Relatively Evil (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Living Lies - full transcript

Hey, yeah, just
cooking dinner.

Hold on.

You ready to go out?

Yeah, yeah...

I made some
reservations.

How's your new job?

I'm going to head
out for a bit.

Matt?

This is the true story
about what happens

When an outsider is let in...

...And tears a family apart.



Lies, betrayal, murder.

It's all relative.

Springtime in kentucky.

As the sun comes out,

It seems as though the whole
state has blossomed overnight.

The metaphor
of the new season

Isn't lost on matt phelps
and lauren hugelmaier

As they announced to the world
that they're in love.

You look beautiful
in white, honey.

You do.
You really do.

When lauren and matt
became engaged...

...We talked about
doing an engagement party.

It was a happy day

They really just come across
as absolutely 100% in love,



Closely connected couple.

Lauren and matt met back in,
I guess, middle school,

And then they
reconnected online.

And years later when they
were both 26 years old,

Matt decided that he wanted
to reconnect with her.

He went on her instagram

And liked like every single post
she'd ever made.

And so they just started
talking more and more,

That moved into texting,
that made into phone calls.

They found quickly that
they had a lot to talk about.

They were very interested
in these whimsical things

Like star wars and harry potter,
and they had that in common.

First and foremost was religion
because she was very religious

And he had gone to
bible college,

And he was also a christian.

So by the time they finally
got together

And met each other again,
the relationship

Was already on its way
to being a serious relationship.

How much did you let him
spend on this?

This is the person
that lauren is going to marry,

And I was happy with that
because he made lauren happy.

The engagement party
is a chance for

Matt and lauren's families
to come together

For the very first time.

Matt invited his best
friend that he knew

Growing up, and then
I personally went

To college with.

On the other hand,

Lauren's friends
and family show up in force.

The show of support
helps ease any tension

Caused by lauren's father, dale.

He believes their
long distance relationship

Has blossomed a little too fast.

Dale's very protective.

He wants the best
for his daughters,

And so he wants to know
you want to make them happy.

Hey, matty.

So I just want to get something
out in the open, okay?

My dad, dale, and lauren,
they were close.

They didn't need to talk a lot
to know how each other felt.

They bonded immediately.

I mean, from little bitty,
he was hers and she was his.

She's my little girl.
She's my baby.

You damn well better
treat her right, you hear me?

Absolutely, sir.

Ever the protective
father, dale has too many

Unanswered questions about
the man who wants

To marry his daughter.

For dale, this was
pretty difficult.

He hadn't gotten to know
this man that was asking for

His daughter's hand in marriage.

And he was a little
uncomfortable with it.

I think it was maybe a few
months into our relationship,

The first time I met dale,

He wants to know
if you're genuine,

If you're the person
you say you are.

While lauren's
father's position is something

The couple is
prepared to face...

...Their day is met with
a surprise encounter

Neither saw coming.

Matt's mom showed up
at the engagement party.

Mom?

She wore a white dress
to lauren's engagement party.

Do you think
I should say something?

She wore white at
an engagement party.

Like, who does that?

What a great surprise.
Um, I'm lauren.

I got the impression

That she was not happy
with matt's choice.

Matt's mom wanted nothing
to do with lauren really.

I guess she felt like
she was taking matt from her,

So she just treated lauren
like she was an outsider

The whole time.

I'm so sorry about mom.

I'm not sure what I did,
but she doesn't seem to like me.

When it came
to matt's mother,

That was a very, very
hard relationship,

A relationship or lauren
did not feel loved

Or cared for
in any way, shape, or form.

Matt explained later
that she was just self-centered,

That she wasn't
that important to him,

To not worry
about what she thought.

Still the disapproval,
doubts, and odd behavior

Hovers over their engagement
party like a dark cloud.

Everything was just --
it was just really weird.

She was matt's mom.

We wanted to feel like
she was part of the family.

It just felt like she just
was keeping us arm's length.

Thank you.

Despite their
parents feelings,

Matt and lauren continue to move
their relationship forward.

But with restrictions proper
for a good christian couple.

Separate rooms?

Wouldn't have it
any other way.

You are perfect.

I, -
I got your present.

They seemed to have
a happy life together.

Matt was working
for an in-home care company,

And he was the employee
of the month.

Lauren was super proud of him.

Driven to earn enough
for their dream wedding,

Lauren's work ethic is something
to be commended, as well.

She was
an incredibly hard worker.

She had very intense goals
for herself.

She wanted to be successful.

I'm gonna show you
to your room.

All right.

- This way.
- Okay.

Lauren worked sometimes up
to four jobs.

She worked at
a fortune 500 company

As an auditor.

She baby sat.

She worked in the church nursery
on a regular basis.

And she had a little business
on the side.

She was selling candles.

Lauren's passion
was to be driven.

And no matter
what it is that she did,

She wanted to excel at it.

Hi, everybody.
Lauren your favorite consultant,

And I am super excited
to come to you guys today.

She loved the idea of being able
to own her own business.

It's not like poof,
punch you in the face vanilla.

It's a very subtle vanilla.

Hello.

As the wedding date
continues to draw closer,

Matt's efforts to bond
with lauren's family

Appear to be paying off.

We had a family night
Tuesday nights at our house,

And we were delighted with him
because he came to all of our

Family functions,
he participated.

Lauren's father, dale,
decides it's time

He and matt play 20 questions.

So, matt,
lauren tells us

You've been
married before.

Unaware lauren told
her family about his past,

Matt is caught off guard.

Lauren's family wasn't
thrilled that matt

Had been married before
and the fact that he had not

Been successful already
at a marriage

And now was looking to spend
his life with lauren

Had to be a little
unsettling for them.

It just
didn't work out.

Mats response cuts
an even deeper wedge between

Him and his soon
to be father in law.

Could there be other secrets
matt is keeping from the family?

When lauren and matt's
wedding finally arrives,

The couple hopes the ceremony

Will help put their family's
misgivings to rest.

It was a beautiful
fall wedding,

A beautiful carolina day.

She was the perfect bride
in the big white dress.

They had
a star wars themed wedding.

All the groomsman had
light sabers.

They just seemed like
the perfect couple.

But while lauren's
family and friends

Are doing everything they can
to make her day special,

Matt's mother appears
to have different intentions.

His grandparents were
there. His mom was there.

He really wanted his brother
and his dad to be there.

But his mom didn't want
either one of them to be there.

Keep telling him, "it's your
day, it's not her day."

So if you want him there,
bring them in.

He didn't want to upset his mom.

She didn't want anything to do
with his dad's child.

And so she didn't want
to hear that.

She just wasn't
a very good person.

One of the pictures that we
always take with our child

At every milestone is
dale and I kissing her cheek

On both sides.

It's just our thing.

As soon as we did that,
matt's mom grabbed matt

By the hand and told
the photographer,

"I want a family picture
and pushed lauren to the side."

By the end of the day,
it's clear the heavy baggage

Lauren and matt's family's
bring with them

Isn't simply going to go away.

Caught in the middle,
it's only a matter of time

Before they're headed
for problems of their own.

Who's david?

David?

When he proposed to lauren,

He knew what
he was getting into.

He knew the family.

He knew the dynamics.
He knew how we were.

It was such a senseless
tragic loss of life.

In the spring of 2017,
lauren and matt phelps' marriage

Is off to a rocky start.

Besides her father
disapproving of him

And his mother
disapproving of her...

...Issues seem to be popping up
around every corner.

Who's david?

David from church?

You talk to him too much.

She had a best friend
that was a guy,

And I think he thought their
relationship was getting

A little too close.

He said that she felt that
this specific person

Had feelings for lauren,
and lauren said,

"I don't know how I'm supposed
to control other people

And their feelings."

For matt,
this relationship between

David and lauren is an all too
painful reminder of his past.

You know what happened
during my last relationship.

You're planning on leaving me
for someone else, too.

What matt said to us
about his ex-wife is that

She went away on a mission trip,
and when she came back,

She had had an affair on that
trip and packed everything up

And told him, "I don't love you,
I've never loved you"

And left.

Matt seemed
tightlipped when asked about

His first marriage.

It just didn't
work out.

Was he just ashamed to admit his
wife left him for another man?

Matt did tell me
about his ex-wife,

And I could tell, like, it did
mess him up a little bit.

I just think by that point,
it was already a little,

Maybe a little too far gone.

After this
confrontation,

The man lauren married starts
to change right before her eyes.

Matt, why aren't
you at work?

I quit.

Lauren noticed that matt
was really depressed

And really seemed to be
in a very dark place.

Again?

I think matt was just
getting very depressed.

He just did not want to go
to church at all,

And that really started to get
under lauren's skin.

It just seemed like
whatever lauren liked,

Whatever she loved, matt
was just doing the opposite.

Like, he did not care at all.

When they first got together,
he was very organized,

He was a go getter.

They seemed to be
on the same path.

I was concerned because
he wasn't acting like himself.

Why'd you do that?

'cause you're gonna
talk to me.

Did you find a new one?

He would find a job,
work it,

And then realized
he didn't like it and quit.

Well, not yet, but...

So we were trying to help
him with things,

Like with jobs or with
kind of getting out

Of his depression.

Matt, you can't quit
without finding more work.

Matt became more
and more selfish.

Spending money faster
than lauren and could make it.

Am I going to be the only one
working in this house?

That's not fair.

And here lauren was
buying $1 pizzas

To take to work so that she
wouldn't have to spend money.

With her
marriage in trouble,

Lauren turns to the people
she trusts the most,

Her sister and her mother.

Beth was her best friend.
She meant the world to lauren.

And lauren respected beth's
viewpoints, her opinions.

She went to her
for almost everything.

And lori was her mom.

Those were the two people
she contacted

To see, you know,
what can we do?

Talk to us, honey.

I've never quite met siblings
that are as close as

Me and my sisters,
and especially me and lauren.

She needed someone in her
corner, and I was that person.

I come home,
and he's playing video games.

He can't even
keep a job.

"I come home,
the house is a mess.

I have to do laundry.
I have to cook dinner."

She was giving this whole
long list of things

That she had to do, and you
could tell she was angry.

You could tell she was upset.

What are you suggesting?

And I said you really need
to hone into what does he need

To fix right now if you guys
are going to continue

Moving forward and not blow up
at him on every front,

Because then you just
become noise to him

And he's not hearing anything
that really matters to you.

It made matt very insecure
to see these sisters

So tightly connected
when he never had that.

He didn't have that kind of
family life growing up.

So not only was it hard
for him to understand,

But it was also hard for him
to figure out where he fit in.

There is no denying
matt phelps has been

More and more isolated
from his new family.

Hi, matt.

Is it all his fault,
or is someone else to blame?

Matt?

Matt 100% had a problem with
mine and lauren's relationship.

Just looking for
my journal.

And the longer our
relationship went on,

The more evident it became.

See y'all later.

Tuesday night was our night,
and he stopped showing up.

It didn't sit well at all
with a family like that.

Felt like a slap
in everybody's face.

I think matt was very insecure,
and I think he never quite felt

Like he fit in anywhere.

Specifically, he didn't
feel like he fit in.

I think he just felt
like an outsider.

Your father and I
are very worried about you.

Hoping a change of
scenery will bring them

Back together, lauren agrees
to go on a road trip

To bowling green, kentucky.

For matt,
it's a long overdue trip home.

Six months down the road,
they go on a family vacation

With matt's mom
and her husband's parents.

But just like at
the wedding

And engagement party,
matt's mom's actions

Threaten to ruin it all.

I told you not to worry
about her, all right?

Matt and lauren were preparing
for a photo shoot.

Matt's mom texted matt
for them to wear blue

For the family pictures.

And so lauren went out
and bought a blue outfit

For herself
and a blue outfit for matt.

When lauren shows up,
all the women are wearing white.

And lauren said,
"um, excuse me,

You said that I was
supposed to wear blue."

And she said, "..."

And kind of made
a comment about it.

I can't help that
she can't keep it straight.

At that point, matt's mother
said, "well, we're going to

Cancel the photo shoot."

She just did not want her to be
a part of that family picture,

It turns out, and it was
just really weird

How she just made it known
that she didn't care.

She wanted to humiliate her
and make it very clear

That she didn't want her
in the family.

The move is shocking.

Lauren can't believe just
how far matt's mother is willing

To go to drive her away.

Lauren was becoming
exceedingly frustrated.

That signified to lauren
matt's mom would never

Accept her as a daughter.

I think people knew,
but I don't think anyone

Thought it would come to this.

Since the day they
met, matt phelps's mother

Has been a thorn in his
and lauren's side.

Mom?

From openly embarrassing
her son's new wife

To causing even more tension
in their already shaky marriage,

Matt's mother makes
lauren feel unwelcome.

I think it was difficult
for lauren not to be accepted

By everyone in matt's family.

That had to be hard for her.

Matt and his
mother's relationship

Has always been tenuous.

His mom and dad married
really young in life

Because they were
expecting matt,

And they were not mature enough
to handle a child.

So matt's grandmother
took him in

And raised him as their own.

Wasn't always do good boy
like he is today.

For the remainder
of matt's childhood,

His mother is
in and out of his life.

So therefore, it made all of
their relationships a struggle.

Can you join us?

Okay, I'll be in
in a bit.

Whether it's his
mother's influence,

His fear of being cheated on,
or some other unknown reason,

Matt has become very different
from the man lauren married,

And that was only
four months ago.

He was starting to lose
that drive

And that passion
we had seen all year long.

Matt spends more
and more time alone,

Much of that writing
in a secret journal.

Matthew had some
self-esteem issues

And knew the frustrations
that people had with him

And was verbalizing them
in his writing.

It was clear he was unsure
about his relationship

With lauren and why she would
stay with somebody like him.

I think for matt, what we saw as
quietness were signs of

Uncomfortableness, him feeling
as though he was inferior

Or feeling as though he couldn't
fit in to our very closeness.

But there's more
to matt's downward spiral

Than just odd,
isolated behavior.

Matt?

Matt?

He would steal money
from their disney fund.

He was steal money
out of her purse.

Matt, where's our
trip fund money?

Obviously he denied
all this, but I don't know

Who else it could have been.

Lauren called crying.

"I have enough money
to cover my bills for a month,

And then I don't have
any more money.

What am I gonna do?"

She said, "this is all the money
I have in the world."

And it was a thousand dollars,
give or take $20.

Take this, keep it.

She started their marriage
with about $10,000

In their savings account,
which is a huge amount of money

For a newlywed couple
who just paid for a wedding

To start out with.

I know my sister was fighting
for this marriage.

She might have been frustrated.

She might have been
at her wits' end.

She might have not known
what to do next.

But she didn't want it
to end in divorce.

But the more lauren
fights, the more she comes

To believe matt doesn't care.

Lauren had come home from work.

She began texting matthew
about their dinner plans,

And she told him that
a salesperson

Had come by the house.

Matthew used to work with this
person going door to door

Making sales pitches.

Should lauren
be worried about her?

If she could ask someone
who's been there before,

Like matt's ex-wife,
brooke truett,

The answer would be yes.

Matt did cheat.

We were just dating,
and I remember he had left

And said he was just gonna
go home for the night.

And when he came back
the next day,

He told me he had
kissed another girl.

The second time was
right before we got married.

There were some some stuff
going on with him

And another girl.

He just begged for forgiveness,

And it took me a little
while, but I forgave him.

The selfishness lauren
is experiencing is also

All too familiar to brooke.

It was spending money
on stuff

We didn't have the money for.

I worked full time, 40 hours.

I was just trying to make sure
we had our money,

And it's hard to do that
when you're married to someone

Who doesn't really see
eye to eye with you about that

And is still kind of living
in an imaginary kid world.

Why aren't you
at work?

Slowly lauren allows
word of matt's disrespect

And infidelity to circulate
through her tight knit family.

So when I found out
the true story of brooke

And what really happened
to her, I was angry.

I definitely felt betrayed
when I heard that story.

So for matt to do it, just
another step that he just didn't

Care about anybody or anything
but himself.

Everyone except for her dad
knew that she was frustrated.

No one told her dad.

Because we were afraid
of what dale might do.

Though technically
they are still newlyweds,

By March 2017, matt and lauren
phelps's marriage

Is teetering
on the edge of disaster.

As their relationship
progressed, lauren's frustration

For matt progressed.
Matt?

As soon as they got married,
it's like a clock was set off

And the frustration built
and it built and it built

And it built and it built.

Matt?

When lauren
goes over her latest

Credit card statement,
she discovers matt's

Broken her trust yet again.

Hey, what's up?

You lied to me.

And it turns out
he spent a lot more

Than $1,200 on the video games
he was playing.

That was just from
last month's charges.

He had $1,100 or something on
more gift cards that he bought.

Well, I cancelled the account.
You're cut off.

Why?
I'll pay it back!

With what?

And finally after that,
she went to her family,

And she just said, "I can't do
this anymore. I'm done."

With lauren's
approval, her mother and sister

Decide to confront matt.

Matt, we need to talk.

At this point, their
relationship is in

A really bad place.

He is in a dark place.
He's depressed.

He's becoming
increasingly selfish

And emotionally withdrawn
from lauren.

And lauren is sharing all
these things with her family.

Matt, have you ever considered
talking to someone?

Therapy can really help,
you know?

Me?

Matt showed signs that he was
intimidated by lauren's power.

He repeatedly told her
he was not good enough for her.

She's a bully.

He spends our money!

Despite the bickering,
the family's intervention

Seems to work.

Matt and lauren agree
to a plan of action.

Pick one night a week,
have dinner,

Plan out your budget.

Matt seemed
very much onboard.

Lauren was onboard,
but matt was very onboard.

He really wanted us to do this.

To her, that was a way
that she felt like

That they were gonna
save my marriage.

For a few weeks,
matt and lauren work on

Mending their broken marriage,

And for the first time
in a long time,

There is peace in their home.

But on August 31, 2017,

All progress comes
to a violent end.

Hey, yeah,
just cooking dinner.

Hold on.

Hey.

Hey.

Yeah, matt's home.

That night,
there was a knock on the door.

Hold on.

And it happened to be somebody
that he used to work with.

It was a female.

Hey, valerie.

When she came to the door,
it was a surprise

To everyone
that she was there.

I missed you.
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, that girl valerie
is here.

All the other stuff going on
in their relationship

Leading up to this,
especially with the finances,

I mean, this
really upset lauren.

She says, "hey, will you
come with me and help me?

I'm gonna head out
for a bit.

Matt?

And lauren is not happy
because she has taken the time

After her busy exhausting day
to make a meal

For her and her husband,
and he just leaves.

And I remember her
talking with beth about how

That just made her pissed.

"he's leaving,

And he's leaving with another
girl right in front of my face."

And he basically says,
"well."

I got to go.

She was very upset,
and she said,

"well, he's ignoring
my phone calls now.

He won't answer my texts.

He keeps sending me
to voicemail."

An hour later,
matt finally responds

To lauren's repeated
texts and calls.

Lauren is upset.

And this is kind of
the last, last, last straw.

Lauren had reached her
breaking point.

I think that day is when
it just kind of snapped for her.

Lauren was mad.

And she continued on in her
text message to say,

"I'm over it, I'm done.

He is bringing me down,
and he is ruining my life,

And I'm over it."

On this one night...

With what?

...All the lies,
the betrayals,

The suspicions and grudges
reach a point of no return.

The amount
and the severity

Of the stab wounds told me,
in my experience and opinion,

That this was a crime of rage,
of passion.

This was a gruesome scene.

On a hot summer night
in north carolina,

The stalemate between
matt and lauren phelps

Finally reaches a boiling point

When matt leaves
with another woman.

She sent me a text
basically saying

That he was bringing her down

And she was done
and she was over it.

The horror
at the phelps home

Was revealed in a single call
to raleigh, north carolina, 911.

The caller is matt phelps.

Matt even offers a bizarre
excuse for why he killed lauren.

He told the dispatcher that
he had awakened from a dream,

Found lauren stabbed
and a knife by his side,

And that he thought he did it.

However, when asked where
the knife is,

Immediately tells
the dispatcher,

"the knife's at the bed."

To me, it sounded like he had
an understanding

Of the consequences that might
be associated with him

Having a knife in his possession
when the police arrived.

Within minutes of
the call, raleigh police arrive

On the scene.

They found matt standing on
the front steps

Of the residence.

They detained him,
went inside, found lauren.

Lauren was deceased.
She was beyond help.

I went into the master bedroom,

And I observed that there was
blood on the bed,

On the comforter,
on the carpet, on the walls.

The scene was
particularly gruesome.

As crime scene
investigators collect

All the evidence they can
from the phelps' house...

...Detectives give lauren's

Family the horrific news.

Excuse me.

I said, "is there
something wrong with lauren?"

And they said yes.

I said, "is she dead?"

And they said yes.

And I looked him, and I said,
"did matt kill her?"

And he said yes.

And I screamed.

And woke up the whole house.

I was absolutely frozen,

And the rest was just
such a blur.

I felt like it was
in slow motion,

And I was...

I'm the fixer of the family.
I fix things.

And I was just replaying it back
in my head, like,

How could I have fixed this?

What did I do wrong?
Where did I miss a step?

How did I let this happen?
How did he get by me?

At the police station,

Investigators bear down
on matt phelps.

We needed to either confirm
or deny that he was in

An altered state or he was not
in an altered state

And killed lauren knowingly.

Right from the start,
things aren't adding up.

I had blood
all over me.

And there was
a bloody knife on the bed.

However, when I sat down with
matt, he had basically

No blood on him.

He had a small drop of blood
on his face

And a small drop of blood
on his feet,

But no blood anywhere else,
which I thought was interesting.

I'd like to speak
with him attorney, please.

In speaking with matt
and looking at the scene,

I did not believe
that he was

Under the influence
of coricidin.

He was lucid
in his conversations with me.

He understood
his miranda warnings.

He knew what was going on,
and to me, that was not

An indication of someone that
was impaired to the point

Where they would stab someone

And not know
that they had done it.

So I applied for and was granted
a search warrant,

And matthew was transported
to a local hospital

Where a registered nurse
took his blood,

And then he was taken
to the wake county jail

And processed for murder.

With a warrant
in hand, officers scour matt's

Electronic devices and journal
looking for everything

They will need
to cement their case.

I learned some
very interesting things.

In the week leading up to
lauren's death,

Matthew was googling coricidin.

What happens if he mixed
coricidin with alcohol.

Which I thought was odd for
someone that claimed

In the 911 call that he didn't
know that he was gonna be

Under this
altered state of mind.

After he was arrested,
they found a whole

Instagram account that was
hidden called "marty radical."

I was shocked.

Matthew had lots of images
about satan and death,

References to the movie
"american psycho."

Some of his pictures would be
of him wearing similar outfits

Or a suit in a similar fashion.

He was posting
these really disturbing

Violent anti-christian images.

Pictures of demons and witches
and satanic images.

It was clear that he did have
this sort of alter ego,

That he might not be
the god fearing, you know,

Sweet, loving kid that people
thought that he was.

He wrote on his
hidden instagram account,

"everyone thinks
I'm a serial killer."

Hashtag #foundanangeltokill.

A few weeks later,

Matt phelps'
toxicology report comes in.

He did have cold medicine
in his system,

But it was not at a toxic level
that would cause hallucinations.

I think that matt didn't know
how to handle a failure

Of a second marriage,

And I think ultimately
he killed lauren

Because he wanted
to kill someone.

When it came to the fact that
lauren was going to leave him,

He felt like this was
his last chance.

It became clear that matt
was hiding this alter ego

That he had until he felt
comfortable enough

To kind of expose it.

Lauren's autopsy
reveals more about what happened

The night she was murdered.

She was asleep on her side,
and he came in,

And stabbed her.

He rolled her over

And stabbed her in the face

Right here.

My beautiful daughter.

He stabbed her.

Of the 123 stab wounds
that lauren suffered,

Several of those were on her
arms, and we believe that lauren

Did fight and try to save her
own life that night.

On October 5, 2018,

Matt phelps pleads guilty
to first degree murder.

He is sentenced to
life in prison

Without the possibility
of parole.

It's just punishment.

It's not perfect punishment.

It's just.

I forget she's gone.

"I bet lauren
would like that,"

Or "I bet,"
you know, something.

Or I should call lauren
and tell her.

And then you feel so dumb
in that moment

'cause you're like,
"I know she's gone."

Lauren was
my special something.

I told her I don't know
if we could live without her.

And I'm breathing,
and my heart beats,

But I'm not alive anymore.