Matthew Taylor Coleman, a California resident and QAnon follower charged with the horrific murder of his two young children in 2021, reportedly attempted to harm himself multiple times while in federal custody. According to court records, Coleman has engaged in self-mutilation, including cutting himself with a razor, diving headfirst into a toilet, punching himself in the face and repeatedly banging his head on the ground.
Coleman, who allegedly killed his children, Kaleo, 2, and Roxy, 10 months, with a speargun because he believed they had “snake DNA,” is now under constant observation. Authorities have begun medicating him against his will, according to the same court documents.
A prison doctor has diagnosed the 40-year-old with unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychiatric disorders, according to a filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Prosecutors have stated that Coleman is currently unable to understand the charges against him or participate in his own defense. His medication regimen began in May of last year, it was reported. The New York Post,
On August 7, 2021, Coleman was preparing for a family trip with his wife, Abby, when he suddenly took the children, without explanation, and left their home in Santa Barbara. Coleman drove the children across the border into Mexico, where they stayed at a hotel for two days. Then, according to investigators, he took them to a farm where he used a speargun to kill them, leaving their bodies behind.
Coleman was arrested as he attempted to re-enter the United States. He has since been charged with two counts of murder of U.S. citizens on foreign soil. He is being held at an undisclosed federal medical facility in Southern California and has pleaded not guilty. His court-appointed attorney has not responded to requests for comment.
At the time of his arrest, Coleman allegedly told federal agents that he killed his children because he believed in the QAnon conspiracy theory that they possessed “snake DNA” and that killing them was necessary to protect humanity. According to a 30-page search warrant application, Coleman described his belief that he was viewing the world through a lens similar to that of the movie The matrixidentifying himself as the main character, Neo.
After Coleman’s arrest, his wife, Abby, returned to her home state of Texas to be with her family. Those who knew Coleman expressed shock and disbelief at the allegations. Deb Fletcher, whose son took surfing lessons with Coleman, said: “He could be intense, but nothing to indicate he was mentally insane. I wonder if he just lost his mind.”
A family friend who grew up with Coleman echoed this sentiment, adding: “He always seemed normal. I wish we would have known this was going to happen. It’s really sad.”
