In the early morning hours of September 1st, 2017, around 1 am, a North Carolina 911 dispatcher receives a phone call from 29-year-old Matthew Phelps, an aspiring pastor. He says, “I think I killed my wife. I had a dream, and then I turned 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. I can’t believe this.” 

Matthew claimed that he had “accidentally” stabbed his wife to death while under the influence of cough medicine. 29-year-old Lauren Hugelmaier lay on their bedroom floor, having been stabbed 123 times. While the medicine that Matthew had taken can cause euphoria, agitation, and even psychoses, would a jury believe it as a defence to murder? Perhaps not, after Matthew’s dark side, history of violence and a secret Instagram account was revealed. 

If you or someone you know may be in a dangerous relationship, domestic violence, or an abusive relationship, call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1–800–799–7233 or go to www.thehotline.org.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJVefybEaM

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/family-woman-killed-cold-medicine-murder-filled-regret/story?id=58549513

https://heavy.com/news/2017/09/lauren-hugelmaier-phelps-murder-husband-photos-facebook-instagram-obituary/

https://people.com/crime/cold-medicine-killer-pastor-pleads-guilty-murdering-wife/

https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-cough-syrup-killer-the-case-of-lauren-hugelmaier-a42d15c98653

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article219420090.html

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