focused on his upcoming tests. Laura didn't mention it to anyone else at the time. With this in mind, Scott's mother
00:44:16
and sister researched violent somnambulism extensively, eventually becoming convinced it was the only
00:44:23
explanation for Yamala's murder. They discovered that sleepwalking, which is typically more common in males, was
00:44:31
often triggered by stress and sleep deprivation, both of which had played significant roles during key periods of
00:44:39
Scott's life when his episodes occurred. In the leadup to Yamala's murder, Scott was under immense pressure
00:44:47
at work, which involved leading a team of engineers who were developing a new product. His colleagues noticed how
00:44:55
exhausted he seemed, his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, his energy levels depleted, and he often appeared
00:45:03
dazed. He sometimes dozed off during meetings and had to rely on caffeine pills to
00:45:10
function. Some observed that he had lost his usual spark, appearing withdrawn and
00:45:16
possibly even depressed. Yet, one thing remained certain. Whenever Scott spoke about his
00:45:24
wife and family, there was an undeniable joy in his voice, making it clear he couldn't wait to get home to
00:45:33
[Music] them. On Thursday, January 16, 1997, Scott Fel's boss had proposed a friendly
00:45:44
competition between internal work departments. Scott openly expressed his dismay about
00:45:50
this during a team meeting, admitting he was already under immense pressure and didn't need the added
00:45:57
stress. This was the first time his colleagues had seen him come close to losing his
00:46:03
temper. Despite his frustration, he ultimately conceded even though the competition required more time and
00:46:10
commitment than he could afford and brought him enjoyment. When Scott returned home from
00:46:18
work that day, his stress levels were at an all-time high. On top of the competition he was
00:46:25
now obligated to participate in, he had come to the troubling conclusion that the product he had been developing was
00:46:31
unlikely to succeed and might need to be scrapped entirely. This realization weighed
00:46:39
heavily on him, particularly because of its impact on the livelihoods of his team.
00:46:45
He planned to break the news to them the next day, but there was little time to dwell
00:46:51
on it. Scott was already stretched thin with other commitments, including preparing for a church seminary class he
00:46:59
was scheduled to teach in the morning and organizing a food drive. Yamala was also facing her own
00:47:07
struggles, which in turn affected Scott. She was grieving the recent loss of her
00:47:13
beloved father to cancer, a pain she'd tried to deal with alone to spare her family. Although she loved her job at
00:47:21
the preschool, the daily challenge of managing and teaching a group of energetic three and fouryear-olds left
00:47:27
her drained. On top of everything else, the pool pump at home had malfunctioned.
00:47:35
While a minor inconvenience on its own, it was yet another issue in the Faders's
00:47:39
lives that needed attention sooner rather than later. Given all this pressure, Scott's
00:47:47
loved ones believed he was a ticking time bomb, primed for a sleepwalking episode.
00:47:54
To make matters worse, in the nights leading up to Yamala's murder, both she and Scott had been jolted awake by what
00:48:01
sounded like footsteps crunching across the gravel alongside their home. Fearing an intruder, Scott got up
00:48:09
to investigate, only to find nothing. He convinced himself the sounds were just their dogs moving about
00:48:17
outside. However, he had also noticed his family's tendency to leave the back door
00:48:23
unlocked, a habit that heightened his anxiety. If someone truly had been lurking outside, they could easily enter
00:48:32
the home through the unlocked door and threaten his family. Under these circumstances,
00:48:39
Scott's loved ones found it plausible that his stresses had triggered a sleepwalking episode. His subconscious
00:48:47
mind might have been in a distressed and defensive state, expecting to encounter
00:48:52
a threat in or outside his home and instinctively acting to protect his wife and
00:48:58
children. In his altered state, he might have dreamt that an intruder was breaking into his home and mistaken
00:49:05
Yamala for the threat. Acting on this false perception, he launched a violent attack, completely
00:49:13
unaware that he was actually harming the woman he [Music] loved. There was also the possibility
00:49:22
that the dream Scott experienced was not dramatic or frightening at all. He might
00:49:28
have simply dreamt that he needed to fix the pool pump. And in his sleepwalking state, he retrieved the hunting knife,
00:49:36
either mistaking it for a tool or intending to use it to complete the task. Yamala might have then noticed
00:49:44
Scott inexplicably moving about the backyard in the middle of the night and approached
00:49:50
him. Generally, sleepwalking is considered relatively harmless, and waking someone in that condition isn't
00:49:57
typically dangerous. However, experts caution against it as disorientation or confusion can
00:50:04
sometimes trigger violent reactions even if such instances are considered rare. Dr. Guy Leer, a sleep disorder
00:50:15
specialist, explains the phenomenon of local sleep to help understand why such acts occur.
00:50:22
He notes, "Most of us think being awake means our brains are fully awake, but actually little areas of our brains are
00:50:31
constantly dipping in and out of sleep. Feeling awake and looking awake doesn't always mean that our brains are
00:50:39
active. There is very clear evidence that when people are sleepwalking, it's the parts
00:50:45
of the brain responsible for emotion, movement, and vision that show this waking pattern. Whereas the parts of the
00:50:53
brain responsible for rational thinking and memory demonstrate sleeping behavior. If you think about which parts
00:51:01
of those brains are disconnected, it's the bits that are responsible for being a sensible human being.
00:51:10
This suggests that during sleepwalking the brain is in a state where rational thought and memory are inactive while
00:51:17
the more instinctual and reactive parts remain active. As a result, a person may
00:51:24
perform actions without conscious awareness or control, sometimes leading to unintended
00:51:34
consequences. Before presenting their unconventional theory to Scott, his mother Lois and sister Laura first
00:51:41
shared it with his attorney, worried it might be too outlandish to be taken seriously in
00:51:47
court. However, Scott's attorney embraced the idea and decided to abandon the insanity defense in favor of
00:51:55
pursuing the sleepwalking theory at trial. This shift in strategy quickly drew public attention.
00:52:03
What had initially been considered a relatively unremarkable case now garnered widespread media focus as the
00:52:11
unusual and controversial defense strategy took center stage. Reactions were mixed. Some dismissed the idea of
00:52:20
committing a crime while asleep as laughable, while others compared it to a bizarre movie plot.
00:52:29
Scott Fa was initially skeptical of the sleepwalking theory himself. He had no recollection of the incidents from his
00:52:36
past, including the one in which he allegedly threw his sister Laura across the kitchen. As a logical and methodical
00:52:45
person, Scott felt the sleepwalking defense lacked any basis in reality, telling ABC's
00:52:52
2020, "I just felt it was a bunch of [ __ ] For him to consider it even remotely
00:53:01
possible, he needed scientific proof. So in preparation for his trial, Scott agreed to undergo a sleep
00:53:10
study. For four nights, he was connected to electrodes and monitors that measured
00:53:15
the depth and quality of his sleep. While the results came back as inconclusive, they did indicate that
00:53:23
Scott fit the profile of a sleepwalker. Scott's attorney also sought the expertise of several prominent sleep
00:53:31
disorder specialists, including leading figures in the study of sleepwalking violence. One of the key experts was
00:53:40
neurohysiologist Roger Broton, who had previously testified in the trial of Kenneth Parks over a decade earlier.
00:53:49
In Broton's professional opinion, Scott, like Kenneth, had been in a sleepwalking
00:53:55
state when he committed murder. As such, he was not legally responsible for his actions. This conclusion was supported
00:54:05
by other experts the defense consulted. Following this, Scott began to believe that sleep deprivation and
00:54:14
work-related stress had indeed triggered a sleepwalking episode, which ultimately
00:54:20
led to him killing his wife. The prosecution, on the other hand, remained adamant that Scott had
00:54:30
consciously and intentionally killed Yamala. His trial began in May 1999, nearly 2 and 1/2 years after Yamala's
00:54:40
murder. While the defense presented all of their expert findings to support the sleepwalking theory, the prosecution
00:54:48
contended that the crime scene evidence clearly demonstrated that Yamala's death
00:54:52
was far from accidental. According to the prosecution, the trajectory of Yamala's wounds suggested
00:55:00
she had been attacked from behind by someone who reached around to stab her in the
00:55:06
chest. This contradicted the defense's suggestion that Yamala had approached and startled a sleeping Scott, provoking
00:55:13
a spontaneous attack. The prosecution also referred to Scott's claims that he had stirred in the nights
00:55:21
before the attack, believing he'd heard an intruder lurking outside his home. How, they questioned, could Scott
00:55:29
be roused so easily then, but failed to awaken as his dying wife screamed for her
00:55:37
life. The prosecution also cast a doubt on Scott's alleged history of sleepwalking. His sister Laura testified
00:55:46
about the time Scott had supposedly thrown her across the kitchen while asleep. However, prosecutors highlighted
00:55:54
that Laura never mentioned this incident to anyone until after Yamala's murder when she was the first to propose the
00:56:02
sleepwalking theory. The prosecution emphasized how after killing Yamala, Scott had removed his
00:56:10
bloody clothes, hidden them along with the knife in his car, cleaned himself up, tended to his own wounds, and
00:56:19
redressed. He then put on gloves before dragging Yamala to the pool and drowning
00:56:24
her. In total, they calculated that Scott had carried out 64 distinct actions from the
00:56:32
beginning of the attack to its conclusion, a process they estimated had taken at least 45
00:56:40
minutes. The FA's neighbor and key prosecution witness, Gregory Coons, provided a detailed account of many of
00:56:48
Scott's behaviors, including him motioning for his dog to lie down. An action seen as too deliberate for
00:56:55
someone supposedly unaware of their surroundings. Observers were left wondering, "How could Scott recognize
00:57:03
his dog, but not his beloved wife?" A sleep expert called by the prosecution said that Scott's actions
00:57:12
were far too complex and methodical to have been done while asleep. While the expert acknowledged that
00:57:20
sleepwalkers can interact with and misplace objects, he had never encountered a case where a sleepwalker
00:57:27
intentionally hid something. Furthermore, the neat way Scott concealed the evidence in his car
00:57:35
contradicted with the disorganized behavior typical of sleep walkers. But to the prosecution, what happened
00:57:44
next was the strongest proof that Scott was fully awake when he killed Yamala. Supported by their experts, the
00:57:53
prosecution argued that sleepwalking violence only occurs when someone physically confronts the sleepwalker,
00:57:59
obstructing their movements, and inadvertently triggering a defensive response. However, Yamala's drowning did
00:58:08
not fit this pattern. By that point, she was lying on the ground, gravely wounded and unable to
00:58:16
pose any physical [Music] obstruction. According to the prosecution, this deliberate act of
00:58:23
drowning demonstrated conscious intent rather than unconscious reflexive behavior.
00:58:34
To the defense, Scott's many illogical actions that night were in and of themselves evidence of his lack of
00:58:40
conscious control. First, he attacked a woman he loved while their children were home,
00:58:46
making no attempt to hide her body and leaving it in plain sight. After changing clothes, he moved
00:58:54
Yamla's body without any apparent concern about transferring her blood onto his new outfit. He also left the
00:59:02
pool light on, unconcerned that it illuminated Yamala's body. Experts appearing on behalf of the
00:59:10
defense chastised the prosecution for trying to invent a rational scenario out of something that was completely
00:59:16
irrational. The defense also dismissed the prolonged timing of Scott's actions, pointing to
00:59:24
the case of Kenneth Parks, whose sleepwalking episode, which led to his acquitt for the murder and attempted
00:59:30
murder of his in-laws, had lasted well over an hour. Gregory Coon's witness account
00:59:38
raised a significant question for the defense, one that Gregory himself couldn't explain.
00:59:46
Why didn't he yell out to Scott to stop what he was doing to Yamala? In the defense's view, this
00:59:53
action could have awakened Scott from his sleepwalking state and possibly prevented further
01:00:00
harm. Scott's behavior after police arrived was used to support the defense's narrative.
01:00:08
Several individuals who confronted him that night described him as appearing dazed, detached, and as if he had just
01:00:14
woken up. When asked how many people were in the house, Scott replied, "Four," and
01:00:21
listed everyone, including his wife. To the defense, this suggested that Scott was unaware that Yamala was
01:00:29
lying dead outside. Homicide detective John Norman, who interviewed Scott immediately after the
01:00:37
murder, saw his behavior in a different light. He pointed out that Scott didn't seem very upset by the news of Yamala's
01:00:45
death and did not cry. Esteemed neuroysiologist Roger Broton appeared on behalf of the defense
01:00:54
to present his opinion that Scott had been sleepwalking the night he attacked Yamama.
01:01:00
However, the courtroom was stunned during cross-examination when the prosecution presented crucial facts
01:01:07
Broton had not previously known, including how Scott had interacted with his dog. Broton said that these new details
01:01:17
gave him pause regarding his initial conclusions. Broton also admitted that he'd never
01:01:24
encountered a sleepwalking case where someone had changed their clothes once, let alone two or even three
01:01:31
times. Yet, he remained adamant that sleepwalking was the best explanation of the facts.
01:01:41
Although the prosecution posited several possible motives for Scott to kill Yamala, such as allegations of
01:01:48
infidelity, none of these claims were substantiated by evidence. Attempts to argue Scott was a
01:01:55
bad husband were counted by numerous character witnesses for the defense who unanimously spoke highly of him.
01:02:03
According to a close friend, Yamala had once mentioned that Scott rummaged for clothes in the middle of the night while
01:02:10
seemingly asleep. However, the witness admitted that she couldn't recall if Yamala had specifically mentioned the
01:02:17
word sleepwalking. Scott took the stand in an attempt to convince the jury of his
01:02:25
state of mind at the time of the murder. His testimony began with a question from his attorney.
01:02:33
If I had been a fortune teller and I had come to you on the morning of January 16, 1997 and told you, "Scott, tonight
01:02:42
you're going to stab your wife 44 times. What would you have said to me in response?" Scott
01:02:50
replied, "You're out of your mind. There is just no way I would have done anything like this to my wife. I would
01:02:58
never have envisioned something like this happening to someone like me or especially to me
01:03:04
personally. I don't know what I would do without her. As Scott's testimony progressed and
01:03:12
he spoke about life without Yamala, he broke down in tears. He described living two lives. One in
01:03:20
reality where he was confined to his jail cell and the other in his dreams where he imagined an idyllic life with
01:03:27
his wife as if nothing had ever happened. Whenever the prosecution posed a question that Scott couldn't answer,
01:03:35
he deferred to the sleep experts testifying on his behalf. However, he did claim that Yamala was
01:03:43
aware of his sleepwalking and once told him about an instance where he had grabbed her arm while
01:03:49
asleep. The prosecution attorney sharply responded, "And she can't come in and testify, can
01:03:57
[Music] she?" Maintaining that he still had no memory of killing Yamala. Scott tearfully told the
01:04:05
court, "It took me a very long time before I could really even admit it openly to myself that I had actually
01:04:14
done that." When asked point blank if he knowingly killed his wife, Scott sobbed
01:04:20
and replied, "No, not at all. I couldn't knowingly kill her. No one deserved it less than anyone
01:04:30
I know than her. The high-profile trial, described by observers as a battle of experts, lasted
01:04:41
more than a month. It was complex, with experts who held similar experience and qualifications arriving at starkly
01:04:50
different conclusions. In total, 52 witnesses were called and 180 court exhibits were
01:04:57
entered into evidence. In closing arguments, the defense reiterated that Scott was a
01:05:05
nonviolent person who'd had a wonderful marriage. They emphasized that there was
01:05:11
simply no motive for Scott to willfully kill Yamala. The prosecution focused on the drowning
01:05:18
aspect of the crime, stating, "One of the things that you cannot get away from and Scott Fa cannot
01:05:26
get away from is the fact that when Yamala was down, he did a violent act. Never in the annals of sleepwalking
01:05:36
has there ever been a case where two different types of lethal violence have been applied in one case.
01:05:45
While the prosecution acknowledged that no one but Scott truly knew what happened that night, they confidently
01:05:53
declared, "This guy here killed his wife and he's guilty of firstdegree murder." It took the jury just 8 hours
01:06:04
to reach a verdict. Ultimately, they found the prosecution's experts more compelling
01:06:11
than those of the defense. for the first degree murder of Yamala Feta. Scott Fa was found
01:06:20
guilty. In a posted trial interview, jurors revealed that they were open to the possibility that Scott had initially
01:06:27
attacked Yamala while sleepwalking. However, they believed that he regained consciousness and
01:06:34
panicked afterward. Despite the inconclusive evidence, the jury was certain that Yamala was still
01:06:42
alive when Scott pushed her into the pool. They agreed that he had premeditated the decision to drown her
01:06:49
and was fully cognizant while carrying out the act. A significant portion of the jury's
01:06:57
deliberations centered on Scott's use of a hunting knife, with one juror stating
01:07:02
that such an item was not used for any other purpose except for killing. While the prosecution pushed
01:07:10
for the death penalty, the sentencing hearing, which took place a year after the guilty verdict, saw multiple
01:07:16
character witnesses testify positively on Scott's behalf. Among them were his two children who pleaded for his
01:07:25
life. Even Yamala's mother supported Scott's case. She acknowledged that although he
01:07:33
should face severe punishment, his children shouldn't be left with neither their mother nor
01:07:40
father. During sentencing, the judge remarked, "Yamla was a woman we all would have liked to know. She was
01:07:49
independent, feisty, totally devoted to her children, and someone who did not accept everything at face value because
01:07:57
she had a mind of her own. But because of the defendant's cruel attack on her, she did not get to
01:08:04
see her daughter graduate as a validictorian of her class. Did not get to see her son grow into the fine young
01:08:11
man and good athlete that he is. did not get to share in the joy of her daughter
01:08:16
attending one of the finest universities in the country and did not get to pursue
01:08:21
her own return to teaching. She also won't have the opportunity to enjoy any grandchildren
01:08:28
she might have [Music] had. In deciding Scott's punishment, the judge considered the testimony from
01:08:36
Scott's children, friends, co-workers, and church members, all of whom described him as living an exemplary
01:08:44
life and being a kind, gentle, peaceful, and loving man who gave freely of his time in service to others.
01:08:53
The judge also acknowledged that Scott had no criminal history, showed extreme remorse, and had been a model inmate
01:09:01
with a positive influence on others. However, he also recognized that the murder was especially cruel and
01:09:10
heinous. As a result, Scott Fa was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of
01:09:18
[Music] parole. At the time of this episode's release, Scott remains in prison where
01:09:26
he practices meditation and ensures he gets adequate sleep. Over the years, he has received
01:09:33
letters of support from other sleepwalkers whom he encourages to seek treatment to prevent a similar incident
01:09:40
from occurring. He remains to be a model inmate known for assisting, teaching, and providing
01:09:47
spiritual guidance to other inmates and helping prison staff with technology problems. Scott stays in touch with his
01:09:55
two children with his son, Michael, stating, "He is still my dad, and I hope to always have a relationship with him,
01:10:04
whether he's in prison or he's out." However, Scott himself doubts he will ever be
01:10:12
released. Multiple attempts to appeal his sentence have failed. To this day, he maintains that
01:10:19
he has no memory of killing Yamala. All I can say is I do not know what happened, he told ABC's 2020,
01:10:29
adding, "There's no one else I can place the responsibility on. It's on my shoulders. I accept that and I have to
01:10:38
move on. The death of Yamala Fa continues to prompt questions and debate to this day.
01:10:47
Was it a tragic accident or a deliberate murder? The case's central questions have never been solved to everybody's
01:10:56
satisfaction. Even those who accept Scott's version of events still believe he committed a terrible crime and must
01:11:03
pay a price for it. As Scott's mother, Lois, stated, he's technically guilty, but he's morally
01:11:12
innocent. He was there and he wasn't there. Scott's story elicits its fair share of critics and
01:11:22
skeptics. While sleepwalking is a widely accepted phenomenon, some have expressed
01:11:28
concern that if Scott were acquitted, sleepwalking might become an excuse for any crime.
01:11:35
Others view the use of a sleepwalking defense as nothing more than junk science, suggesting that attorneys just
01:11:42
pay experts to offer whatever testimony is necessary to protect their client's interests. Since 1997, there have been a
01:11:52
number of other criminal cases around the world that have employed the sleepwalking defense to varying success.
01:12:00
Scott Fa maintains that in his case the jury got it wrong. He insists that he is not a
01:12:08
monster and believes his verdict was influenced by the complexity of sleep disorders, a still evolving field that
01:12:15
is not yet fully understood. Scott has expressed a doubt that he will ever forgive himself for
01:12:22
killing Yamla. He believes they were meant for each other and has stated that he will miss
01:12:28
her until the day he dies. He often reflects on the pain and terror Yamala must have felt when he
01:12:36
attacked her and is grateful that he does not have any memories of what he did to her that
01:12:42
night. I kind of wish she had grabbed the knife and done me instead, he said. But because it was me, she didn't.
01:12:54
Scott feels that Yamala would have been more understanding and forgiving of him than he had been towards himself and
01:13:01
expresses hope that they will be reunited in heaven, saying, "She knows more than I do about
01:13:08
what happened that night, and she will actually know how I've conducted myself since then. I want to be sure that I'm
01:13:16
still worthy of her by how I carry myself now. [Music] [Music]