Man Tells 911 Operator He Awoke from a Dream to Find His Wife Dead

A North Carolina man called 911 to report his wife dead, telling the operator that he woke up from a dream and found his wife stabbed multiple times to death in their bedroom.

Police arrested Matthew Phelps, 28, and charged him with murder after Phelps placed the 911 call regarding his wife, Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps, 29, the Daily Mail reported.

After Phelps placed the 911 call around 1:10 a.m., the dispatcher asked Phelps “exactly what happened.”

“I think I killed my..,” according to a 911 recording that authorities made public Friday afternoon.

“What do you mean by that, what happened?” the 911 operator asked.

“I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” Phelps replied.

“How? How? How?” the dispatcher asked, wanting to press Phelps further.

“There’s blood all over me, and there’s a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it,” Phelps said.

The dispatcher paused for a long time before responding,”OK” and asked him to stay on the line.

The dispatcher then asked Phelps a series of questions about his wife, including whether his wife was awake at the moment.

“She’s not breathing,” Phelps replied.

“Do you think she is beyond any help?” the dispatcher asked.

Phelps said he was not sure because he was too afraid to get close to her, adding that the blood on his body already dried.

Phelps told the dispatcher that he took a lot more cold medicine than he should have before going to sleep and had no idea what time it was.

“I took more medicine than I should have. I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good and sometimes I can’t sleep at night,” he explained.

The News & Observer reported that the two had been married for less than a year. Phelps worked for a landscaping company and graduated from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Kentucky in 2011 with a degree in evangelism. His wife posted something on Facebook just hours earlier selling a product for Scentsy, a candle company.

Police took Phelps to Wake County Jail, where he is being held without bond.

He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday, according to a Wake County Clerk of Court spokesperson.

Lauren’s family set up a YouCaring page to raise money for her final expenses. As of Monday afternoon, $6,215 has been raised towards the fundraiser’s $20,000 goal.