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A North Carolina man has been charged with murder after killing his wife during what he claims was a dream. Audio from a 911 call the man made has been released:
A Raleigh, North Carolina, man accused of killing his wife told a 911 dispatcher that he took too much cold medicine and woke up to find her "dead on the floor."
Early Friday morning, Matthew Phelps, 28, called 911 and told the dispatcher, "I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she's dead on the floor." "I have blood all over me and there's a bloody knife on the bed," Phelps said. "I think I did it." "I can't believe this," he said.
The Raleigh Police Department released the audio from the 911 call but redacted some information and altered the caller's voice.
Phelps told 911, "I took more medicine than I should have." He said he "took Coricidin Cough & Cold," explaining, "a lot of times I can't sleep at night." The dispatcher asked if the victim was awake, and Phelps responded, "She's not breathing. Oh my God."
Coricidin Cough & Cold is made by Bayer. It contains an antihistamine, chlorpheniramine maleate, and a cough suppressant, dextromethorphan hydrobromide. Dextromethorphan (DXM) is used recreationally for its dissociative effects.
Bayer, the makers of Coricidin, said in a statement, "Bayer extends our deepest sympathies to this family." "Patient safety is our top priority, and we continually monitor adverse events regarding all of our products," Bayer said, adding, "There is no evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior."
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Tuesday September 05 2017, @04:57PM (6 children)
Of course they'd say "There is no evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior", but they probably also meant "if used as intended". The man probably took way too high of a dose, as he already apparently admitted, which supposedly is bad for any antihistamine, whatever else may be in there.
It's generally never a good idea to use medicine in the wrong dosage, particularly too high of a dose, unless you know precisely what you are getting into and willing to accept the consequences.
As for using it to sleep; they didn't mention in the article if he was using it to sleep because he was coughing so much or using it for an unintended purpose like a sleep aid. I wanted to mention in case someone here has never experienced it, that it is entirely possible to have so much trouble coughing that you cannot sleep.
Also I did some reading; this is not the most common variant of Coricidin. The most common variant is a commonly abused, easy to obtain drug (it contains an unusually high amount of pain killer medicine per dose). It's kind of annoying there's two entirely different formulas with the same name.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday September 05 2017, @05:12PM (4 children)
All of the variants listed at the link except the Cold & Flu one contain DXM. And DXM is typical of cough syrups from what I know.
https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_dose.shtml [erowid.org]
My understanding is that you have to drink like the whole bottle to get an appreciable recreational effect, maybe more. The link I put in the summary was to a tablet form, I'm not sure if Coricidin Cough & Cold comes in liquid. But even if you took like a heaping four tablespoons or drank half the bottle just to finish it off, it's hard to see that leading to dream murder.
The detail about the story I'm most interested in is the knife. Did he just keep a knife instead of a gun in the bedroom for personal defense or opening boxes? Or does he claim to have sleepwalked into the kitchen to get a knife (doesn't really make sense - DXM should make you sluggish).
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/healthy_kids/Dextromethorphan-Why-its-not-just-cough-medicine.html [philly.com]
The antihistamine made me kill her!
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 05 2017, @05:47PM (2 children)
Keeping a gun in the bedroom for opening boxes?
You're the second person talking about going to the kitchen for a knife.
Doesn't everyone keep knives in their bedroom? I do; not "for personal defense or opening boxes" or anything, but because my bedroom's where I put my pants on. Once I've put my pants on I have pockets, and when I have pockets, I carry (at minimum) a knife, a multitool, and a flashlight. So I keep a selection of knives, multitools, and flashlights on the dresser -- why would I keep them in the kitchen, and go running out to the kitchen every morning to load up my pockets?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday September 05 2017, @05:59PM (1 child)
It can be very effective.
I would but I misplaced my good one. Couldn't stab anyone even if I wanted to.
Basically I just want to know more details about this knife. Where was it, how would he get a hold of it in his supposed DXM stupor, etc.
The DXM defense is interesting. His 911 call was the right move. I don't think it will be enough to keep him out of prison, but stranger things have happened.
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(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Wednesday September 06 2017, @10:45AM
Yeah, it works well in every first person platformer / shooter I've ever played.
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Tuesday September 05 2017, @07:04PM
That's pretty interesting stuff, yeah.
They didn't say what kind of knife it is. It would definitely be interesting to know. I know I do keep a box opener in my bedroom, but that is because it is in my toolkit. I've also known people to keep knives in their bedroom for other purposes; I know someone who keeps one for letter opening, and someone else that keeps one for defense.
They also did not, in any coverage I saw, any mention what kinds of wounds either had. If there was "blood everywhere" it could be a single stab to the heart or a heap of smaller wounds on both as if there was a struggle. That would probably go a long ways to describing things also.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 05 2017, @10:14PM
Is he a guitar player?
Was he was trying to empty the bottle quickly?
(The original packaging of the product is valued as a slide.) [google.com]
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