NC - Lauren Hugelmaier, 29, stabbed to death, Raleigh, 1 Sept 2017 *Arrest*

[carynative]

This is what it says on her scentsy fb page:

"This is where Scentsy enters. I currently work FULL time at a fortune 500 company as a lead auditor. I love my co-workers and being able to assist and help others, however my goal is to be a STAY AT HOME MOMMA…"

Could she have been newly pregnant and that was the trigger? They buried poor Lauren so quickly, I hope they looked into that. There was no time for an autopsy.

 

[Seajay]

I don't think his defense is going to fly. It doesn't matter if he was high on cough medicine. He voluntarily took it, he took it recreationally and not because he had a cold or was sick, and it's no different then a DUI. He is still culpable, his wife is still dead, and he did it. He doesn't get a free pass in my eyes.

Also, maybe after the first divorce, if he lost assets in that divorce, he might not have wanted to lose anything else with a second divorce. Much like Drew Peterson. Either that or he did have one divorce, if he wanted to pursue a clergy job, that divorce was going to be a hurdle. Two? Now way.

IMO, he either had a life insurance policy to collect on, or had a girlfriend and wife was in the way, or he's gay. Pick one.

 

[Elainera]

This is what it says on her scentsy fb page:

"This is where Scentsy enters. I currently work FULL time at a fortune 500 company as a lead auditor. I love my co-workers and being able to assist and help others, however my goal is to be a STAY AT HOME MOMMA…"

Could she have been newly pregnant and that was the trigger? They buried poor Lauren so quickly, I hope they looked into that. There was no time for an autopsy.

I'm sure they did a thorough autopsy and looked into that. In a murder case everything is looked at.

 

[Elle*Bee]

http://www.wral.com/-there-s-a-lot-to-this-story-attorney-says-of-cough-medicine-defense/16929374/

"Matthew's family and everyone at my firm really send our condolences to the young lady who died. It's a very tragic situation, sad and tragic," Cheshire said. "At the same time we have to ask everyone to withhold judgment in this particular case until we know more and we're able to develop more. There's a lot to this story I believe will be told in the future."

Friends say Matthew Phelps had recently become very dark as evidenced by recent posts to an Instagram account, but neighbors remained in shock.

The "young lady" has a name! Use it! I get why he doesn't - his job is to humanize and defend his client - but it rubs me the wrong way. End of rant.

 

[Madeleine74]

most people, especially in such circumstances as his, would say "I took some cough syrup," or some (most, IMO), people may be so upset, they might not have remembered taking anything at all. That should be a tiny detail compared to seeing your wife dead on the floor and blood on your own clothes. It's total b.s.

Agree as well. When someone gives lots of details and those details weren't asked, especially on a 911 call, it stands out.

Reminds me of Darlie Routier on her 911 call when she explained how she picked up the bloody knife left by the "intruder" and her fingerprints would be on this knife.

 

[Elle*Bee]

Agree as well. When someone gives lots of details and those details weren't asked, especially on a 911 call, it stands out.

Reminds me of Darlie Routier on her 911 call when she explained how she picked up the bloody knife left by the "intruder" and her fingerprints would be on this knife.

I thought the same thing, and thought of Darlie Router, too. Recalling details when asked is one thing. Excessive unsolicited details concern me.

 

[borndem]

Lauren's Scentsy Consultant FB. Her "About Me " page is so sad, reading about her happiness and goals.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/FunScentsRUs/about/?ref=page_internal


MP's FB: https://www.facebook.com/matt.phelps2?ref=br_rs
(nothing recent)

Lauren's FB: https://www.facebook.com/lauren.hugelmaier?fref=ufi

Now if her FB/Scentsy thing doesn't make you cry, what are you? OMG what happened to their marriage to make him do that? Could the DXM really be the culprit? How could he not just want to spend years & years with this woman? People aren't perfect -- and she couldn't have been, but ... They hadn't even been married a year -- what could have been that bad??? There's gotta be something here we've yet to discover (likely, we're just starting on thisone), or else the Bayer Co. has a retraction to make.

 

[borndem]

BBM...If he had no desire to become a pastor, perhaps Clear Creek Bible College was not the best choice of schools for him. I researched it, because I had never heard of it, and it is a very tiny school in rural Kentucky. Only has about 160 students. I am wondering if he was pressured to go there by his family, or if perhaps he could not get into any other schools, and his family had religious connections that got him into that one? It seems like, as some other poster said yesterday, that maybe he has been living his life to other people's expectations and they were getting in the way of his own desires for himself. JMO

I have wondered if his family, he, or both were/was trying to make sure he went down they right path. :dunno:

 

[Whiskers16]

There's gotta be something here we've yet to discover (likely, we're just starting on thisone), or else the Bayer Co. has a retraction to make.

rsbm. As someone who regularly investigates Adverse Events (granted on a much lower level), this case makes me cringe on behalf of Bayer.

Side note, I recently learned how little it takes for a new drug to get FDA approval. And so I have to wonder if any number of drugs on the market may have rare and unknown/unsubstantiated side effects.

 

[Elainera]

rsbm. As someone who regularly investigates Adverse Events (granted on a much lower level), this case makes me cringe on behalf of Bayer.

Side note, I recently learned how little it takes for a new drug to get FDA approval. And so I have to wonder if any number of drugs on the market may have rare and unknown/unsubstantiated side effects.

The twist in this case is though that this cough medicine seems only to be potentially dangerous if taken in excessive amounts, and he did that deliberately. So I don't see that Bayer would be to blame in any way. Surely the normal and safe dosage is clearly printed on the label. AFAIK most medication is dangerous in some way when taken in excess. When taken in excess willingly I can only blame the consumer for any tragedy that occurs because of it. jmo

 

[borndem]

A couple of us kinda tip-toed around suggesting this last night. I definitely think it is a possibility, and I have nothing to base that on. MOO

Yes, I "heard" that tip-toeing, so I just thought I'd put it out there. It certainly doesn't mitigate in any way what he did to her, but it could account in part for what may have been agony in his mind -- her being so pretty & successful & apparently very in love with him. Sounds more like a case for suicide, but...

 

[LietKynes]

Life ins. , he wanted to be gay and Lauren was 'in the way',secret gf or bf, or he is a raging monster and it all came out.
There is nothing (imo) that Lauren did to deserve this.

Let's say that the cold meds made him flip out.... the fact that he explained what he'd taken in his 911 call stands out so much. The fact his wife was dead and bloody should've been first and foremost.
So I'm calling BS on the medicine reaction.

 

[Elainera]

Has there been word from the coroner re. cod etc?

 

[borndem]

This is what it says on her scentsy fb page:

"This is where Scentsy enters. I currently work FULL time at a fortune 500 company as a lead auditor. I love my co-workers and being able to assist and help others, however my goal is to be a STAY AT HOME MOMMA…"

Could she have been newly pregnant and that was the trigger? They buried poor Lauren so quickly, I hope they looked into that. There was no time for an autopsy.

Do we know for sure that an autopsy was not done? All homicides in NC must be reported to an M.E. Was an M.E. called to the scene of this death? No doubt on the COD of course, but any death that is due to a violent or tragic injury must be investigated by an M.E. I figured an autopsy had been done in this case. Dunno.

 

[Seajay]

Do we know for sure that an autopsy was not done? All homicides in NC must be reported to an M.E. Was an M.E. called to the scene of this death? No doubt on the COD of course, but any death that is due to a violent or tragic injury must be investigated by an M.E. I figured an autopsy had been done in this case. Dunno.

And I would sincerely hope they did blood tests on MP to see if he really ingested copious amounts of that cough medicine.

Not that it matters. If he had overdosed and died on it, he'd still be dead, just like Lauren is. That poor girl. I hate thinking about her final moments, being murdered by someone she was head over heels in love with.

 

[Elainera]

Do we know for sure that an autopsy was not done? All homicides in NC must be reported to an M.E. Was an M.E. called to the scene of this death? No doubt on the COD of course, but any death that is due to a violent or tragic injury must be investigated by an M.E. I figured an autopsy had been done in this case. Dunno.

Of course there would be an autopsy.

As carynative pointed out, she could have been pregnant and there could be motive, for example.

 

[Francesca]

Just curious whether there is any precedent for the scenario of coming out of a trance, seeing a person stabbed to death and realizing instantly that you were the culprit. I would expect this was more of a defense strategy ploy than a realistic reaction - he confessed instantly, said he was sorry, but had a really, really good excuse for not actually being responsible.
But surely if you woke up to find a loved one covered in blood, a more realistic response would be to assume she had hurt herself either accidentally or intentionally; or that someone had broken in. Also in a dark room, why would you immediately see the knife and make the connection? Of course, then he would be on a roundabout track, once investigators immediately identified him as the culprit, he would have to step back in his story and say "Oh, okay maybe I did it while I was hallucinating about something else." I think he did his research very carefully and is looking for bonus points for confessing straight away.

 

[FlossyMay]

Just curious whether there is any precedent for the scenario of coming out of a trance, seeing a person stabbed to death and realizing instantly that you were the culprit. I would expect this was more of a defense strategy ploy than a realistic reaction - he confessed instantly, said he was sorry, but had a really, really good excuse for not actually being responsible.
But surely if you woke up to find a loved one covered in blood, a more realistic response would be to assume she had hurt herself either accidentally or intentionally; or that someone had broken in. Also in a dark room, why would you immediately see the knife and make the connection? Of course, then he would be on a roundabout track, once investigators immediately identified him as the culprit, he would have to step back in his story and say "Oh, okay maybe I did it while I was hallucinating about something else." I think he did his research very carefully and is looking for bonus points for confessing straight away.

This is exactly what I have been thinking. I would be hysterical if I woke up to something like that. He seemed pretty calm to me. No way would it ever cross my mind that I was responsible. I'm not buying this.

 

[Third Coast Gal]

A defense attorney of Joe Cheshire's caliber would require a huge retainer up front, especially in such a complex and serious case that is likely to go to trial. Interesting that his family was able to afford that.

 

[Jennifer17]

A defense attorney of Joe Cheshire's caliber would require a huge retainer up front, especially in such a complex and serious case that is likely to go to trial. Interesting that his family was able to afford that.

Yeah. If your or my son, killed their wife in such a horrendous manner, although we would still love him as our son, I would really hope that we would face reality, as heartbreaking is it is and expect him to take responsibility for his actions.