New York man claims Ambien made him sleepwalk and murder his girlfriend

On Friday, a New York man was sentenced for strangling his girlfriend in her home, though he claimed that the sleep aids that he was taking induced him to violence and that he did not remember the murder.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

On Friday, a New York man was sentenced for strangling his girlfriend in her home, though he claimed that the sleep aids that he was taking induced him to violence and that he did not remember the murder.

Nixon Bourguignon was sentenced to serve between 20 years and life for the death of Shannon Coleman, who was the mother of his child and his girlfriend.

“I am sorry that I took her away from everybody,” Bourguignon said on Friday. “I hate myself. I wish every day I could switch places with Shannon. I love Shannon very much.”

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said that Bourguignon killed Coleman because she broke off their relationship, noting that he “tortured her to death.”

“He didn’t just kill her. He totally dominated and controlled her,” Zugibe said. “He strangled her, stopped, and, when she regained consciousness, he strangled her again. She was aware of what he was doing. He committed the ultimate act of domestic violence.”

During the trial, Bourguignon’s attorney argued that Ambien, the sleep aid that Bourguignon was taking at the time, had caused him to become violent and that, in fact, Bourguignon had no memory of what he did to Coleman.

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