Matthew Phelps who killed his wife Lauren Phelps gave an interesting excuse for the tragic homicide: taking too much cold medicine. Matthew said he was having sleep problems prior to committing the crime.
He was taking Coricidin Cough & Cold medicine to help with his sleep problems and claimed he took too much. Abusing the cold medication caused severe hallucinations that led him to kill his young wife, Matthew explains in a lengthy blog post.
Although the cold medication is not without its negative effects, Bayer’s said “there is no evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior, in an official statement.
At first glance, Matthew and Lauren Phelps’s story sounds like a straightforward, tragic homicide. Husband kills his wife, calls the cops, and pretends to be clueless about how the murder took place by finding an excuse. In Matthew’s case, the excuse is – although not completely unknown – not very common. Matthew claimed that he did not know what he was doing because of…a cold medicine.
Matthew woke up one day next to his wife, who was stabbed to death, with a knife and dried blood all over him. According to his 911 call, he had no recollection of killing her. He took too much Coricidin Cough & Cold medicine to allegedly help him with his sleep issues. He had a dream, and when he woke up, he had no idea what happened.
“I had a dream, and then I turn on the lights, and she’s dead on the floor,” he said.
Reading people’s reactions online in the comment sections of numerous media outlets, most find Matthew’s excuse to be complete nonsense. Some, however, who have witnessed or experienced cough medicine addiction, think that – while highly unlikely – a bad reaction to this medicine could have resulted in a violent outburst and is not outside the realm of possibility.
People have reported severe hallucinations and blurred vision, as well as confusion, anger, and nightmares (and a long list of other side effects). Ironically, it also causes people to have trouble sleeping, which is the reason Matthew claimed to have been abusing this medicine to begin with.
The combination of this drug’s side-effects could have had the 28-year-old spiraling out of control. There is a lot we don’t know yet. Did he have an undiagnosed mental illness? Was he taking anything else in combination with Coricidin?
Some commenters have pointed to Matthew’s Instagram as proof for signs of his long-term mental distress.
Image courtesy of: ashleySP4RKS
