Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

The lawyer for the Haverstraw man accused of strangling his girlfriend on Tuesday blamed the sleeping aid Ambien, a defense that gained attention through incidents involving members of the Kennedy family.

Defense attorney David Goldstein said Nixon Bourguignon was taking Ambien and doesn't remember killing longtime girlfriend Shannon Coleman inside their MountainSide apartment off Route 202 in Haverstraw on May 7.

Bourguignon pleaded not guilty during his arraignment before Rockland County Court Judge William Nelson and was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder, a felony which carries a prison sentence of 25 years to life if convicted. The proceeding had been delayed to allow doctors to evaluate his mental condition at an upstate psychiatric center.

"It's a dangerous drug, including causing the death of others," Goldstein said, adding the drug has been cited in other criminal cases in which people were killed.

Goldstein said if people using Ambien are awakened too soon and quickly, "they do many things and don't remember."

"He did not know what he did," Goldstein said. "There is nothing illegal, criminal that Nixon did. This case is a tragedy beyond normal comprehension."

But prosecutor Dominic Crispino told the judge Bourguignon intentionally killed Coleman, strangling her multiple times inside their apartment.

Crispino said Bourguignon knew his 29-year-old girlfriend was breaking off their 10-year relationship. They have an 8-year-old son. Coleman had a 10-year-old boy from a previous relationship but Bourguignon helped raise the child.

Crispino said the prosecution has witnesses who say Bourguignon told them he was upset with her decision. "He knew he was being kicked out," Crispino said.

Nelson set bail at $500,000 bond or $100,000 cash.

The link between Ambien and its generic versions and violence has been used as a reason for crimes, known as the "zombie defense." The defense has been controversial concerning whether the prescription drug causes violence or is used to excuse it.

The use of Ambien has been linked to Sgt. Ivan Lopez, who was accused of fatally shooting three people and injuring 16 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. He killed himself.

Kerry Kennedy blamed Ambien after she drove her Lexus SUV from her home in Bedford to her gym in Armonk, speeding, swerving across the road, hitting a tractor-trailer on Interstate 684 and popping a tire in July 2012.

The daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and also Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ex-wife was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs. She said she'd mistakenly taken Ambien instead of her thyroid medicine. A jury acquitted her Feb. 28 during a trial in which a defense expert testified that the fast-working sleep aid could lead to "zombieism."

Goldstein said both families felt he and Coleman had a close, loving relationship and there was no reason for Bourguignon to snap.

Coleman's mother, Donna Higdon, has forgiven him, choosing to focus on raising her daughter's two sons and working to set up an educational scholarship for them.

"I know my daughter was taken away, but this young man … he was an awesome dad for my two grandsons for 10 years," Higdon recently told The Journal News. "Unfortunately, something snapped. Emotionally, something snapped somewhere."