Lauren Hugelmaier: It Wasn't the Cough Medicine

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[00:02:38] Hey everyone, my name is Nikki young and this is serial napper the number one true crime podcast for naps

[00:02:45] I'm back with another true crime story to lull you to sleep or perhaps to give you nightmares

[00:02:52] in the early morning hours of September 1st

[00:02:55] 2017 around 1 a.m. A North Carolina

[00:02:59] 911 dispatcher receives a phone call from 29 year old Matthew Phelps an aspiring pastor

[00:03:07] He says I think I killed my wife

[00:03:10] I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she's dead on the floor

[00:03:15] 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

[00:03:27] I

[00:03:29] Did on the floor

[00:03:32] How?

[00:03:35] I'm bored on time blood all over me and there's a boy and I call the bed

[00:03:40] And I think I do it

[00:03:43] Matthew claimed that he had accidentally stabbed his wife to death while under the influence of cough medicine

[00:03:50] 29 year old Lauren Hügelmeyer lay on their bedroom floor having been stabbed

[00:03:55] 123 times while the medicine that Matthew had taken can cause euphoria

[00:04:01] agitation and even psychosis

[00:04:03] Would a jury believe it as a defense to murder?

[00:04:06] Perhaps not especially after Matthew's dark side history of violence and a secret Instagram account were revealed

[00:04:15] So let's jump right in

[00:04:17] Before she ever married Matthew Lauren was known as a girl who was full of life with a big smile

[00:04:24] Born on June 9th

[00:04:26] 1988 in Los Angeles County, California

[00:04:28] To her parents Dale and Lori she grew up with two sisters in a tight-knit traditional religious family

[00:04:36] When she was still young they moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky where Lauren attended Holy Trinity Lutheran school

[00:04:43] This is where her world would initially collide with Matthew Phelps who was the same age as Lauren and

[00:04:50] Attended the same school

[00:04:52] It's unclear how well they knew each other in middle school if they ran in the same circles or if they were mostly just acquaintances

[00:05:00] But whatever relationship they did have ended when Lawrence family decided to move again

[00:05:05] This time to Rayleigh, North Carolina

[00:05:09] Lauren spent much of her time as an active member of Hope Lutheran Church

[00:05:13] even volunteering to teach Sunday school in

[00:05:17] 2007 she graduated from Swain County High School and went on to attend classes

[00:05:22] At Appalachian State University

[00:05:24] Besides her deep love for God she also really loved her nephews and it said that she constantly

[00:05:32] Boasted about what a proud auntie she was

[00:05:35] She also loved her fur baby Cooper

[00:05:38] All this to say life was really good for Lauren Hügelmeier before she reconnected with Matthew Phelps

[00:05:45] It happened on Instagram

[00:05:48] Matthew was still living in Kentucky

[00:05:50] He didn't have the positive upbringing that Lauren had over the years

[00:05:55] His father wasn't in his life and his mother who was only 17 when she gave birth to him seemed to be more

[00:06:02] preoccupied with finding a new partner rather than being an engaged mother

[00:06:08] He didn't seem to get along with any of his stepfathers as his mother remarried a couple of times

[00:06:14] So everyone thought that it would probably be better if he lived with his grandparents

[00:06:20] Unfortunately even while being raised by his grandparents

[00:06:23] He continued to struggle with respecting rules and authority

[00:06:28] He was depressed and he dabbled with drugs and alcohol

[00:06:32] He was addicted to gaming and he never really grew up

[00:06:36] At one point he and his friends even began to abuse cold medicine

[00:06:41] Using it as a way to feel high and possibly hallucinate on it

[00:06:45] The habit became so bad that he was eventually kicked out of school

[00:06:50] Matthew's grandparents transferred him to a Christian academy to see if he could improve his grades and his behavior

[00:06:57] It appeared to have worked at least for a short time

[00:07:00] Because he was able to graduate from high school and then go on to attend Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

[00:07:07] His grandparents pressured him to follow the path of God and to eventually try to become a pastor

[00:07:14] Something which Matthew would talk about a lot, but never follow through with

[00:07:19] Now in his 20s Matthew found Lauren's Instagram account and decided to message her

[00:07:25] According to the story that would later be posted on the couple's wedding website

[00:07:29] Quote it was a normal day on Instagram just like any other or so Matthew thought

[00:07:36] Going through the routine of liking commenting even sharing other people's pictures as well as posting some of his own

[00:07:44] Come late afternoon

[00:07:45] He was browsing through images of what his friends had liked when he came across

[00:07:50] What he saw to be a very attractive young woman

[00:07:54] He tapped on the square to see this pretty lady up closer

[00:07:58] Wait a minute. He thought to himself. I know this girl

[00:08:02] He went to her profile to confirm that it was her the girl

[00:08:06] He had a crush on back in middle school

[00:08:09] It was her as quickly as his fingers could type he sent Lauren a message

[00:08:15] Lauren was still living hundreds of miles away in Rayleigh. So while the two reconnected online

[00:08:21] They'd have to settle for a long distance relationship for the time being

[00:08:25] But still things moved really quickly

[00:08:28] Matthew began visiting Lauren frequently meeting her friends and her family and things were just getting serious

[00:08:36] Eventually Matthew decided to leave his old life behind and moved to Rayleigh to be with Lauren

[00:08:42] He ended up moving into her house

[00:08:44] To Lauren the whole thing was serendipity and she was head over heels

[00:08:50] They appeared to have so much in common

[00:08:53] Including both having quirky personalities and a passion for star wars

[00:08:58] In 2015 Matthew proposed to Lauren and she accepted

[00:09:03] She wrote on instagram under a photo posted of her and Matthew looking very much in love

[00:09:09] My fiance and I met in middle school back when I lived in Kentucky

[00:09:14] My family moved away and 11ish years later

[00:09:17] He finds me on instagram where our relationship becomes the most important thing in the world to me

[00:09:23] I am truly blessed to have this man in my life and would not change the road

[00:09:28] I had to take to find him again

[00:09:31] Without our separate roads. We would not be the people we are today who are matched so perfectly

[00:09:38] But not everything was as perfect as Lauren was making things sound

[00:09:43] It was revealed that Matthew had been married once before

[00:09:47] And this really concerned her family particularly her father Dale

[00:09:52] To be so young and to have already had one failed marriage

[00:09:56] It was a huge red flag he thought

[00:09:59] Lauren it seems was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and the couple married in 2016

[00:10:05] It was a happy occasion that highlighted just how much the couple had in common

[00:10:10] Even engaging in a lightsaber battle during their wedding reception

[00:10:15] Her family saw how much their daughter was in love

[00:10:18] And they too decided to give their new son-in-law the benefit of the doubt at least at first

[00:10:25] But they would later say his behavior began to change shortly after their marriage

[00:10:31] He began acting really moody and depressed

[00:10:34] Lauren and Matthew were fighting a ton

[00:10:38] And it was revealed that Matthew had actually lied to her about why he had separated from his first wife

[00:10:44] As it turned out Matthew's first marriage had failed because he was physically violent with his wife

[00:10:50] Even dragging her down a hallway by her hair

[00:10:54] The cause of their divorce allegedly was domestic violence

[00:10:58] Though Matthew had initially told Lauren that his wife had met another man during a mission trip

[00:11:04] And decided to leave him for this new man

[00:11:08] Matthew had this way of portraying himself as a victim always

[00:11:12] Which appealed to Lauren's good nature and desire to help others

[00:11:16] She had felt sorry for him that his wife had left him for someone else

[00:11:21] But none of it was true

[00:11:23] He had physically harmed her which is the real reason his ex-wife filed for divorce

[00:11:29] This rocked Lauren's faith in her new husband

[00:11:32] But this wasn't the only issue in their marriage

[00:11:35] Lauren had been working a ton as an auditor for quintiles and as a sensei consultant

[00:11:41] She was able to save up a large sum of money around $10,000 to pay for their wedding

[00:11:46] And now she was looking to the future and dreaming of starting her own business

[00:11:51] Perhaps even opening a hallmark store since she loved candles and fragrances so much

[00:11:58] She was incredibly independent and driven always thinking a few steps ahead

[00:12:03] But her new husband Matthew, he was spending money faster than she could earn it

[00:12:09] He had a job working at Dunlap lawn service

[00:12:12] But in general he hated working

[00:12:14] He had a bad habit of jumping from job to job

[00:12:18] quitting when things got too tough or he got bored of the work

[00:12:22] Eventually Lauren convinced him to go back to college so that he could one day become a pastor for their church

[00:12:29] But he spent most of his time gaming

[00:12:32] Racking up thousands of dollars on itune cards and xbox subscriptions

[00:12:38] Lauren was getting absolutely sick of his overspending

[00:12:42] And now looking back at what they saw and how both Matthews and Lauren's demeanor drastically changed

[00:12:49] Lauren's family believes that she was being physically and emotionally abused during their marriage

[00:12:56] Her father Dale would say quote the last time I saw my daughter

[00:13:01] She came over looking for a three-ring binder

[00:13:04] She was nervous and a little edgy and it didn't look Lauren at all. She looked a mess

[00:13:10] I regret it now that I didn't ask questions about what was going on

[00:13:15] But the straw that broke the camel's back and Lauren and Matthews marriage was a cheating allegation

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[00:15:05] My family is getting ready to make a big move across the ocean to a place where english isn't the spoken language

[00:15:12] This isn't my first rodeo. So i'm making sure i'm fully prepared by learning the language ahead of time

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[00:16:57] One night loren was cooking her husband dinner while chatting on the phone with her sister beth

[00:17:03] Suddenly matthew showed up at the home after work with their neighbor a young woman named valerie

[00:17:09] He blatantly told loren that he was going to go hang out with valerie and then he walked back out the door

[00:17:16] Later he would text loren a message that said just eat dinner without me. I'm having way too much fun with valerie

[00:17:23] It's clear that he was intentionally trying to cause her as much pain as he could

[00:17:28] beth recalled how loren confided in her that evening that she thought matthew was cheating on her and she just

[00:17:35] Couldn't do it anymore

[00:17:37] She was done ready to leave the marriage

[00:17:41] Beth would later say I think that night when he left with another woman

[00:17:45] She just said i'm done. I can't do it

[00:17:48] That was the night he killed her at around 1 30 am friday september first

[00:17:55] 2017 10 months after loren and matthew's nuptials

[00:17:59] mathew felps called 911 from the townhouse that he shared with his wife

[00:18:04] Not one word was bad

[00:18:07] I

[00:18:10] Tell me exactly what happened

[00:18:14] I think that's all about

[00:18:18] What do you mean by that what happened?

[00:18:22] I just really dreamed and then

[00:18:26] I turned on the lights and

[00:18:28] She stood on the floor

[00:18:31] How how

[00:18:34] I'm on the time board all over me and there's a boy's knife on the bed and I think I do this

[00:18:44] Okay, you mean I'm gonna follow with you know, you're in your application

[00:18:50] I should police

[00:18:55] You're going to

[00:18:57] Wendy's Wendy's you wake up to find this

[00:19:00] I don't know what time it is

[00:19:10] All right, stay on the phone with my service guys if you questions okay. I'm getting something up to you

[00:19:15] Are you with are you with the patient now?

[00:19:18] Yeah, let's see you

[00:19:20] Okay. All right. Now who does the house the patient how's your

[00:19:24] She's totally died

[00:19:26] Okay, if she you see your wake at all right now when let's you think she's very did she wait

[00:19:34] You thought pretty good. Okay

[00:19:38] I'll see what God

[00:19:44] Okay, do you think she is bond beyond any help

[00:19:48] I don't know

[00:19:50] You're scared to get too close to her. Okay, just stay on the phone with me. I'm mom. I'm here with you. I'm here with you

[00:19:58] I'm so

[00:20:03] All right, I've already sent the paramedics to help you okay

[00:20:05] I'm sending someone to assist you just please leave everything as you found it is there anything else

[00:20:11] You can do for yourself. Where's where's the knife right now?

[00:20:15] I've told the minute I'm not next to it so I don't have the weapon on here

[00:20:19] You like that

[00:20:24] Okay, when did you when did you wake up?

[00:20:27] We know

[00:20:34] I took I took more medicine than I should have

[00:20:39] What medicine did you take?

[00:20:41] I took

[00:20:43] I took horsey

[00:20:46] Cotton full horsey they see keep up with full because

[00:20:51] I know to make you feel good so

[00:20:54] A lot of time I can't sleep at night

[00:20:56] I did took some

[00:20:58] All right, no, what is it? What are you sure it's not breathing?

[00:21:05] She probably oh my god

[00:21:07] Okay, I'm gonna stay I'm gonna stay here with you. Okay, just just let's let's see if you believe in okay

[00:21:19] Oh, it's fun. All right, let's go boxes. You just can't hear from your ass. Yeah, it's so bad

[00:21:26] There's okay

[00:21:30] Okay, all right, I'm gonna stay here on the phone with you to help get there. Okay

[00:21:35] Um, just don't don't touch anything just look at the she if you believe that all is her chest moving

[00:21:40] There's anything going on with her

[00:21:44] Oh

[00:21:45] Okay, well, we're gonna we're gonna leave others tried on me

[00:21:50] Is she dried the world about wet on me the boy just tried

[00:21:58] Okay, I don't know what

[00:22:04] All right, well at least we're gonna at least try to help her. Okay. All right, just see me just

[00:22:09] I've already sent the telemedics healthy. You still want on me to exactly what to do next. Okay. Are you right by her?

[00:22:16] Well, god, I think I can see your

[00:22:19] Oh my god

[00:22:22] Stay with me sir. I know I know this was upset

[00:22:24] But we were gonna try to do what was much for you came is if you're not sure that she's gone

[00:22:29] We're gonna try to help her. Okay, so just listen carefully

[00:22:32] Oh

[00:22:34] Okay, sir

[00:22:36] Just look at her right now. It's it begins trouble with you. See if she's the chest losing is she breathing anything at all?

[00:22:42] Oh

[00:22:54] I don't want to tell you

[00:22:56] Oh

[00:23:08] Matthew fairly calmly tells the dispatcher

[00:23:10] I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she's dead on the floor

[00:23:15] I have blood all over me and there's a bloody knife on the bed and I think I did it

[00:23:20] I can't believe this. I can't believe this

[00:23:24] He described how he had suddenly woken up regained consciousness

[00:23:28] And he found his wife lying on the floor with stab wounds

[00:23:32] The dispatcher asks him if his wife is beyond help and he replies. I don't know. I'm too scared to get close to her

[00:23:40] This statement gives me the chills because I know for a fact if my husband found me injured

[00:23:46] Bloody no matter what state I'm in if I'm hurt. He's not going to be afraid of getting close to me

[00:23:52] He's going to run to my side and try to help me

[00:23:56] To save me without even thinking twice about it

[00:23:59] The call with emergency services lasts seven minutes with Matthew claiming that he thinks he took more medicine than he should have

[00:24:07] He says he took the drug carisadin cough and cold

[00:24:10] Something he does often when he can't sleep at night because it can quote make you feel good

[00:24:16] When the authorities arrived on scene they found Lauren gravely wounded lying on the floor

[00:24:23] Matthew was standing there with only a small amount of blood on him

[00:24:26] Just a few drops on the t-shirt that he was wearing

[00:24:30] Unusual for a scene that was actually very bloody

[00:24:33] He had apparently cleaned himself up

[00:24:36] The knife that was used was lying on the bed

[00:24:39] The cold medicine that Matthew had taken allegedly was sitting on the bathroom counter

[00:24:44] Lauren was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead

[00:24:49] Her husband Matthew was taken into custody where he retold his story of taking too much cough and cold medicine

[00:24:57] Carisadin is marketed as a line of cold and cough medicine for people who have high blood pressure

[00:25:04] When it's taken in large amounts it can potentially cause euphoria agitation and sometimes psychosis

[00:25:11] But an absolutely brutal bloody murder

[00:25:15] The pharmaceutical company that makes Carisadin put out a statement offering its deepest sympathies to Lauren's family

[00:25:22] While also stating quote patient safety is our top priority

[00:25:27] And we continually monitor adverse events regarding all of our products

[00:25:32] There is no evidence to suggest that Carisadin is associated with violent behavior

[00:25:38] Investigators weren't buying it either and they charged Matthew with first-degree murder

[00:25:44] It would be up to his defense attorney to prove his story about the cold medicine killing

[00:25:49] Which would be really difficult once Lauren's autopsy report had come back

[00:25:54] Lauren had been stabbed 123 times

[00:25:58] She had 24 stab wounds and 20 cuts to her head and neck alone as well as dozens of wounds to her arms and her torso

[00:26:07] Lauren's mother Laurie would say

[00:26:09] They told us that he had killed her and that he had stabbed her

[00:26:13] And he had stabbed her so many times that they would have to count the stab wounds in the autopsy

[00:26:20] She was lying on her stomach on the floor. He was sitting on her back stabbing her

[00:26:25] Matthew Phelps initially pled not guilty

[00:26:29] Sticking to his claims that he wasn't sleeping well

[00:26:32] So he decided to take an abundance of cough syrup for a bit of fun and to help him try to get to sleep

[00:26:37] He said he passed out and when he woke up he was standing beside his wife's bloody body

[00:26:43] He had no memory or awareness of what he had done

[00:26:46] And that's when he says he called 911

[00:26:50] This defense would be an uphill battle because investigators on the case

[00:26:55] They were finding a mountain of evidence to suggest that this was actually a deliberate homicide

[00:27:01] It was well known that the couple had been arguing non-stop in recent days

[00:27:06] Mostly over finances, but also over the cheating allegations

[00:27:11] Investigators spoke with Matthew's ex-wife who revealed the reason that she had divorced him

[00:27:17] There were many similar parallels between her marriage to Matthew and Lauren's marriage to Matthew

[00:27:23] He was lazy. He spent all of their money and he cheated on her

[00:27:28] He was an incredibly controlling man who turned violent when backed into a corner

[00:27:33] There was a pattern of behavior here

[00:27:36] Investigators also found a journal and a secret instagram account that was run by Matthew under the name Marty Radical

[00:27:44] The profile picture of this account was that of Patrick Bateman

[00:27:48] The fictionalized serial killer played by Christian Bale in the movie American Psycho

[00:27:54] Allegedly Matthew had become obsessed with this movie and this character

[00:27:59] And he would post photos of himself on this account dressed like Patrick Bateman

[00:28:04] This could all be chalked up as a harmless fan account

[00:28:07] Except for the fact that there were several of Matthew's friends

[00:28:11] Who claimed he had recently spoken to them about being interested in killing someone

[00:28:16] One friend told the police that he had even said he wanted to take the gun that she wore

[00:28:21] And shoot himself plus others with it

[00:28:24] The intent the desire and the history they were all there

[00:28:28] Matthew Phelps would have a near impossible time arguing his cold medicine story

[00:28:34] With all the other mountain of evidence against him

[00:28:37] Including the odd 911 call the fact that he wouldn't even attempt CPR on his wife

[00:28:43] That he had cleaned the blood off of himself before responders arrived

[00:28:48] And it looked as if the crime scene had been staged with the knife just sitting there on the bed

[00:28:53] The cold medicine just sitting there on the bathroom counter

[00:28:56] This would have been a death penalty case if it went to trial

[00:29:00] So Matthew begged for a plea bargain

[00:29:03] With the support of Laurence family because they have much more grace than I could ever have

[00:29:08] The prosecution offered him a deal which would save Laurence family from having to go through a lengthy trial

[00:29:15] Matthew would plead guilty to murder in exchange for a life sentence without the possibility of parole

[00:29:22] In court after accepting responsibility for Laurence's murder

[00:29:26] He turned to her family to apologize

[00:29:29] Saying this was a senseless mindless act and I regret every step that led me in that direction

[00:29:35] I feel like a monster one of the wretched a part of the darkness

[00:29:40] We don't speak of that darkness consumed me until I was blind to the path

[00:29:45] I had taken and deaf to my own cries for help

[00:29:49] Laurence father Dale will never forgive him later telling an interviewer

[00:29:54] I'll take him to my grave and I'll still hate him

[00:29:58] It's believed that Matthew Phelps planned this entire thing the murder the cough syrup excuse

[00:30:05] He knew that Lauren was getting ready to leave him and he chose to kill her rather than to let her go

[00:30:12] The 24 hours surrounding when a survivor of abuse has decided to leave is often the most dangerous

[00:30:19] According to statistics approximately 75 of women who are killed by their abusers

[00:30:25] Are murdered when they attempt to leave or after they have already left that abusive relationship

[00:30:31] If you or someone you know may be in a dangerous relationship

[00:30:35] domestic violence or an abusive relationship, please call the national domestic violence hotline at

[00:30:43] 1-800-799-7233 or go to thehotline.org

[00:30:48] They have a bunch of resources and help for victims of domestic violence to get away from their abusers safely

[00:30:56] That's it for me tonight. If you want to read out, you can find me on facebook at serial napper

[00:31:02] I also have a serial napper true crime discussion group. It's called serial society

[00:31:06] And I'll have the link in my show notes

[00:31:07] I'd love to chat with you about this case and all the other cases that I cover

[00:31:11] You can find my audio on apple or spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

[00:31:16] I post all of my episodes in video format over on youtube

[00:31:21] So go check it out. And if you're watching on youtube already

[00:31:25] I would love it if you can give me a thumbs up and subscribe every little bit helps

[00:31:29] I'm over on x formally known as twitter at serial underscore napper

[00:31:34] And I post things on tik tok serial napper nick and that's all one word

[00:31:38] Until next time

[00:31:40] Sweet dreams stay kind

[00:31:42] Especially in the comments

[00:31:44] Bye