Pastor Who Fatally Stabbed Wife In Cold-Medicine 'Haze' Pleads Guilty To Her Murder

“I feel like a monster, one of the wretched, a part of the darkness we don’t speak of,” Matthew Phelps said of the murder of his wife.

October 08, 2018

Matthew Phelps [WRAL screenshot]

By: Catherine Townsend

RALEIGH, NC — An aspiring pastor in North Carolina who claimed that he woke up from a cold medicine-induced "haze" to find his wife's dead body has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Matthew James Phelps, 30, was charged in the September 1, 2017, death of his wife, Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps, 29. Phelps dialed 911 at about 1:10 A.M. that morning and told the 911 operator that he took “more medicine than I should have" and may have fatally stabbed his wife.

An autopsy showed that Lauren suffered 123 cuts and stab wounds during the vicious attack at the couple’s Raleigh townhouse. The couple had been married for less than a year.

He said, “I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good. A lot of times I can’t sleep at night. So I took some.” However, prosecutors referred in court to tests that they claim showed the amount of cold medicine Phelps took was not toxic.

Phelps will spend the rest of his life in jail, according to his lawyer, since as part of the plea agreement he will not be eligible for parole.

In court Friday Phelps apologized and blamed “drinking, drugs, and carelessness” for the attack. “I feel like a monster, one of the wretched, a part of the darkness we don’t speak of,” he said. "That darkness consumed me until I was blind to the path I had taken and deaf to my own cries for help."

During the course of the investigation detectives discovered that the couple had been arguing over money and Phelps' spending habits, according to the Charlotte News & Observer. Investigators discovered $1,200 worth of iTunes and Xbox subscriptions —charges for Phelps' video game activities. According to the paper, Lauren had been planning to leave the relationship.

In addition, a detective wrote in charging documents that they "learned that Phelps was obsessed with the movie American Psycho and [his] Instagram account shows numerous photographs of scenes from the movie and Phelps dressed as the main character."

The Charlotte News & Observer reports that “more than 50” supporters of Lauren were in court Friday morning wearing #LaurensLight T-shirts.

Read more: People, WRAL.com

Next Up

Colorado Security Guard Arrested For Murder Found With Severed Hand In His Pocket

After police in Pueblo, Colorado, discovered the decapitated body of a woman in a creek, they arrested a security guard who was found with a severed hand in his pocket.

Florida Woman Allegedly Murders Roommate, Pours Soda On Herself To Destroy Evidence

Nichole Maks, 35, allegedly murdered her 79-year-old roommate at the Daytona Beach home they shared and tried to cover up the evidence by pouring Diet Mountain Dew on herself.

North Carolina Couple Accused Of Murdering Woman Who Refused Threesome With Them

“They bled her out in a bathtub like an animal in a slaughterhouse,” the victim’s grandmother says of the “depraved” case.

Prolific Serial Killer Nurse Charles Cullen May Have Killed As Many As 400 Patients

The murderer’s 16-year medical career in New Jersey and Pennsylvania ended after he was arrested in 2003.

Man Accused Of Murdering Grad Student In L.A. Furniture Store Indicted On New Charges

In January 2022, Shawn Laval Smith allegedly attacked 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer after he entered the business where she was working alone, police say.

New Hampshire Man Convicted Of Fatally Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend At Her Book Club Meeting

31-year-old Amanda Dabrowski broke up with her co-worker after dating him for three months, and he started stalking her. After one attempt at murdering her, he stabbed her to death inside a restaurant in July 2019.

The Twists And Turns Of The Infamous Susan Smith Case

On October 25, 1994, the 23-year-old South Carolina mother drowned her two young children.

50 Years Later, Suspect Arrested In Hawaii Murder Of Teenage Girl

On Jan. 7, 1972, Nancy Anderson’s body was found stabbed 63 times in the bedroom of her Honolulu apartment. Her case went unsolved for over 50 years.

A Massachusetts College Student’s 1986 Cold Case Murder Was Finally Solved 36 Years Later

20-year-old Claire Gravel spent the night of June 29, 1986 with friends at a pub. After she was dropped off at her Salem apartment early the next morning, she was never seen alive again.

Can You Help Solve Any Of These Massachusetts Murder Cases?

Authorities and loved ones continue to hold out hope that the killers will someday be brought to justice.