UPDATED:: North Carolina Man Charged in Wife's Murder Told 911 He Took Too Much Cold Medicine - NBC News

UPDATE::  Bible student turned ‘cold-medicine killer’ pleads guilty in North Carolina court

A high-profile murder case involving a one-time Bible college student and prospective minister who claimed he killed his wife after taking too much cold medicine came to a close Oct. 5 with a guilty plea.

Matthew Phelps, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the September 2017 death of 29-year-old Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps, his wife of less than a year.

Matthew Phelps, who once studied missions and evangelism at Kentucky Baptist Convention-affiliated Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole in a plea bargain sparing him from the death penalty.

The case made national headlines when police released a 911 audio recording of Phelps saying he thought he killed his wife but could not remember because he had taken too much cold medicine. Lab results found drugs used in over-the-counter products in his system, but experts said the levels were too low to cause hallucinations or a blackout.

UPDATE:: Man accused of 'cough medicine' killing was fascinated with 'American Psycho,' police say

"It was learned that Matthew Phelps was obsessed with the movie 'American Psycho' and this Instagram account shows numerous photographs of scenes from the movie and Phelps dressed as the main character," the detective wrote. "The movie is about a serial killer, and Phelps expressed interest to a friend regarding what it would be like to kill someone."


Police asked permission to search "any video games, movies, pictures or electronic media that might contain evidence of 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."

UPDATE::  Autopsy: Wife stabbed 123 times in Raleigh cold medicine murder

Autopsy results show a Raleigh woman who was allegedly killed by her husband - who claimed to be on cold medicine - was stabbed 123 times.

The autopsy report, which was released on Tuesday, shows that 29-year-old Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps died from multiple stab wounds to her face, neck, torso, arms, and jugular vein.

Officials said when they found the victim she was in the fetal position on her bedroom floor. She was taken to WakeMed where she later died.

Why I don't buy this  POS's defense, “I took, I took more medicine than I should have,,, because I know it can make you feel good, so a lot of times I can’t sleep at night so I took some.” He admits to abusing the cough syrup!

A North Carolina man was told he could face the death penalty on Tuesday for the murder of his wife after he told a 911 dispatcher he may have killed her after drinking too much cold medicine.

“I had a dream and then I turn on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” suspect Matthew Phelps, 28, said during a nearly seven-minute 911 call early Friday morning.

“I have blood all over me and there's a bloody knife on the bed. And I think I did it,” he said in the call, which was released by the Raleigh Police Department.
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But some of the known side effects of Coricidin range from racing heart and drowsiness to a drunken feeling and hallucinations.

And, in a 2012 study, scientists concluded that high doses of a specific ingredient in the medicine have been found to cause mania and hallucinations and that potentially left people “at risk for violent and self-destructive acts.”

North Carolina Man Charged in Wife's Murder Told 911 He Took Too Much Cold Medicine - NBC News