Sheri Coleman, sons Garett and Gavin murdered 5-5-09, Columbia, IL. Pt1

[WholeLottaRosie]

Depending on where he was at a gym in South County it would only be about
a 10 minute drive for him to check on them himself

Exactly. Maybe a bit more, but, seems like he would just go home himself.

 

[Lindadanette]

Haven't posted in a good long while but this case bugs me. I've listened to Joyce for years. Kind of got burned out on the whole evangelical POV, but she's a good teacher and stalwart in her beliefs. ITA, Dad is the usual suspect, but I got a weird "Fatal Attraction" vibe when I started reading through the reports.

They say that, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and I can only imagine what a "demon possessed" ie; emotionally disturbed rejected lover might do to those she perceived as "the enemy". Strangling is such a personal crime. The wife was tiny and probably asleep, as I imagine were the boys. A woman could easily garrote the wife and then each boy (God love them they are such sound sleepers), I guess I would prefer a deranged woman (or man?) over daddy. . . .

 

[Wrinkles]

Hello All,

Are the others of you feeling the same awful thing in your gut and spirit that I am now? Do you all feel the same tension inside that I do? I can hardly rest knowing that the murderer of these three lovely people is not already caught -- it is like I have no peace at all as hours go by and there is no announcement that they "have" the murderer in custody. Not that I really want to be concentrating on the work that I have to do, but even if I did, I couldn't... I can't get the very cute picture of that mommy and her boys mugging together out of my head -- I can't get the pictures of so many victims out of my head -- so I vent.

It is just too d**ned easy for people to violate the lives of others in this society -- why is that? There are the actual victims, for whom we all grieve, and then all of us who have been victimized alongside our fellow man and because they have been victimized. We wait for the perps to be caught, then we wait for them to be convicted, then we wait for them to pay their price -- and the whole thing is on our tab. This just never gets less sickening, starting with the loss of such lovely lives.

So... What was the deal about the mail box? Did someone put something in there and was it given to the police? (or was something taken out that was expected?) And how about something being written on the wall inside the house? I want to know about these two things. As for the security cameras, if they were dummies -- they were worthless. If this was a crime committed by the father, and I would love to think that it wasn't, then those cameras will prove worthless -- you can bet on it (i.e. they were broken etc.)

I am amazed at the sleuthy thoughts of this group just within hours. I didn't even think to notice what was in the back of the father's car. I didn't think of a laundry basket possibly being loaded for escape, despite the washer/dryer we saw. You all amaze me.

I'm thinking of the dad reported to be seen rolling around on the driveway after the fact -- how often is that kind of thing a response to such violence and loss? On the other hand, I can't imagine how I might have responded if I went home to my husband and two children murdered. I tend to think of curling up in a cubby hole (shove me in a car and let me weep and rage), or banging my hand on something, or dropping in a complete wilt and utter moans...but rolling around on the driveway, was that really seen? I "have" nearly lost my husband to death, seeing what appeared to be his lifeless body laying on a table -- I became almost catatonic -- I was in another world as if drifting away myself, while my daughter who saw the same thing was on her knees crying her eyes out into my knees while intermittently puking into a trash can beside us. But rolling on the ground? Was that really seen?

Is rolling on the ground what someone does when they suspected they should have gotten the hell out of somewhere with their family due to threats they weren't quite sure how to take OR ?? Was it an act to accomplish a goal, overreacting (to make a show of grief, as someone mentioned earlier) or maybe -- and it dawned on me today -- to get something on or off of clothing? I absolutely "don't" want to think that any husband/father did this -- but I am getting stuck on this point immediately. I'm stuck on the name change of the house paperwork (yeah okay, people do this but... someone knows why this was done, or maybe not which would be more "interesting"), I'm stuck on the "threats" and the mailbox tampering and the timing of it all -- as if they were all "leading up" to something -- planned and I don't like suspecting any loved one, but oh we know it happens.

So now we wait for more facts ... and three beautiful young people lay in a morgue while their murderer does not. And I can just not relax... Someone mentioned "soft kill." Was it? I guess we wait.

W

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

I am also struck by a comment on the KSDK news at 6 tonight. They showed some neighbor kids putting flowers in front of the house, and, said police were reassuring locals they had nothing to fear.

 

[nursebeeme]

So now we wait for more facts ... and three beautiful young people lay in a morgue while their murderer does not. And I can just not relax... Someone mentioned "soft kill." Was it? I guess we wait.

Great post Wrinkles.. and respectfully snipped.

I do not understand for the life of me why soft kill is the term used for strangulation as it it is the most difficult and timely of all forms of killing! I hope they have checked this husband's hands out well... to strangle an adult woman and two boys that are not little takes a lot of physical effort.. and killing will. It makes me puke to even think about it...

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I am also struck by a comment on the KSDK news at 6 tonight. They showed some neighbor kids putting flowers in front of the house, and, said police were reassuring locals they had nothing to fear.

I am not so sure that would mean they think it is the husband though. I do think LE believes the mom and boys were specifically targeted. Now whether it turns out to be the husband or the person who has been making the threats, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

imo

 

[LaLaw2000]

Wonder how long it will be before we hear that the security cameras at the house was not working that morning and the burglar alarm was turned off?

JMO, he either did the murders or paid someone to do it. Just bet there is a big insurance policy on Sherri.

Sherri was beautiful and the boys were precious. They did not deserve this. I am not going to go easy on what I think because Chris Coleman seems suspicious to me. My sympathy will always be with the victims. If Coleman did this, then he is a big ! At this point, I will have to be convinced by irrefutible (sp) proof that he did not do it.

With Chris Coleman's Military Police training, he had to be able to do things that most of us would cringe at. The Marines don't play, they train you for the worst case scenarios. He was a dog handler with probably both drug scent dogs as well as cadaver dogs. I can see him putting his mind into a mode which would enable him to pull this off.

JMO

 

[Fairy1]

On the face of it, seems we have yet another husband who considers himself to be smarter than everyone else. Laid the groundwork for months and then took action. That bothers me. I'm also bothered by the fact that the killer just happened to strike in that relatively short amount of time this guy was "at the gym." If the whacko leaving them notes in the mailbox and threatening the family was the the killer, he/she would have known their schedules - IMO. He worked the night shift, so why wouldn't the killer have attacked Sheri and the boys then - if they were the targets? Why do it in the morning when they have no way of knowing where he went or for how long?

 

[Lindadanette]

If the father IS the perp - then he either planned it by sending the threatening letters himself (which is too evil to get my brain around) or took advantage of the threats to try to cover his crime. I've read statements alleging that they were having financial problems.

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

I am not so sure that would mean they think it is the husband though. I do think LE believes the mom and boys were specifically targeted. Now whether it turns out to be the husband or the person who has been making the threats, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

imo

I suppose - I guess they have a lot of info that hasn't been released yet to make that statement.

 

[cleo612]

I wonder if taking Sherri's name off of the house was part of some master plan.

Since Sherri and the kids are all dead, then EVERYTHING will now belong to Chris, and Sherri's family would have no claim to it.

That is one way to avoid a probate action on her estate.

 

[KT Can]

Again, if I'm wrong I will totally apologize, however the names Vaughn and Camm keep creeping into my brain on this one...

 

[SeriouslySearching]

If you look on the right side of the page, there is a photo gallery (evidently put up by her family).

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=6189174858580

 

[Wrinkles]

Greetings NurseBeeMe,

Smooch and thank you for the complements.

You wrote:
>>I do not understand for the life of me why soft kill is the term used for strangulation as it it is the most difficult and timely of all forms of killing!<<

You know I don't know how we can "really" classify any type of kill as a soft kill (killing means violence, violence never feels soft), but I kinda get it... A killer wants to take 3 lives, they don't want anyone who they intend to kill alerted or screaming or bringing attention to the matter from the outside (thus catching them as perp). So...instead of flailing around and beating and battering where noises can be heard, and/or having proposed victims running away, they silently go -- softly go -- picking their victims off one at a time.

How do you silently "softly" kill a mom and her two children? If they are strangled, how do you do that -- or how did "they" do that. Hmmm this kinda scares me to think, as it appears to be the work of someone "trained" to kill softly -- quietly. On the other hand, we await more news from the police, perhaps this wasn't 3 soft kills.

W

 

[Fairy1]

If you look on the right side of the page, there is a photo gallery (evidently put up by her family).

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=6189174858580

Oh my stars - such a beautiful girl and little boys. I am praying that Chris is not the killer....

 

[Stella5]

http://www.beloblog.com/KMOV_Blogs/reportersblog/2009/05/triple-homicide-investigation.html

hmmm... maybe it wasn't the husband... at this point I suppose anything is possible. At least it was misreporting and not a confused story from the husband.

Why would he call the cops to check on them if a.) he was at the home overnight and everything was fine when he left for the gym and b.) he went to the gym that is a short 5 - 10 minutes drive across the bridge from illinois to south county, missouri? (i live here, so i know how close he was to his home while at the gym)

I'm betting he did it. It's just too staged and doesn't make any sense. The gym is his alibi, but IMO not a firm one. He was there, but seriously if the wife didn't answer the phone, why would he call the cops immediately instead of make the short drive home? It's not like he was states away and she didn't answer the phone for a day or two.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

He reminds me of Mark Hacking for some reason.

 

[montana_16]

Why would he call the cops to check on them if a.) he was at the home overnight and everything was fine when he left for the gym and b.) he went to the gym that is a short 5 - 10 minutes drive across the bridge from illinois to south county, missouri? (i live here, so i know how close he was to his home while at the gym)

I'm betting he did it. It's just too staged and doesn't make any sense. The gym is his alibi, but IMO not a firm one. He was there, but seriously if the wife didn't answer the phone, why would he call the cops immediately instead of make the short drive home? It's not like he was states away and she didn't answer the phone for a day or two.

I am also wondering, if he thought they could be in such danger that he got that concerned so easily, why did he leave them alone at all?

 

[impatientredhead]

Why would he call the cops to check on them if a.) he was at the home overnight and everything was fine when he left for the gym and b.) he went to the gym that is a short 5 - 10 minutes drive across the bridge from illinois to south county, missouri? (i live here, so i know how close he was to his home while at the gym)

I'm betting he did it. It's just too staged and doesn't make any sense. The gym is his alibi, but IMO not a firm one. He was there, but seriously if the wife didn't answer the phone, why would he call the cops immediately instead of make the short drive home? It's not like he was states away and she didn't answer the phone for a day or two.

He clearly did not want to be the one to find the bodies. He establishes with the police he was out of the house. There are witnesses in the neighborhood that see him arrive after the discovery. Typical case of overthinking it and getting tripped up in the details (like why would you call the police if your wife didn't answer the phone, maybe she is in the shower?, didn't hear it ring?, ran to the store? doesn't have her cell on her?). He got focused on establishing his whereabouts to the exclusion of all other details. IMO

 

[SuziQ]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...14D56762E44A4059862575AF001DE3A4?OpenDocument

(snips)
Sheri was a one-time Air Force MP, beloved in her tucked-away neighborhood where visitors must pass a city-monitored camera, and where some of the neighbors are cops.

A law enforcement source said Coleman told investigators he had left home about 5:30 a.m.
On Wednesday night, several teams of detectives from the case were walking along the right shoulder of westbound Interstate 255 from just west of the bridge to beyond Lindbergh Boulevard

In January 2008, the couple formed a business called Executive Innovations, specializing in video surveillance. A spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state's office said the corporation was no longer in good standing because no annual report had been filed by year's end.