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Sleepwalking, sleep driving and peeing all over the house in the middle of the night were common behaviours of a man who insists he was not driving drunk when he struck and killed a man in 2014, a court heard Wednesday.

Despite the fact that Marcello Fracassi, 33, of Alliston, blew an alcohol reading more than twice the legal limit three hours after the crash, he stands his ground that he was sleep driving and remembers nothing.

“Sir, I suggest to you the issue of sleepwalking only became a problem after you were charged with killing somebody,” Crown attorney Mary Ann Alexander said.

Town worker Geoffrey Gaston, 41, was killed and his co-worker was injured June 20, 2014 when they were struck by Fracassi’s pickup truck in the middle of the night as they painted traffic lines on the main street of Alliston.

Fracassi has pleaded not guilty to drunk driving causing death, drunk driving causing bodily harm and fleeing the scene.

“No, I had been having other (medical) issues,” Fracassi said on the witness stand.

“Like what?” asked Alexander.

Fracassi testified he had several incidents of urinating around his home late at night and arguments with his wife that he would never remember the next morning.

“Maybe you were peeing in the house because you were drunk?” the Crown asked.

“No, not necessarily,” said Fracassi, who insists he has fainting spells and memory gaps. However, he admitted that several nights a week he had been secretly drinking up to a half bottle of gin that he stashed in his basement so his wife wouldn’t find it.

On the witness stand his petite, soft-spoken wife, Rachel Fracassi, a religious woman who said she hates alcohol and believes in prohibition, said she had no clue her husband secretly drank but he constantly exhibited “bizarre behaviour” at night.

“At night time, I’m scared of my husband,” she said, weeping. “I’m scared of how he’s going to treat me, I’m scared … It’s like it’s him but it isn’t him … I thought maybe he had a brain tumour.”

She said he would often pee in closets, on the baby’s chair and once on a dress that was on the bedroom floor. One night he told her to “eat the Bible,” she said.

Rachel testified she believed it was all due to sleepwalking. She said his bizarre nighttime behaviour continues, but so far he has only treated his symptoms with vitamin supplements.

“Maybe he’s loud and irritating because he’s still getting drunk,” the Crown said.

“I don’t think so,” she answered, explaining he has been on strict bail conditions for the past two years to have no alcohol.

“What has your husband been doing to address his alcohol problem?” Alexander asked.

“Eating,” she answered.

The trial continues.


Source (with more pictures): Toronto Sun