The North Carolina man who said he took too much cold medicine before finding his wife fatally stabbed could face the death penalty after being charged with her murder.
Matthew Phelps, 29, was accused of killing his 29-year-old wife Lauren. He had called 911 early Friday morning, saying he woke up to a nightmare while taking Coricidin to help him sleep.
“I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” he told the dispatcher, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.
“There’s blood all over me, and there’s a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it,” he said.
Phelps, an aspiring pastor whose wife was a Sunday school teacher, made his first court appearance on Tuesday, where he was told that he could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
The suspect’s lawyer, Joseph Cheshire, told reporters afterward that the trial can look into the effects of Coricidin and that his client is currently recovering from “a helluva trauma.”
Social media posts show that the couple married in November of last year.
“God did good and knew exactly what he was doing. Our paths were perfectly planned for us to meet at the perfect time after learning the perfect lessons!” Lauren said on Instagram with Valentine’s Day.
Phelps remains in custody without bond ahead of his next court date on Sept. 25.
