Matthew Coleman, the California father charged with killing his 10-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son, believed in the conspiracy theories he read, according to a friend who had bizarre conversations with Coleman before he committed the violence against his kids.
Speaking with People, the unnamed friend said that he didn't imagine Coleman would act on the weird stuff he believed as he was a "happy" father who was "excited" about his growing family. The friend added that Coleman enjoyed talking about feeding and diapers, but something changed in early 2021 when he would share the conspiracy theories he found online.
The friend said, however, that Coleman didn't give any indication that he was a danger to anyone, so it didn't make any sense that the 40-year-old father has been charged for the murder of his kids. The turn of events also devastated their circle of friends.
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Confessing to the Crime
However, Coleman did admit to the FBI that he killed his kids using a spearfishing gun to their chests during their weekend trip to Mexico. He confessed to the authorities that he believed his son and daughter had serpent DNA from their mother and would likely turn to monsters.
The father checked in with his kids at a hotel in Rosarito on a Saturday while hotel cameras saw him and his children leaving the property at dawn on a Monday. However, later that morning, Coleman was seen returning to the hotel by himself before leaving Mexico for good.
A few hours later, Coleman was detained at the border as the FBI immediately got wind of the murders. A farm worker found the children's bodies early Monday near his ranch in Baja, California, and notified the authorities.
Coleman told the FBI about the conspiracy theories at the border checkpoint, saying that the Illuminati and the QAnon enlightened him. He also told them that he has been having visions and signs of his children's serpent DNA.
His wife told the authorities they were supposed to go camping that weekend, but Coleman took off and wasn't returning her messages. However, she stressed that they didn't have any argument, and she never suspected that her children would be in danger with their father. She filed a missing persons report after she traced her husband's iPhone to Mexico.
Who is Matthew Coleman?
Matthew Taylor Coleman established Santa Barbara's Lovewater Surf School. In his college years, he was part of the Point Loma University surf team and completed his master's in Spanish in 2009 at the UC Santa Barbara.
He worked as a high school teacher for a few years before founding the surf school. It was during his time as a teacher where he met his wife, Annie.
Rachel Woodby, a family friend whose kids had surfing lessons with Coleman, said that he was a patient and kind teacher and was great with children.
"This really comes out of the blue. He had no warning signs that he was capable of doing this," Woodby said.
Coleman could be tried for aggravated murder and remained under the custody of the FBI since his arrest on August 9.
