Cold Meds Taken by Aspiring Pastor Before Allegedly Killing Wife May Cause Hallucination

A forensic toxicologist told PEOPLE that the cold medicine a North Carolina man took before allegedly stabbing his wife to death can cause hallucinations similar to those of the street drug PCP when abused.

Dr. Richard Stripp, a New York-based forensic toxicologist, says Coricidin contains both dextromethorphan and chlorpheniramine, which when abused recreationally can cause euphoria, agitation, psychoses and dissociative phenomena.

“Dextromethorphan is a dissociative anesthetic that is designed to be an anesthetic, and can cause out-of-body experiences and one can lose their ability to sense pain,” Stripp told PEOPLE. “Chlorpheniramine is a cough suppressant and that particular drug is abused, and the reason it is abused is if you take high levels of it, the drug’s properties are similar to PCP.”

Stripp says that PCP (aka Phencyclidine — known on the street as “angel dust”) and “drugs like that are dissociative anesthetics. It is conceivable that someone who had taken a large dose could have experienced hallucinations and exhibited behavior that we would consider outside of their normal characteristics.”

Matthew Phelps, 28, called 911 early Friday morning after finding his wife of less than a year, Lauren, dead on their bedroom floor and covered in blood. He told the 911 operator that he took cold medicine the night before and that he suspected himself of killing her.

“I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” he said in the 911 call. “I have blood all over me and there’s a bloody knife on the bed and I think I did it. I can’t believe this.”

He told the dispatcher through tears that his wife wasn’t breathing and that he was afraid to get close to her — “I’m so scared,” he said.

“I took more medicine than I should have,” he said. “I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good. A lot of times I can’t sleep at night. So, I took some.”

Phelps, who is studying to become a pastor, said he has no memory of killing his wife, who was a Sunday school teacher.

He is charged with murder and being held at Wake County Detention Center without bail.

Stripp says he doesn’t know about any other alleged homicide case involving Coricidin and that he can’t speculate on whether or not it could be used as a defense in court. While he does say that he’s seen cases with the drug being abused, he has never seen a case where someone commits murder after taking the drug.

“I’ve seen cases where these drugs have been abused, over the counter, and there have been issues, but I’ve never seen a case like this where someone commits murder under the influence of the drug,” Stripp said. “I have seen cases where people on PCP commit murder. Violent behavior is also a potential outcome of someone being under the influence of PCP. It impairs one’s ability to behave rationally.”

A North Carolina defense attorney told PEOPLE that being under the influence of cold medicine may hold up as a defense.

“The idea that certain meds can get into your system and cause you to do things that you’re not aware of is completely possible, said Chris Beechler, of Beechler Tomberlin in Winston-Salem.

Beechler said the cold medicine claim as a defense could land Phelps a lesser charge, or in rare cases, a not-guilty verdict.

“It is generally not a legal excuse for a crime but if you’re in a mental state where you cannot premeditate, deliberate and form specific intent to kill, then you cannot be convicted of first-degree murder,” Beechler said.