21-year-old who claims he was sleepwalking when killing twin sister sentenced to 15 years in prison

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A day after a Harris County jury found a 21-year-old man guilty of murder in a deadly stabbing of his twin sister, he's been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The State had asked for at least 40 years in prison. "We are very happy with the sentence. We think it reflects what the judge thought was a weakness in the State's case. We are pleased," Wes Rucker, Benjamin Elliott's defense attorney, told ABC13. Prosecutors did not comment after the sentence.

Meghan Elliott was 17 years old when she was stabbed to death in the family's Katy-area home on Sept. 29, 2021. Her brother, Benjamin Elliott, called 911, telling the operator he thought he was dreaming when he stabbed his sister in the neck, but then discovered it was not a dream at all.

Harris County deputies arrived on the scene at the time to find Benjamin performing CPR. Meghan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Elliott's defense, during the week-long trial, was that he was sleepwalking when he killed his sister.

"How could a kid who cherishes his sister, who loves her, protects her," Rucker told the jury on Monday. "How could someone commit a crime that heinous without a reasonable explanation?"

Both sides brought in experts to testify about parasomnia or abnormal behaviors during sleep.

"I think the jury got it wrong," said Dr. Jerald Simmons, a neurologist who testified for the defense. "It's totally possible. If it wasn't possible, I would have not taken the position. There are other cases. They are rare, but they can occur."

However, prosecutors argued the evidence did not support it. They said Benjamin was awake and on his phone before the killing. His phone even logged his steps to and from his sister's bedroom. He was conscious enough to turn off his school alarm and to call 911, they said. They also believe he used a pillow to muffle his sister's screams.

"While I didn't give you motive, I did give you premeditation. It's not a coincidence that the knife he got the night before is the same knife he used to kill his sister," prosecutor Megan Long told the jury during closing arguments.

"Mr. Rucker and I have disproven what they have tried to sell you, their narrative. We don't have a burden. We don't have to prove anything, but who is putting forth the proof? It is not them," defense attorney Cary Lynn Higginbotham countered.

On Monday, a jury found Elliott guilty after about five hours of deliberations. Judge Danilo Lacayo determined his 15-year punishment on Tuesday. He said the jury asked him to be lenient. He also cited Elliott's lack of criminal history and that he had no issues while out on bond, as factors in determining the sentence.

In Texas, murder carries a punishment of 5 to 99 years in prison. Elliott will be eligible for parole in seven and a half years.

The use of a sleepwalking defense is unusual but not unheard of.

In 2019, Raymond Lazarine used the defense during his murder trial in Harris County for killing his wife. He was convicted.

SEE ALSO: Man sentenced in wife's murder despite 'Sleepwalking defense'

He offered a "sleepwalking" defense after the murder of his wife in 2013. Now, Raymond Lazarine faced a jury's verdict and whether the defense would get him off.