Post by JoannaL on Aug 11, 2021 22:12:27 GMT -5
Fearing Kids Had 'Serpent DNA,' Dad Kills Them with Speargun
Matthew Taylor Coleman, a 40-year-old Santa Barbara surf instructor, has been charged with killing his two children, a boy, age 2, and a 10-month-old girl. According to court documents, on Monday, August 9, Coleman shot the kids in the chest with a speargun while in Mexico, claiming they had both inherited “serpent DNA” and “were going to grow into monsters.”
It was his wife, Abby Coleman, who called police to report her husband had taken the children without telling her where they were going and did not have a car seat for the younger child. Investigators later indicated Mrs. Coleman did not seem to think the children were in danger and denied the two had argued, but her husband wasn’t answering calls from family members.
Coleman was eventually tracked by investigators using cellphone data and U.S. authorities contacted police in Mexico to report the children missing. When Coleman arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and attempted to reenter the United States, he was alone, and Customs officials “observed what appeared to be blood” on paperwork inside his vehicle.
Shortly thereafter, police in Rosarito notified California authorities the bodies of the children had been found in a ditch.
After waiving his Miranda rights, in addition to expressing his fear that the kids were going to grow into monsters, Coleman claimed to have had visions that his wife “possessed serpent DNA and had passed it on to his children.” He also alluded to “QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories.”
Investigators later recovered the bloody speargun and clothing Coleman had dumped before returning to the U.S.
Coleman and his wife own a surf shop and on their website, in addition to “catching waves,” Coleman indicates he enjoys spearfishing and sailing.
Coleman is charged with the foreign murder of U.S. nationals.
Sources: Michael Ruiz, Fox News, August 11, 2021; and United States of America v. Matthew Taylor Coleman, Case No. 2:21-mj-03722, United States District Court for the Central District of California.
