After falling asleep in his home during the early morning of Nov. 25, 2006, Mark Bonnstetter’s next memory was waking up on the bedroom floor of a neighbor’s home, he said.

Bonnstetter added he was “confused” when he awoke.

Bonnstetter, associate athletic director of operations and head athletic trainer at Eastern, testified Thursday in his trial that stemmed from a Nov. 25, 2006, incident involving a former neighbor.

Bonnsetter was charged with criminal trespass to a residence, a class 4 felony; residential burglary, a class 1 felony; and attempted criminal sexual abuse, a class A misdemeanor on Nov. 28, 2006.

During Assistant State’s Attorney Mick McAvoy’s cross-examination, Bonnstetter said he tries to give logical responses when asked after waking up from a sleepwalking episode.

“I’ll try to make sense of that event immediately,” he said.

On Nov. 25, 2006, in his neighbor’s bedroom, Bonnstetter said he woke up to the sound of a voice. He said he saw two people in the bed. He recognized his neighbor and did not know her boyfriend well at the time. The boyfriend was also in the bed.

Bonnstetter told McAvoy he remembered telling her he was concerned that someone was inside since there were lights in the house.

He said he remembers a sound provoked him to come into the house, but could not remember if he told the neighbor, the alleged victim, that.

Bonnstetter said he remembered telling the alleged victim he came through the front door of the house. He added it was possible the door was open when he entered, but could not remember.

He said after he woke up and was confronted by the alleged victim, he opened the back door and looked outside.

Bonnstetter said he could not remember why he did that. He said he felt embarrassed when he walked out of the home.

McAvoy then brought up Bonnstetter’s interview with former Charleston police detective Anthony West, who investigated the case.

When West called him the following afternoon, Bonnstetter said he did not have a good memory of waking up in the house and walking across the street.

During cross-examination, he said he went back to sleep after the alleged incident, but had no cause for alarm.

When West brought up the allegation of Bonnstetter touching the alleged victim, Bonnstetter said he was immediately concerned.

When West interviewed him about the alleged incident, Bonnstetter told him he saw his neighbor’s door open.

McAvoy asked why he said that.

“I was rationalizing,” Bonnstetter said.

In his statement to West, Bonnstetter said it never occurred to him to call 9-1-1.

McAvoy asked why he didn’t tell West he could not remember thinking about calling 9-1-1 or not.

“It’s because I was trying to rationalize,” Bonnstetter said.

During follow-up questioning, Bonnstetter’s attorney Raipher Pellegrino asked Bonnstetter what he meant when he said rationalizing.

Bonnstetter said it means he is trying to put things together in a complicated situation.

Timeline: The trial of Mark Bonnstetter

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Prior to cross-examination, Bonnstetter testified to prior sleepwalking incidents.

Once in 1994 or 1995 while with his future wife Lori Bonnstetter, he remembered sleepwalking while staying at a house in the Ozarks.

He said he remembered looking out a window in the kitchen and making a comment to Lori about a possible intruder with a knife before he headed back to bed.

In another incident, Bonnstetter testified while living in Miami he got up, dressed, went outside down a flight of stairs and tried to “scoop” a dog off someone else’s patio.

Charleston resident Dr. Karl Rudert also testified he witnessed Bonnstetter sleepwalk in a hotel room during a 2006 Eastern football road trip in Alabama.

Rudert said he woke up around 4:30 a.m. and witnessed Bonnstetter wandering around the hotel room.

Bonnstetter did not recall what happened, Rudert added.

During cross-examination, Bonnstetter said there had been a few times when he was awaken during a sleepwalking episode. However, he could not recall a specific memory of one of those instances.

“I can’t specifically remember,” Bonnstetter said. “It’s a difficult question. I don’t know.”

Bonnstetter also said during cross-examination he never sought treatment for his sleepwalking prior to the alleged incident.

Lori Bonnstetter also testified Thursday. She confirmed the 1994 or 1995 sleepwalking incident as well as the sleepwalking incident where Bonnstetter tried to scoop a dog off of a neighbor’s patio.

She said when Bonnstetter is awake, he is clearly aware of his surroundings.

When he is sleepwalking, he is clearly confused, she added.

“You can tell the difference,” Lori said.

She said it was a stressful time during the day of the alleged incident.

Their son had been born a few weeks prior to the alleged incident, and Lori said she had gone through a difficult pregnancy.

Bonnstetter testified that many of his sleepwalking incidents are induced when he is stressed or sleep deprived.

Bonnstetter’s sister-in-law, also named Lori Bonnstetter, testified.

She said Bonnstetter’s brother, Rick, also had trouble with sleeping.

Rick talks in his sleep on a regular basis and has sat up, she said.He once even attempted to try and hammer something, she said.

Bonnstetter’s sister-in-law said she knew of the sleeping problems.

Bonnstetter said during cross-examination that Rick’s sleeping problems are different than his sleeping problems.

There is no other family history of sleep disorders, aside from his dad snoring loudly, Bonnstetter added.

Dr. Jerry Boyd, a clinically licensed psychologist in Charleston, testified and said he examined Bonnstetter on Nov. 28, 2006.

After conducting a variety of tests, Boyd concluded Bonnstetter was a typical guy who was under a great deal of stress.

Boyd could not find any mental disorders in Bonnstetter, he said.

Bonnstetter was not falsifying symptoms, which some people do to avoid legal consequences, Boyd added.

He said he was not an expert in sleep disorders.

Bonnstetter’s trial resumes at 9 a.m. today in the Coles County Courthouse.

-Associate News Editor Matt Hopf contributed to this report

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibendetto@eiu.edu.