Until Murder Do Us Part - Synopsis
Mike Kingston, an attorney at an elite Washington, D.C. law firm, wakes up from a violent nightmare to find his hands wrapped around his wife’s throat, almost killing her. He attributes this and later sleepwalking episodes to the tremendous strain he is under at work – the firm is voting on making him a partner, and he is litigating the biggest case of his career against a company that sold a robotic toy the company knew would injure children. A few nights later, on the same day that he settles the case and is elected to the partnership, Mike finds his wife suffocated in their own bed.
The authorities suspect that Mike murdered his wife to be with his supposed mistress, and he becomes the focus of a highly-publicized murder investigation. The strong evidence of his guilt forces him to pursue an unconsciousness defense based on his history of sleepwalking, for which the press dubs him the “Sleepwalk Killer.” While preparing the defense, Mike comes to the awful realization that he might have in fact killed his wife in his sleep.
The criminal proceedings climax in a preliminary hearing where the state presents compelling evidence of Mike’s guilt. Despite the strength of her case, the ambitious junior prosecutor is forced to dismiss the murder charges at the hearing. Mike is freed from criminal penalties, but the suspicious dismissal leaves a cloud hanging over his reputation. Having lost his wife, career and wealth, Mike and his two-year-old daughter set out to start a new life back in his rural hometown in Utah.
Just when the murder allegations appear to be behind him, and Mike finds love again with Diane Stratton, the firm’s receptionist who followed him from D.C., the horrifying truth about his wife’s murder finally comes to light.
The authorities suspect that Mike murdered his wife to be with his supposed mistress, and he becomes the focus of a highly-publicized murder investigation. The strong evidence of his guilt forces him to pursue an unconsciousness defense based on his history of sleepwalking, for which the press dubs him the “Sleepwalk Killer.” While preparing the defense, Mike comes to the awful realization that he might have in fact killed his wife in his sleep.
The criminal proceedings climax in a preliminary hearing where the state presents compelling evidence of Mike’s guilt. Despite the strength of her case, the ambitious junior prosecutor is forced to dismiss the murder charges at the hearing. Mike is freed from criminal penalties, but the suspicious dismissal leaves a cloud hanging over his reputation. Having lost his wife, career and wealth, Mike and his two-year-old daughter set out to start a new life back in his rural hometown in Utah.
Just when the murder allegations appear to be behind him, and Mike finds love again with Diane Stratton, the firm’s receptionist who followed him from D.C., the horrifying truth about his wife’s murder finally comes to light.