Matthew Coleman case: Dad believed kids were 'possessed by serpent DNA' before killing them

LOS ANGELES (TCD) -- The Santa Barbara, California, man who admitted to fatally stabbing his two young children in Mexico reportedly told investigators he saw visions that made him believe he had to kill them in order to save the world.

According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Matthew Taylor Coleman was charged with foreign murder of United States nationals. The bodies of his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter were found in Rosarito, Baja California, where he allegedly killed them.

The criminal complaint filed against Coleman alleges that on August 7, Coleman put his two kids in the family’s Mercedes Sprinter van and left without telling his wife where they were going. Coleman’s wife Abby reportedly told Santa Barbara Police they were planning on camping, but he did not respond to text messages. She was worried because he did not have a car seat but told officers they did not have an argument before he left.

Abby Coleman and the Santa Barbara Police used Find My iPhone to trace her husband, ultimately locating him in Rosarito, the complaint said. On August 9, he was detained at the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the California-Mexico border, but no one else was in the car.  According to the criminal complaint, "officers observed what appeared to be blood on the Mercedes Sprinter van's registration paperwork."

FBI agents spoke with liaisons in Mexico to inform them about the missing Coleman children. The complaint says bodies matching their descriptions were found earlier that morning in a ditch.

According to the complaint, Coleman said he put his daughter in a box because he did not have a car seat. The complaint says Coleman "believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them."

Coleman allegedly killed his daughter first by using a spear fishing gun to pierce her heart. He then did the same to his son but had to move the spear and injured himself in the process. Coleman allegedly buried the bodies 30 yards away and then got rid of the spear and bloody clothing a few miles away, the complaint says.

During his interview with investigators, Coleman reportedly said he was a follower of QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories. He also reportedly believed his wife was "possessed by serpent DNA and had passed it onto his children." He said believed he was "saving the world from monsters."

Coleman reportedly said he knew his actions were wrong but thought it was "the only course of action that would save the world."

He was transported from the San Ysidro Port of Entry to Santa Ana Jail.

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