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

[Grouchymom]

State pathologists documented 44 cuts and stabs, some more than four inches deep, about her head and neck during the attack, according to the autopsy report. Those were part of a total 123 stabs and cuts all over her body that were thought to have been made with a kitchen knife, the autopsy said.
In addition to the wounds to her head and neck, pathologists found 13 stab wounds and 11 cuts about her torso, 16 slashes and one stab wound on her right arm, along with 35 cuts and three stab wounds on her left arm. A stab wound on the left side of her neck completely severed her left jugular vein and her left common carotid artery, which supplies the head and neck with blood. Her body was covered with smeared blood, according to the autopsy report.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article179347951.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article179347951.html

 

[borndem]

I totally think he did it on purpose. That 911 call!

But the "why"... I want to know the WHY!!!!!

So do I and so many of us -- and I think we'll never know because the answer will always be "the cough syrup. It was the cough syrup." Seems to me if he truly loved her & was under the influence, he would have stripped off his clothes & run down their street yelling or something...

And,

:welcome:to Websleuths, missjessica!! We're glad to have you with us!!


:cheer::cheer:
​

 

[borndem]

My guess is the marriage was in serious trouble. She was very successful in her job at Quintiles, and had a side job, and had stated she wanted eventually to be a stay-at-home mom. He had lost his job and apparently was working for a lawn service and perhaps was or had been driving some for Uber. He seemed content to let her be the breadwinner and he may have wanted to be the only child in the relationship, and she may have been ready to kick him to the curb. JMO.



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Good post, Steve P., I think you put your finger on it.

 

[Francesca]

So many of the stabs/ cuts were defensive wounds so she managed to fight back and attempt to defend herself without him snapping out of his murderous trance. He only managed to snap out of it when she was safely dead.
My guess about the motivation is that he was 90% in a dark fantasy world, and she was his fragile link to the real world and real relationships. He had a lot of thoughts about dream states and violence, so I believe that he just wanted to act out one of his violent fantasies; with the "bonus" of destroying the one person who was trying to bring him into the real world.
I don't think she was ready to leave - she seemed like she was happily nesting right up until the last day. If she had any doubts about him, they probably wouldn't have risen far enough for her to confront him at that stage.

 

[pet friend]

My guess is the marriage was in serious trouble. She was very successful in her job at Quintiles, and had a side job, and had stated she wanted eventually to be a stay-at-home mom. He had lost his job and apparently was working for a lawn service and perhaps was or had been driving some for Uber. He seemed content to let her be the breadwinner and he may have wanted to be the only child in the relationship, and she may have been ready to kick him to the curb. JMO.



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I think you have great insight and believe your theory, may determine the motive in Lauren's murder. I'm wondering if Lauren was pregnant. If so, MP could have panicked and saw only one way out. I certainly am interested in his psychological test results. IMO Lauren's murder was a slaughter. Reading about her wounds, the amount of hatred that had to drive him to inflict those wounds, had to be so extreme. Severing the jugular vein and the carotid artery, along with the other wounds, likely caused her to bleed out IMHO. His comment to the dispatcher he was speaking to, was telling when he said, he didn't want to get closer to her. I can't even imagine how traumatic these facts are to Lauren's family and friends. Bless the people who need healing after this horrific murder.

 

[Niner]

Coming up Monday!

Monday, October 23rd:
*Pretrial Hearing AM Session ET - NC - Lauren Ashley-Nicole Hugelmaier (Phelps) (29) (Sept. 1, 2017) - Matthew James Phelps (28) (husband)/Arrest hearing on 9/5 - charged with 1st degree murder, no bond/GJ indicted for premeditated murder; told 911 he took too much cold medicine, then woke to find his wife dead & a bloody knife in bed.


:judge:

 

[Nonnie]

I think you have great insight and believe your theory, may determine the motive in Lauren's murder. I'm wondering if Lauren was pregnant. If so, MP could have panicked and saw only one way out. I certainly am interested in his psychological test results. IMO Lauren's murder was a slaughter. Reading about her wounds, the amount of hatred that had to drive him to inflict those wounds, had to be so extreme. Severing the jugular vein and the carotid artery, along with the other wounds, likely caused her to bleed out IMHO. His comment to the dispatcher he was speaking to, was telling when he said, he didn't want to get closer to her. I can't even imagine how traumatic these facts are to Lauren's family and friends. Bless the people who need healing after this horrific murder.

I counted 41 stab wounds and 82 cuts. It looks like he may have been torturing her while he was killing her.

 

[borndem]

This news mag has the Phelps case in it as well as an article about Gabriel Fernandez. Just sharing with the group. Please note that two other articles are listed before Phelps & then Fernandez.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15f3b85affbbd4c2

 

[FaithHope]

At the end of this article is a "crime docs" file of the actual autopsy report. It's very disturbing to read and surprising to me that this can be public knowledge. Very very revealing though about what actually happened that night. As a survivor of domestic violence, I send heartfelt prayers to to Lauren's family, such a senseless horrific tragedy.
Warning that this link contains graphic content (autopsy report at end of article)
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59ea63c2e4b00f08619ed389

 

[Grouchymom]

I think you have great insight and believe your theory, may determine the motive in Lauren's murder. I'm wondering if Lauren was pregnant. If so, MP could have panicked and saw only one way out. I certainly am interested in his psychological test results. IMO Lauren's murder was a slaughter. Reading about her wounds, the amount of hatred that had to drive him to inflict those wounds, had to be so extreme. Severing the jugular vein and the carotid artery, along with the other wounds, likely caused her to bleed out IMHO. His comment to the dispatcher he was speaking to, was telling when he said, he didn't want to get closer to her. I can't even imagine how traumatic these facts are to Lauren's family and friends. Bless the people who need healing after this horrific murder.

She was not pregnant. At least that wasn’t the reason for this slaughter

 

[keeleydoll]

The placement of the chest and torso wounds look way too symmetrical and precise not to have been planned. I don’t believe his *advertiser censored* and bull about being asleep at all. Last page of autopsy report (from HuffPo link above) https://flii.by/crimedocs/


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[borndem]

She was not pregnant. At least that wasn’t the reason for this slaughter

Yes, according to the autopsy report,she was not pregnant. The M.E. examined her reproductive system & said they were "unremarkable," so no pregnancy was found.

But Lauren possibly did mention it to him -- having or maybe starting a family. If so, that certainly could have fed into his attack on her.

 

[meanmaryjean]

I'm really wondering if he thinks the cold medicine defense is going to save him.

 

[borndem]

At the end of this article is a "crime docs" file of the actual autopsy report. It's very disturbing to read and surprising to me that this can be public knowledge. Very very revealing though about what actually happened that night. As a survivor of domestic violence, I send heartfelt prayers to to Lauren's family, such a senseless horrific tragedy.
Warning that this link contains graphic content (autopsy report at end of article)
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59ea63c2e4b00f08619ed389

According to the autopsy notes, the M.E. reported that his knowledge was that she was found in a fetal position on the floor. How did she get there? Did the EMT's place her on the floor, which is customary to perform CPR -- but they would not have put her in a fetal position to administer CPR, or to try to find a heartbeat and B.P. Did she fight him/defend herself strongly enuf such that she would have wound up on the floor, or was his brutality on her such that the stabbing, etc., would have resulted in her body falling to the floor? (Details, yes, but I found that interesting.) Oh, that poor sweet young wife. Such horror in her last minutes on this earth.

 

[borndem]

The placement of the chest and torso wounds look way too symmetrical and precise not to have been planned. I don’t believe his *advertiser censored* and bull about being asleep at all. Last page of autopsy report (from HuffPo link above) https://flii.by/crimedocs/


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Agree -- and IMO, if he was in such a drug-crazed frenzy, seems to me that he would have stabbed the bed, the pillow, etc. I haven't heard any of those type details -- if that did happen, we won't hear about it until trial -- probably from the defense.

 

[LietKynes]

Agree -- and IMO, if he was in such a drug-crazed frenzy, seems to me that he would have stabbed the bed, the pillow, etc. I haven't heard any of those type details -- if that did happen, we won't hear about it until trial -- probably from the defense.

SABBM

Hmmm... Good point.
Imo -- those cuts were precise.
What a beastly death, and it's possible she was conscious enough to realize who her murderer was.
If he recalls her screaming , or crying out a name (parents, siblings ?); then he remembers committing this heinous act.
"Cough syrup" --- baloney.
:moo:

 

[strawberry]

Wow that autopsy report was a difficult read. Good God


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[Whiskers16]

After reading the autopsy and seeing the diagrams at the end, I'm surprised that a lot of the wounds seemed to be concentrated on the neck/shoulders/upper chest area. I'm not sure what to make of it. It just feels odd to me. I expected to see a lot in the abdomen, heart, lungs. If he intentionally killed her, it is strange he would spend the time and effort inflicting small wounds in non-lethal areas.

 

[Grouchymom]

According to the autopsy notes, the M.E. reported that his knowledge was that she was found in a fetal position on the floor. How did she get there? Did the EMT's place her on the floor, which is customary to perform CPR -- but they would not have put her in a fetal position to administer CPR, or to try to find a heartbeat and B.P. Did she fight him/defend herself strongly enuf such that she would have wound up on the floor, or was his brutality on her such that the stabbing, etc., would have resulted in her body falling to the floor? (Details, yes, but I found that interesting.) Oh, that poor sweet young wife. Such horror in her last minutes on this earth.

He stated in the 911 call that she was in the floor.

 

[Francesca]

That autopsy report is heartbreaking to read. That bright healthy girl with "unremarkable" heart and reproductive organs, looking forward to starting a family with that monster. Only to die fighting for her life in her own bedroom.
I agree that the injuries and diagram make it look very systematic and planned. Two (or more?) stab wounds that would undoubtedly caused death (the jugular and the lungs) some of the shallower wounds were probably when she was using her arms to fight back and protect herself, and then the others were probably part of the staging or just for the pleasure of it.
His high profile lawyer will probably be happy enough to keep the death penalty off the table.