Red Bull 'made me kill my father'.

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Red Bull 'made me kill my father'
Published: 9/02/2011 at 12:28 AM
Bangkok Post: Online news: World
 
ST PETERSBURG, Florida : Attorneys for an accused cold-blooded killer claim sleep deprivation and Red Bull energy drinks caused a psychotic episode that ended when he smothered his 83-year-old father with a pillow a year ago.

Stephen Coffen was supposed to be watching his father in the elderly man's home when the death occurred.

Even Tom Coffeen, his brother, scoffed at the Krating Daeng defence.

"It's crap," Mr Coffeen told local TV. "I don't even think the man (his brother) even drank Red Bull. They cannot 100 per cent tell me he did not know what he was doing."

One night in December, 2009, Tom reportedly received a call from his brother, who told him to come home immediately. When Tom got to his father's home, Stephen wouldn't let him in and said they had to talk.

According to Tom, Stephen, who lives in California and hadn't seen their father in more than 10 years, started saying, "Dad is evil. Dad is evil."

He says his brother then admitted that he killed their father, but in self-defense.

After Stephen was arrested and charged with second degree murder, he changed from self defence to an insanity defence, claiming he snapped after arriving from California.

He snapped, his lawyer told the court, because of Red Bull and lack of sleep.

Red Bull is the worldwide marketing arm of Krating Daeng (Red Gaur), the most popular energy drink in Thailand. It has never before been accused of murder.

His attorney claims that the lethal combo of the energy drink and lack of sleep put Stephen Coffeen into a frenzied state that led him to smother his father.

"The insanity at the time of the offence is normally a perfect storm where all sorts of factors come into play all at once, all at the same time causing the break down," said the lawyer, George Tragos.

If the judge accepts the insanity defence, Stephen Coffeen will go to a mental institution for a minimum of six months.

The trial is to continue on Feb 17.