B.C. man acquitted of stabbing wife in the back was ‘effectively asleep’: judge

A B.C. man who was accused of stabbing his wife in the back with a kitchen knife has been acquitted after arguing his actions were not voluntary as he was effectively asleep at the time.

Jean-Luc Charles Perignon was charged with the aggravated assault of his then-wife Debra following the incident in the family’s home in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast on Easter weekend in April 2017.

Perignon, who at trial did not dispute that he had attacked his wife, claimed he was in a state of “automatism” as a result of having consumed a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol prior to the assault.

In his ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Warren Milman noted that such a defence rarely succeeds and the courts are justifiably reluctant to acquit on that ground due to concerns about faking such a condition and the need to maintain respect for the administration of justice.

He said the law assumes that people generally act voluntarily and are responsible for their actions and Perignon bore the “heavy burden” to demonstrate that the ordinary presumption did not apply.