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<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Novel defense strategy failed a North Carolin</strong><strong>a man who blamed cough medicine after stabbing wife 123 times pleads guilty to murder</strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Matthew Phelps, 29, is sentenced to life behind bars, without possibility of parole after his guilty plea Friday</strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Cops had accused Phelps of stretching credulity in oddball 911 confession in wife’s murder<br />
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<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Phelps was accused of stabbing his 29-year-old wife Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh home on Sept 1, last year</strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Matthew Phelps in his defense believed he may have killed wife in his sleep, Friday in Raleigh </strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The pastor on the night called 911 and told the operator &#8211; ‘<em>I must be dreaming: “There’s a bloody knife on the bed, and I think I did it”’</em></strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Phelps claimed he’d fallen asleep after taking too much cold medicine and may have accidentally killed his wife Lauren</strong></span></h6>
<h6 class="spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">Authorities didn’t believe the crime was random act as he was charged with murder and held without bon</span></strong><span style="color: #000000;">d</span></h6>
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<h6 data-page="1"><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-248987" src="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/mathew-phelps-1.jpg?resize=603%2C807&;ssl=1" alt="Mathew Phelps 1" width="603" height="807" data-attachment-id="248987" data-permalink="https://konniemoments.com/2017/09/04/it-was-just-bad-dream-murder-charge-for-mathew-phelps-nc-husband-who-thinks-he-killed-wife-in-his-sleep-cops-doubt-dream-defense/mathew-phelps-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/mathew-phelps-1.jpg?fit=363%2C487&;ssl=1" data-orig-size="363,487" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{";aperture";:";0";,";credit";:";ak Mathew";,";camera";:";";,";caption";:";";,";created_timestamp";:";1504558742";,";copyright";:";";,";focal_length";:";0";,";iso";:";0";,";shutter_speed";:";0";,";title";:";";,";orientation";:";0";}" data-image-title="Mathew Phelps 1" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/mathew-phelps-1.jpg?fit=224%2C300&;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/mathew-phelps-1.jpg?fit=363%2C487&;ssl=1" /><br />
Matthew Phelps was accused of stabbing his wife Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh home in Sept 2017</strong></h6>
<p data-page="1">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.</p>
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<p class="meta">Matthew Phelps was accused of stabbing Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps 123 times in their Raleigh, N.C., home on Sept. 1, 2017.<br />
<strong>Related:</strong><a href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/09/04/it-was-just-bad-dream-murder-charge-for-mathew-phelps-nc-husband-who-thinks-he-killed-wife-in-his-sleep-cops-doubt-dream-defense/" rel="bookmark"> ‘It was just bad dream’ Murder charge for Mathew Phelps, NC husband who thinks he killed wife in his sleep – Cops doubt dream defense</a><br />
<a href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/09/04/it-was-just-bad-dream-murder-charge-for-mathew-phelps-nc-husband-who-thinks-he-killed-wife-in-his-sleep-cops-doubt-dream-defense/"><img class="attachment-loop wp-post-image alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matthew-and-lauren-ashley-nicole-phelps-1.jpg?resize=174%2C131&;ssl=1" alt="" width="122" height="92" data-attachment-id="248988" data-permalink="https://konniemoments.com/2017/09/04/it-was-just-bad-dream-murder-charge-for-mathew-phelps-nc-husband-who-thinks-he-killed-wife-in-his-sleep-cops-doubt-dream-defense/matthew-and-lauren-ashley-nicole-phelps-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matthew-and-lauren-ashley-nicole-phelps-1.jpg?fit=664%2C441&;ssl=1" data-orig-size="664,441" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{";aperture";:";0";,";credit";:";";,";camera";:";";,";caption";:";";,";created_timestamp";:";0";,";copyright";:";";,";focal_length";:";0";,";iso";:";0";,";shutter_speed";:";0";,";title";:";";,";orientation";:";0";}" data-image-title="Matthew and Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps 1" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matthew-and-lauren-ashley-nicole-phelps-1.jpg?fit=300%2C199&;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matthew-and-lauren-ashley-nicole-phelps-1.jpg?fit=620%2C412&;ssl=1" /></a></p>
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<div class="mh-excerpt"><strong>‘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</strong> <a title="‘It was just bad dream’ Murder charge for Mathew Phelps, NC husband who thinks he killed wife in his sleep – Cops doubt dream defense" href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/09/04/it-was-just-bad-dream-murder-charge-for-mathew-phelps-nc-husband-who-thinks-he-killed-wife-in-his-sleep-cops-doubt-dream-defense/">[&#8230;]</a></div>
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<p>The 911 call made by Phelps — who authorities say was obsessed with the movie “American Psycho” — was played in court Friday morning.</p>
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<p class="meta">“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.</p>
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<p>He told investigators he took too much Coricidin, a cold and cough medicine, prior to finding his wife dead.</p>
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<p>At Friday’s hearing, the victim’s friends and family wore light blue T-shirts with #LaurensLight written across them, according to <a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article219420090.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The News &; Observer</a>.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<h6><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-300255" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lauren-Hugelmaie-Phelps-3.jpg" alt="Lauren Hugelmaie Phelps 3.jpg" width="768" height="576" /><br />
<strong>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</strong></h6>
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<p>Phelps regularly posted to Instagram about the 2000 dark comedy “American Pyscho,” which stars Christian Bale as deranged investment banker Patrick Bateman.</p>
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<p>“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 <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article207668284.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court documents</a>.<br />
Investigators searched for &#8220;any video games, movies, pictures or electronic media that might contain evidence of [Phelps&#8217;] fascination with felonious or homicidal activity,&#8221; according to documents.<br />
Friends told investigators that the couple &#8220;would argue frequently&#8221; and had been disagreeing about finances, according to police. Matthew Phelps &#8220;was spending more money than the couple made,&#8221; a detective wrote, and Lauren Phelps &#8220;had recently taken drastic steps to limit her husband&#8217;s spending.&#8221;<br />
Investigators also learned that Lauren Phelps was &#8220;preparing to end the relationship,&#8221; around the time of her death.</p>
<p><strong>Related:</strong><a href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/10/05/empty-box-of-cold-medicine-bloody-sheets-found-in-home-of-matthew-phelps-north-carolina-pastor-accused-of-brutally-stabbing-wife/" rel="bookmark"><strong> </strong>Empty box of cold medicine, bloody sheets found in home of Matthew Phelps, North Carolina pastor accused of brutally stabbing wife </a><br />
<a href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/10/05/empty-box-of-cold-medicine-bloody-sheets-found-in-home-of-matthew-phelps-north-carolina-pastor-accused-of-brutally-stabbing-wife/"><img class="attachment-loop wp-post-image alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mathew-phelps-6.png?resize=174%2C131&;ssl=1" alt="" width="135" height="102" data-attachment-id="266972" data-permalink="https://konniemoments.com/2017/10/05/empty-box-of-cold-medicine-bloody-sheets-found-in-home-of-matthew-phelps-north-carolina-pastor-accused-of-brutally-stabbing-wife/mathew-phelps-6/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mathew-phelps-6.png?fit=711%2C408&;ssl=1" data-orig-size="711,408" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{";aperture";:";0";,";credit";:";";,";camera";:";";,";caption";:";";,";created_timestamp";:";0";,";copyright";:";";,";focal_length";:";0";,";iso";:";0";,";shutter_speed";:";0";,";title";:";";,";orientation";:";0";}" data-image-title="Mathew Phelps 6" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mathew-phelps-6.png?fit=300%2C172&;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mathew-phelps-6.png?fit=620%2C356&;ssl=1" /> </a></p>
<article class="loop-wrap loop-layout1 clearfix post-266918 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-crime category-news">
<div class="mh-excerpt"><strong>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 i</strong>n <a title="Empty box of cold medicine, bloody sheets found in home of Matthew Phelps, North Carolina pastor accused of brutally stabbing wife " href="https://konniemoments.com/2017/10/05/empty-box-of-cold-medicine-bloody-sheets-found-in-home-of-matthew-phelps-north-carolina-pastor-accused-of-brutally-stabbing-wife/">[&#8230;]</a></div>
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<p>The pastors story started falling apart when cops investigated the blood found blood on him when they arrived at the couple&#8217;s home. Detectives reported finding evidence that suggested he cleaned himself up before calling 911.<br />
The police also found Lauren Phelps &#8220;clutching hair in hands at the time of her death.&#8221;<br />
The detectives matched DNA from the blood samples taken from Matthew Phelps to the hair collected during his wife&#8217;s autopsy.<br />
While Phelps was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, closure remains elusive for the victim’s family.</p>
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<p>Reading his victim impact statement, the victim&#8217;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.</p>
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‘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
