Matthew Phelps (28) and Lauren Hugelmaier (29) were married for a little under a year when Matthew stabbed Lauren to death in their North Carolina home on September 1st, 2017. Matthew, an aspiring pastor, claims that he has no recollection of the stabbing. He told police that he took too much cough syrup before bed, and when he awoke in the middle of the night, Lauren was dead. In his 911 call, Matthew is heard saying “I had a dream, and then I turn on the lights and she’s dead on the floor. I have blood all over me, and there’s a bloody knife on the bed, and I think I did it.”
Investigators were suspicious of Matthew’s story from the get-go. The cough syrup that Matthew allegedly took before the incident is called Coricidin HBP Cold and Cough. Hallucinations are listed as a side effect of the medicine, however, there is no other evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior. Investigators also say they have found evidence that suggests Lauren’s death was premeditated, but they have not yet elaborated on said evidence. Matthew was arrested shortly after the incident.
Still, Matthew maintains that he did not intend to kill Lauren and does not remember doing so. He says that Coricidin is the real culprit in this case. A grand jury disagreed, and officially indicted Matthew on first-degree murder charges on September 28th, 2017. A trial date has not yet been set.