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PA Man Sentenced In Fatal Stabbing During Argument Over Snoring, DA Says

A Hatboro man has been sentenced to almost a year in jail after stabbing his neighbor dead during an ongoing dispute over his snoring, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said on Friday, Aug. 16.

Christopher Casey

Christopher Casey

Photo Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office

Christopher Casey, 55, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced on Aug. 7, in the death of of 62-year-old Robert Wallace, according to a DA spokeswoman. 

Casey was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in prison, followed by three years probation, she said. He also pleaded guilty to possession of an instrument of crime.

Authorities said Casey and Wallace were both known to Upper Moreland police for "ongoing arguments, including arguments about (Casey's) loud snoring, which (Wallace) could hear" through the shared wall of their homes. 

Casey told police he was eating dinner around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, when Wallace knocked on his window and shouted "I'm gonna kill you!"

Police said Wallace removed the screen and opened the unlocked window into Casey's home. The pair talked through the window for about 20 minutes and Wallace had "settled down a little bit," Casey told investigators. 

Casey said Wallace was "leaning in" through the window during the conversation but didn't try to enter the home. Wallace said he wanted to shake hands and even offered to help pay for corrective nose surgery to help alleviate Casey's snoring, according to the criminal complaint. 

Casey said he grabbed a knife, hid it under a blanket, and met Wallace at the door, where he stabbed him "three or four times" in the chest, investigators said. 

He called 911 and Wallace was rushed to Abington Hospital where he died just after 7 p.m., police said. He told detectives in an interview that he didn't believe Wallace was serious about shaking hands and working out their disagreement. 

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