Sherry, Gavin & Garett Coleman -- Found Deceased 5/5/09

Sometimes that still doesn't save them. My daughter's husband beat her up, she took the kids, moved out and pressed charges on him, with an RO. 6 months later, they had to drive to another town to a lawyer's office for the checks from selling property. The lawyer's office divided the payout into checks for each one of them. When they got back to our town, he ran her off the road. When she got out of her car, he beat her again, and took her check away from her. I made her take him back to court and she told me he said he would kill her if she ever took him back to court. Two weeks after going back to court, where they didn't even mention the 5 year suspended sentence he was under from the first beating nor the RO, he broke her door down and beat and stabbed her 27 times, breaking the blades of 4 kitchen knives off in her. I was not allowed to testify what she told me when I made her take out warrants against him again. The magistrate also heard her say that, and they wouldn't let him testify to it either.

At his trial, the judge would not allow the DA to even mention his previous assaults against her. He was found guilty of Vol. Manslaughter, and only served a little over 8 years.

Police still tracking murder suspect Coleman's calls

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Thursday, October 28, 2010 12:05 am

COLUMBIA, Ill. • Police obtained fresh search warrants last week for cell phone data as they continue to build a murder case against Christopher Coleman, charged in the deaths of his wife and two sons.

Associate Judge Stephen Rice signed off on the warrants on Oct. 20, which enable investigators to access "PIN" messages — a form of text message specific to BlackBerry phones — from the mobile devices of Coleman, his wife, Sheri, and his alleged mistress, Tara Lintz.

The warrants apply to all PIN logs from May 4, 2009, the day before the bodies were found, to Oct. 13, 2010.

The court documents don't indicate whether any information was gleaned from the message logs. Police have declined to discuss the case.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/article_b130ce48-9b75-57cc-bcbf-69e00b603dd3.html

New details released in Coleman case

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 9:30 am

WATERLOO • Any right Christopher Coleman has to cross-examine his murdered wife about statements she had made about him to friends was forfeited when he killed her, prosecutors said in court documents filed Tuesday.

Prosecutors released new details concerning the case as part of a motion to use such statements as evidence in his upcoming first-degree murder trial.

Coleman, the former security chief for the Joyce Meyer Ministries, is charged with strangling his wife, Sheri, and two preteen sons, Garett and Gavin, in their home in Columbia, Ill.

Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz said Sheri Coleman told friends that her husband beat her up, and texted at least two of them, saying: "Chris wants a divorce. He said me and my kids are in the way of his job. He told me he's leaving me for his job! But if Joyce (Meyer) finds out she will fire him. It got so bad I told Joyce. He was [angry] to say the least but that was the breaking point. She forced him into counseling."

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_b15e7375-771d-5c91-b97d-952b0c4c2eee.html

Judge in Columbia Triple Murder Case Considers Hearsay Evidence

Trial for Murder Suspect Chris Coleman is set for February 15th.

5:30 p.m. CST, December 28, 2010


WATERLOO, IL (KTVI - FOX2now.com) — An Illinois Judge listened to stories from 11 people, about Sheri Coleman's reported family struggles before her murder. Police found Sheri and her sons Gavin and Garret strangled May 5th 2009. Destiny Church minister Vincent Hall shared several stories with the court. Hall said he knew Sheri for several years, while working with her at the church.

He said Sheri texted her about marriage problems and he said he even prayed over Sheri and Chris two days before the murders. He said he put his hand on suspect Chris Coleman's shoulder and said he had faith God would repair their marriage. Hall said he saw tears in Chris Coleman's eyes. Then two days later police would find his wife and kids strangled.

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/ktvi-coleman-murder-text-message-evidence-122810,0,4181783.story

Will Coleman jury see sex videos?

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011

WATERLOO -- A judge, defense lawyers and prosecutors on Friday afternoon viewed sexually explicit videos, photographs, texts and e-mails exchanged by Christopher Coleman and his mistress, Tara Lintz, to determine whether a jury will see them at Coleman's upcoming trial.

William Margulis, one of Coleman's defense attorneys, argued the sexually explicit material would be "highly prejudicial" to the Columbia man, who is accused of killing his wife and two young sons.

Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz countered the correspondence, dated as early as September 2008, between Lintz, a Tampa, Fla., dog track waitress, and Coleman demonstrated the nature, intensity and audacity of the affair.

"They offer a glimpse of some pretty despicable behavior," Reitz said.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/01/22/1561022/will-coleman-jury-see-sex-videos.html

Expert witness: Coleman's writing style is consistent with graffiti found at murder scene

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat
Friday, Mar. 18, 2011

A forensic linguist testified on Friday that e-mailed threats, threatening letters and spray-painted graffiti at the murder scene were "consistent" with documents written by murder suspect Christopher Coleman.

Circuit Judge Milton Wharton will decide whether Robert Leonard, a forensic linguist at Hofstra University in New York, will testify at Coleman's upcoming murder trial.

Leonard testified that people have certain patterns in their written words that allow a forensic linguist to determine whether documents may have the same author.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/03/18/1635666/expert-witness-colemans-writing.html

Joyce Meyer to testify at Coleman trial via recorded deposition

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Posted: Monday, April 4, 2011 1:30 pm

Joyce Meyer will testify at the murder trial of her former bodyguard via a recorded deposition, according to court documents filed today.

Prosecutors said Meyer, an internationally known Fenton-based televangelist, will be unavailable for Christopher Coleman's murder trial scheduled to start April 25. As a remedy, Meyer will submit to questioning from lawyers in the form of a recorded deposition, which will be shown to jurors at trial.

Christopher Coleman was pulling down a six-figure salary and traveling across the globe as the security chief for Meyer. Friends have testified that Sheri Coleman, his slain wife, had confided that Christopher felt she and their two sons were in the way of his career. They testified that Sheri had said Christopher didn't see divorce as an option because it would cost him his job.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/article_6a1c7a4e-5e6b-11e0-a1ca-0019bb30f31a.html

Joyce Meyer says she's praying for accused killer Chris Coleman

KMOV.com
Posted on April 6, 2011 at 2:52 PM



KMOV) -- For the first time, televangelist Joyce Meyer is answering questions about the Christopher Coleman murder case. The accused murderer was Meyer’s former head of security.

On Wednesday afternoon, Meyer met at the Monroe County Courthouse where Coleman’s triple murder trial will take place in a few weeks. Meyer was there to testify about what she knows about Coleman and the case. She arrived at the courthouse with her son Dan, the CEO of her ministry. She did not speak to the media on her way into the courtroom and was inside answering questions for about an hour.

Read more: http://www.kmov.com/news/coleman-trial/Joyce-Meyer-in-Monroe-County-for-deposition-in-Coleman-case-119347939.html

Coleman jury selection process underway

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Posted: Monday, April 11, 2011 4:16

PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. • Prospective jurors arrived at the Knights of Columbus hall here as lawyers begin their search for a jury to decide the fate of Christopher Coleman.

Circuit Judge James Campanella provided the jurors with little additional information other than the defendant's name, Christopher Coleman. He didn't tell them the sensational specifics of the alleged crime, or that Coleman is the former Marine accused of strangling his family and then staging the crime scene with threatening messages spray painted Charles Manson-style on the walls.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/article_d953a854-63f4-11e0-8d8d-001a4bcf6878.html

So far, 39 potential jurors picked in Coleman case

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat
Saturday, Apr. 16, 2011

PINCKNEYVILLE -- It was the fourth day of jury selection in the case of the former bodyguard for televangelist Joyce Meyer, Christopher Coleman, who is accused of strangling his wife and two sons.

On Friday afternoon, there were 39 jurors who could serve on Coleman's jury. There needs to be 52 potential jurors in place before the defense and prosecutors winnow them down to their final selections. Both sides expect that will happen early next week.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/04/16/1673333/so-far-39-potential-jurors-picked.html

Jurors selected for Coleman trial; Testimony will begin Monday

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER NEWS-DEMOCRAT
Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2011

PINCKNEYVILLE -- It took less than 40 minutes Tuesday morning to select a jury for the murder trial of Christopher Coleman, who is accused of strangling his wife and two sons.

John O'Gara, Jim Stern and Bill Margulis, Coleman's attorneys, and Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz and Special Prosecutor Ed Parkinson went through the selection in the Perry County Courthouse.

The defense used 16 preemptory strikes; the prosecution used 10.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/04/19/1676883/jurors-selected-for-coleman-trial.html

Jury Set For Christopher Coleman Trial

Coleman Is Accused Of Killing His Wife And Children

 

Chris Hayes Investigator
11:57 a.m. CDT, April 19, 2011

Pinckneyville, IL. (FOX2now.com)—

After a week of interviews, the people who will decide the fate of triple murder suspect Chris Coleman were picked Tuesday afternoon. The jury consists of 12 jurors and four alternates. The jury came from a pool of nearly 50 people.

Read more: http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-jury-set-christopher-coleman-trial-20110419,0,5848950.story

Jury Begins Decision In Coleman Case

Closing Arguments Have Ended And Jury Begins Deliberations

Chris Hayes Investigator
4:05 p.m. CDT, May 4, 2011

 

WATERLOO, IL - (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Closing arguments by the prosecution and defense have been given in the Christopher Coleman triple murder case on Wednesday afternoon. The jury has begun its deliberations to decide Christopher Coleman's fate. A verdict could come at any time.

Wednesday afternoon Tony Romanucci, a lawyer for Sheri Coleman's family, announced they filed a civil lawsuit against Chris Coleman Joyce Meyers Ministries. He says that if the Ministry had enforced its policies and followed up on Coleman's strange behavior then the murders could have been avoided. They did not specify an amount they were seeking in the lawsuit.

Read more: http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-coleman-trial-could-go-to-jury-wednesday-20110504,0,2345520.story

Coleman guilty of killing family, jury says

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Posted: Friday, May 6, 2011 12:15

WATERLOO • Christopher Coleman was convicted Thursday night of strangling his wife and two sons as part of a plan to start a new life with his mistress without sacrificing his job as bodyguard to televangelist Joyce Meyer.

Coleman, 34, looked exasperated as verdicts were read by the jury foreman about 7:35 p.m. in court in Waterloo on the second anniversary of the murders, finding him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder.

The decision came from a jury of 10 women and two men, who had stretched their deliberations into about 15 hours over two days.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_4cd5b034-7713-11e0-822e-001a4bcf6878.html

Jury: Coleman eligible for death penalty

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR
Posted: Friday, May 6, 2011 12:15 pm

WATERLOO • The jury in the Christopher Coleman murder trial will return Monday to begin deciding his fate after finding him guilty Thursday of killing his wife and children.

On Friday, jurors heard evidence that Coleman was eligible for the death penalty in the 2009 triple murder, and quickly agreed that he was.

On Monday, a longer hearing will begin during which prosecutors will ask jurors to sentence Coleman, 34, to death. If the jury does not decide to sentence him to death, Coleman would automatically be sentenced to life in prison.

The hearing could last several days, but it appears to be only a formality. Because Illinois abolished capital punishment effective July 1, Gov. Pat Quinn has pledged to commute any death sentences delivered before then to life in prison.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_1cd3070e-77e2-11e0-8230-001a4bcf6878.html

Former neighbor says seeing Coleman was like 'staring Satan right in the face'

KMOV.com
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 10:33 PM



(KMOV) – Christopher Coleman’s former neighbor says seeing Coleman after the triple murder of Coleman’s wife and two sons was like “staring Satan right in the face.”

Neighbor Justin Barlow says there’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think about the murder scene of Sheri, Garrett and Gavin Coleman. He and another officer were the first to find the victims.

Read more: http://www.kmov.com/news/coleman-trial/Tonight-at-10-Staring-Satan-right-in-the-face-122231339.html

Judge thwarts exhuming of Coleman bodies

BY KEVIN BERSETT AND BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011

A Randolph County judge halted a move to have the remains of Christopher Coleman's murder victims -- his wife and two children -- transferred from a Chester cemetery to his wife's hometown of Chicago.

Circuit Judge Richard A. Brown granted a temporary restraining order Monday to Coleman and his parents, Ronald and Connie Coleman, that prohibits the removal of the bodies of Sheri, Garett and Gavin Coleman until court proceedings on the matter can be held. Monday was the same day her family planned to have the remains exhumed and transferred.

Belleville attorney Jack Carey, who represents relatives of the victims, said he was disappointed but said the developments Monday were "not unanticipated."

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/11/29/1959511/judge-thwarts-exhuming-of-coleman.html