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

[borndem]

Goose eggs again, Sleuthers. Big ol' nuthin'.

 

[Niner]

Hey borndem - have you tried this link:

http://www.nccourts.org/County/Wake/Courts/Superior.asp

Court dockets? You probably have, but just in case! I can't get in, as I'm in Europe, and there are a few court dockets I can't get into, unfortunately....

 

[borndem]

Hi, Niner!!

Yep, that's the site I always use!

Here's what I got just now for "Phelps" - "Wake County" - and "District & Superior Court" - I had to delete much of the info from the display below due to margin size of the display. All of it would "bust" our margins. The table includes type court ("District" or "Superior," as is shown below), B-Date, Court Date, Courtroom No., Case No., and violation code, etc.

[TD="width: 700"]

[/TD]

District and Superior Courts of WAKE County

Court

[TH="width: 175"] Defendant [/TH]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,DANIEL,LEE[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,DAVID,WARD[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,EMILY,ELIZABETH[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,AYER[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS
[/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JONATHAN,PIERCE
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,KENNETH,WADE,JR.[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,WALTER,CARL[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,WALTER,CARL[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"]

[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[/TD]

http://www1.aoc.state.nc.us/www/cal...phelps&start=0&navindex=0&submit=Submit+Query

 

[Niner]

hmmm.... wonder why they don't list his court date.

Thanks for trying to find this for us borndem!! Very much appreciated. I guess we just wait.

 

[borndem]

hmmm.... wonder why they don't list his court date.

Thanks for trying to find this for us borndem!! Very much appreciated. I guess we just wait.

You're quite welcome, Niner!! Glad to do it -- I'm getting antsy, too.

The senior resident superior court judge of each district (several counties per district) meets with the district attorneys, et al., to schedule times for superior court trials, taking into account the probable length of a trial, holidays, vacations, conferences, etc., of the principals, and puts together schedules for trials. Further, they don't firm-up or publish court dates too far in advance. And then there are requested delays, usually from the defense attys, etc., etc., so that is part of the reason a definite schedule for a particular trial is not on a schedule too far in advance.

In Wake County, it customarily takes about 18 to 24 months for a murder case to come to trial. So, yeppers, we just have to wait. SMH

:waiting: .. :notgood: ..:waitasec: .. :waiting:

 

[Salty Dog]

Joe Cheshire is an outstanding criminal attorney and will either get a plea deal or use the cough medicine as the culprit by bringing in several expert witnesses to support his claim. Phelps will either enter a guilty plea of manslaughter or go to trial in hopes of being found not guilty by reason of the influence of medication. I don't think Joe Cheshire will accept a 2nd degree murder plea; he's willing to go to trial if a manslaughter plea is not offered his client.

 

[borndem]

[FONT=comic\ sans\ ms]Welcome to Websleuths, [/FONT][FONT=comic\ sans\ ms]Salty Dog[/FONT][FONT=comic\ sans\ ms]!!

We're glad to have you with us!![/FONT]

 

[Niner]

I second that....

:welcome6: Salty Dog to WS and this thread!

:greetings:

and we :waiting:

 

[borndem]

And still nothing on the Wake Co. Court docket for our Matthew Phelps. Zip. Zilch. Zero. His day will come fellow sleuthers, we know that.

 

[Salty Dog]

A person's trial date in Wake County, North Carolina who is indicted for 1st degree murder typically is around 18 months after being indicted. Of course, this is dependent on court dockets and how many pre-trial motions and/or hearings the defense and prosecution request. Case in point...a 1st degree murder trial began this week in Wake County for an indictment dated August 7, 2016. I would expect the Matthew Phelps trial to be set somewhere around January of 2019 (IF it goes to trial...which I seriously doubt; I'm predicting a plea deal since North Carolina's best criminal attorney is involved).

 

[Salty Dog]

By the way; if any of you haven't had the pleasure of watching Joe Cheshire in a courtroom; please take the time to watch the Matthew Phelps trial (if if ever takes place). Mr. Cheshire is an absolute wizard at working a jury, the judge and witnesses. He uses his Southern charm and extraordinary legal skills to the max. He's very deserving of his many accolades!

 

[borndem]

Nothing there today --

There can be court dates prior to the actual murder trial -- usually in District Court -- having to do with prosecution, or more likely, defense motions, but the actual murder trials are always in Superior Court. When I look at the dockets, I always inquire for both District and Superior Courts.

 

[borndem]

Info on Cheshire:

https://cheshireparker.com/our-lawyers/joseph-blount-cheshire-v

 

[Niner]

Got a Google Alert this morning:

North Carolina Man Claims Nightmares Made Him Stab His Wife
http://www.councilchronicle.com/north-carolina-man/28075/

The North Carolina authorities have quite a mystery on their hands after a 29-year-old called the emergency line and told the operator that he might have killed his wife. Allegedly, the man was having nightmares, and he woke up holding a blood-smeared knife in his hand.
[.....]
Phelps was accused of first-degree premeditated murder and booked into county jail without bail. At this point, if the North Carolina man hired a lawyer to represent him in court.

and of course, no court date listed..... :gaah:

There seems to be a lawyer with the same name that Google alerts me on. Does anyone know what this Matthew's middle name is? I'll change my Google alert to his full name.

 

[Niner]

Never mind on the middle name - went back to the first page and found it!

:blush:

 

[jaygeezy]

I don't think public opinion nor the victim's family will accept anything less than a murder plea / conviction. DA will be forced to take this to trial if Cheshire won't take a 2nd degree murder please.

 

[borndem]

Thanks for the article, jaygeezy.

I can't see her family or the District Attorney's office charging him with anything less than 1st Degree, but the judge will probably add 2nd Degree in order to avoid a hung jury.

What he did was brutal. Overkill.

Anyway, bring in the medical folks to talk about cough syrup.

In NC, 1st degree murder, an A1 Felony, has only two sentences: Life Without Parole or Death.
And in NC, LWOP is absolutely life without parole.


Second Degree Murder is a Class B1 Felony -- sentencing for someone not having prior felony points (which I feel sure Phelps does not have) has three categories:

Mitigated........144--192 months
Presumptive...192--240 months
Aggravated.....240--300 months

IMO, 20 to 25 years is barely enuff. (Aggravated 2nd degree)

 

[Niner]

:waiting:

 

[borndem]

Patience, patience, dear Niner! You know, as a long-time Websleuther, that trials in any area with some amount of population take awhile to get to the actual murder trial. (Details of Wake Co., NC are below.)

Poor Lauren was brutally killed and her husband arrested "on or about" Sept 1, 2017. For a trial of this nature -- scheduling of all the principals, a Superior Courtroom, any other whatever terms to be heard prior to trial, probably a 1-2-week jury selection, and then about a 2-week trial, we may as well get comfortable for about another 12 months.

At trial's end, the judge will make sure the Verdict Sheet is properly executed and signed by the foreperson. If the defendant is found guilty, the jury will be quickly polled. If all is well, there will be no wait for a pronouncement of sentence from the judge -- it is announced as soon as the verdict is validated. The Sheriff's personnel will move in and surround Phelps (a bit dramatic sometimes!). Phelps will be officially handed over to the NC Dept. of Public Safety by the judge with a "He is in your custody, officers," and off he will go to his home for the next however-long.

Yep, ..

..

.

Wake County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of July 1, 2015, the population was 1,024,198, making it North Carolina's second-most populous county.Wikipedia

Area: 857 mi²
Population: 1.024 million (2015)
Unemployment rate: 3.4% (Sep 2017)

wikipedia.org

 

[borndem]

And here's our Phelps gallery at this time -- No Matthew

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"]PHELPS,DANIEL,LEE
[/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,DAVID,WARD
[/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"]EMILY,ELIZABETH
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JASON,THOMAS[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]
[TD="class: Menu"][/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,JONATHAN,PIERCE
[/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,KENNETH,WADE,JR.[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"]District
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,WALTER,CARL
[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"][/TD]

[TD="class: listingfont"] District[/TD]
[TD="class: listingfont"] PHELPS,WALTER,CARL
[/TD]