By Tara Cosoleto and Erin Pearson
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.
Ilknur Caliskan, 47, was accused of stabbing her husband, Serdar Caliskan, to death during a camping trip in September 2023 after the 50-year-old man was found dead inside a car at Clonbinane, near Mount Disappointment, about 90 kilometres north of Melbourne.
Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against Ilknur Caliskan (right) over the death of husband Serdar (left).
At 11.30pm, emergency services were called to bushland nearby after reports a man had been stabbed. Serdar died at the scene, and his wife was later charged with his murder.
A key issue in the case for prosecutors was whether 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.
Ilknur Caliskan was granted bail in 2024 to undergo a sleep study.Credit: Nine
Caliskan was released on bail in April last year so she could undergo a sleep study in Sydney, and prosecutors received the expert report in November.
“An expert has been approached from NSW. The applicant needs to be asleep at his location. She really needs to attend upon the clinic to advance her defence,” defence barrister Daniel Sala told Justice Rita Incerti in the Supreme Court at Caliskan’s bail hearing in April. “We say these are exceptional circumstances.”
The court heard in April Caliskan had no prior criminal history and had significant family support, including two children with whom she could live.
The prosecution and the judge noted it was an unusual case and acknowledged Caliskan’s ongoing incarceration would prevent her from exploring this defence because there were no relevant experts in Victoria.
Incerti granted Caliskan bail in April last year on the condition that she report to police three times a week, surrendered her passport and did not contact witnesses.
At a directions hearing in January, prosecutors said they were seeking the views of Serdar Caliskan’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.
With AAP
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