Ilknur woke up to find her husband dead. Then she was arrested.

When Ilknur Caliskan embarked on a camping trip with her husband, Serdar Caliskan, and their friends, it was meant to be a peaceful escape — days spent soaking up the spring sunshine, nights falling asleep to the sounds of nature at Mount Disappointment in Victoria.

But serenity soon gave way to tragedy.

On the night of September 30, 2023, Ilknur awoke to chaos—her husband had been stabbed. Frantic and confused, she drove 20km to Clonbinane, where she called for help.

Paramedics rushed to the scene, but it was too late. Serdar died before they could save him.

Ilknur was beyond devastated. Her husband of 25 years was gone, and she had no memory of what had happened. Who had done this? How had they ended up here?

Then came the twist she never saw coming: she was arrested and charged with his murder.

V cleared of rape charges due to a 'sexsomnia' episode.

Ilknur insisted she had no recollection of harming Serdar. Last year, her legal team flagged an extraordinary defence — parasomnia.

Parasomnia is a sleep disorder that can cause people to engage in unusual behaviours while asleep, such as talking, walking, or even driving. In rare cases, it can include violent actions, according to the Sleep Foundation.

Just last week, a Victorian man was acquitted of rape after arguing he had experienced an episode of "sexsomnia" — a form of parasomnia where a person unknowingly engages in sexual behaviour while asleep.

Could the same be true for Ilknur? Could someone commit homicide in their sleep?

As for whether violent sleepwalking is a crime? Research suggests that while rare, it is possible. But proving it in court is another matter.

The case against Ilknur.

For a guilty verdict in a criminal trial, prosecutors must prove two things: that the accused committed a voluntary act, and they did so with intent or awareness of the consequences.

With Ilknur, neither was clear.

A key issue in the case was whether she was suffering from a sleep disorder and therefore not acting in a conscious and voluntary state, a pre-trial hearing in November was told.

By April, Ilknur was released on bail so she could undergo a sleep study in Sydney. Prosecutors received the expert report in November.

Then, at a directions hearing in January, they revealed they were consulting Serdar's relatives in Turkey before deciding how to proceed.

The unusual case was set to go to trial in March.

This week, in a stunning turn, the murder charge against Ilknur was dropped in the Victorian Supreme Court.

The case that had consumed her life for more than a year had come to an end.

But with her husband gone and her world shattered, there are no real winners here.

-with AAP

Feature image: Getty.