26. Steven Steinberg: The Jerk Who Got Away With Killing His Wife
Howard Hughes’ jerk move was epic, but at least nobody died. Not so with some of the other jerk moves below. One such was that of Steven Steinberg of Scottsdale, Arizona. He was accused in 1981 of murdering his wife, Elena, by stabbing her twenty-six times with a kitchen knife as she cried out for her children. Steinberg initially blamed it on burglars and a home invasion gone wrong, but after police investigators debunked that possibility, he confessed to killing her.
However, he claimed to have done it while sleepwalking, a condition caused by excessive stress from his wife’s constant nagging for money. In the ensuing trial, the prosecutors put all their eggs in one basket by making a case for premeditated murder, without bringing any other charges. Steinberg’s lawyer made a case for not guilty by reason of insanity. Steinberg testified that he was unaware of the killing when it happened, that he was sleeping at the time, so it must have occurred while he was sleepwalking.