Keizer OR Injury News: Man with REM Disorder faces felony spousal abuse charges

2010-05-04 02:34:45 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Justice News Flash, Press Release)

05/03/2010 // West Palm Beach , Florida, USA // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan

Keizer, OR—After a man and father of three unknowingly beat his wife in the middle of the night, he was arrested on charges of felony spousal abuse and issued a court order that prohibited him from making any contact with his wife. Unable to remember his horrific February 20, 2010 nocturnal episode, the man reported to the Willamette Sleep Center in Salem, Oregon to be evaluated. Upon doing so, specialists diagnosed him with rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD), otherwise known as REM Disorder, a condition in which individuals react to their dreams in a physical way. Now the family is trying to fight the case, contending the man is not violent and had no control over the incident, according to information provided by ABC News.

Reports stated 29-year-old Randi Kearns called 911 after her husband, Adam Kearns, punched her in the face three times and then immediately laid back down in their bed as if the violent incident had never occurred. Just prior to the occurrence, the couple’s 5-year-old son, who has a tendency to experience night terrors, ran into their bedroom screaming. Randi was hospitalized as a result of the incident. Authorities from the Keizer Police Department subsequently apprehended the Kearns and imprisoned him for three days. He was released from jail but given a “no contact” order, which prevents him from seeing or speaking with his wife, but does allow him to visit his children, ages 2, 5 and 8.

Doctors allegedly believe Kearns may have had a “primal reaction” to his son’s 4 a.m. disturbance, prompting him to hurt his wife, all the while remaining asleep. According to the former director of Rush University Medical Center’s parasomnia center in Chicago, Rosalind Cartwright, “They are all good people when you meet them, lovely human beings,” however, “Sleepwalkers can be violent… The upper frontal lobe, the most evolved part of the brain where moral teaching lives, is fast asleep.”

According to Randi Kearns, Adam’s wife of 10 years, “I don’t even get to see him, it’s so hard… He’s not a violent man… He’s never hurt me or even made me feel afraid.” Adam Kearns, an employee for the Oregon Department of Human Services, also noted, “It’s torn us apart… I can’t go home; I can’t be a husband and a father. My goal is to get home, that’s all that matters.” He is due back in court on May 5th.

Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for Oregon Personal Injury Lawyers.

YouTube video provided by: ABC News

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