Trending Now

‘Dream’ defense fails aspiring pastor who blamed cough medicine on his wife’s brutal death – Mathew Phelps pleads guilty to first degree murder, goes behind bars for life

Popular Stories

Novel defense strategy failed a North Carolina man who blamed cough medicine after stabbing wife 123 times pleads guilty to murder
Matthew Phelps, 29, is sentenced to life behind bars, without possibility of parole after his guilty plea Friday
Cops had accused Phelps of stretching credulity in oddball 911 confession in wife’s murder
Phelps was accused of stabbing his 29-year-old wife Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh home on Sept 1, last year
Matthew Phelps in his defense believed he may have killed wife in his sleep, Friday in Raleigh 
The pastor on the night called 911  and told the operator – ‘I must be dreaming: “There’s a bloody knife on the bed, and I think I did it”’
Phelps claimed he’d fallen asleep after taking too much cold medicine and may have accidentally killed his wife Lauren
Authorities didn’t believe the crime was random act as he was charged with murder and held without bond
Mathew Phelps 1
Matthew Phelps was accused of stabbing his wife Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh home in Sept 2017

An aspiring pastor who blamed cough medicine on his wife’s brutal death pleaded guilty to first degree murder Friday and will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Matthew Phelps was accused of stabbing Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh, N.C., home on Sept. 1, 2017.
Related: ‘It was just bad dream’ Murder charge for Mathew Phelps, NC husband who thinks he killed wife in his sleep – Cops doubt dream defense

‘I must be dreaming: “There’s a bloody knife on the bed, and I think I did it”’ North Carolina man stretches credulity in oddball 911 confession in […]

The 911 call made by Phelps — who authorities say was obsessed with the movie “American Psycho” — was played in court Friday morning.

“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 knife on the bed and I think I did it,” he said.

He told investigators he took too much Coricidin, a cold and cough medicine, prior to finding his wife dead.

At Friday’s hearing, the victim’s friends and family wore light blue T-shirts with #LaurensLight written across them, according to The News & Observer.

Prosecutors told the court that Phelps did little to contribute to finances and his wife felt betrayed — she found out about his money habits a few days before her death.

Lauren Hugelmaie Phelps 3.jpg
Victim: Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps was found knifed to death, on Sept 1, 2017 in her NC home. Her newly husband Mathew has been convicted in her death

Phelps regularly posted to Instagram about the 2000 dark comedy “American Pyscho,” which stars Christian Bale as deranged investment banker Patrick Bateman.

“The movie is about a serial killer, and Phelps expressed interest to a friend regarding what it would be like to kill someone,” a detective wrote in court documents.
Investigators searched for “any video games, movies, pictures or electronic media that might contain evidence of [Phelps’] fascination with felonious or homicidal activity,” according to documents.
Friends told investigators that the couple “would argue frequently” and had been disagreeing about finances, according to police. Matthew Phelps “was spending more money than the couple made,” a detective wrote, and Lauren Phelps “had recently taken drastic steps to limit her husband’s spending.”
Investigators also learned that Lauren Phelps was “preparing to end the relationship,” around the time of her death.

Related: Empty box of cold medicine, bloody sheets found in home of Matthew Phelps, North Carolina pastor accused of brutally stabbing wife

Empty box of cold medicine, bloody sheets found in home of husband accused of brutally stabbing wife North Carolina man stretched credulity in a bizarre 911 confession in […]

The pastors story started falling apart when cops investigated the blood found blood on him when they arrived at the couple’s home. Detectives reported finding evidence that suggested he cleaned himself up before calling 911.
The police also found Lauren Phelps “clutching hair in hands at the time of her death.”
The detectives matched DNA from the blood samples taken from Matthew Phelps to the hair collected during his wife’s autopsy.
While Phelps was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, closure remains elusive for the victim’s family.

Reading his victim impact statement, the victim’s dad said “I think about what Matt has done all the time, and it never goes away,” Lauren Hugelmaier’s father told the court Friday.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: