Sheri Coleman, sons Garett and Gavin murdered 5-5-09, Columbia, IL. Pt2

[WholeLottaRosie]

I do not think you could really scream (make a little noise yes) when being choked (I could not, I was trying and finally managed to hit him enough to wake him up)the pressure on your throat is just too much.
My boys at that age would have been sound asleep.

I believe I have read it only takes about 4 minutes to strangle some one and I would think most of fighting back would be over within 2 IMO.
I can imagine him doing this without waking anyone up.

You can't. I know, I was carjacked and the person choked me at one point, to the point where I just about lost consciousness. Fighting back was hard, I very quickly lost the ability to do that. Then he let go and at the next opportunity (thankfully the car didn't have power locks!) I jumped out of the moving vehicle, and was willing to risk dying then rather than what was instore, luckily my injuries were, relatively, minor.

It is frigging horrible. This happened 15 years ago, and when I think of it, I can still recall every damn second of the terror.

 

[chestergal]

Hello All,

Evidently others looking at this case found this info:
>>He also has another company on record in MO (still active), Qucom LLC, "Sale of Internet Training Tools".<<

If you Google "Qucom LLC" you will find the reference above.

So...sale of internet training tools? What does that mean? Does it mean he knows how to wipe hard drives?

W

Internet training tools could be many things. It could be he was looking into a program that would allow him to set up a internet based training course for JMM?

 

[DairyGirl]

Good morning.
First of all, I will go against my gut feeling and my experience and say that he may not be guilty. There is the idea that someone, (no ninjas here, trying to be serious) was sending them messages for 6-9 months, whenever it was. The rumor that Sheri was a big spender and if that was true and CC didn't make a lot of money at that job, then maybe they did want to remove Sheri's name off of everything to re-finance and get a better rate and save his credit from her bad credit. The contacted the cops because of the threats and because he stayed at home that monday night, decided to take it easy and clean out the basement of trash before summer started, for the kids. He unlocked the window and opened it, using it to get some fresh air. At night, he closed the window but forgot to lock it. Now, maybe, even though he was in the security business, he maybe forgot to set the alarm or maybe they didn't have an alarm thinking that the cameras was enough of a deterant, including the 6 LE who live in the area.

He had an arguement with his wife, all married men seem to do this at one time or another. We don't know how often or if this even really happened. He slept and woke up, leaving at 5:45 or so. Sheri and the boys should be waking up about then as the bus, if they take the bus, comes around 7 or 7:30. School starts around 8, also, so they woudl have been up and getting ready still. So, a killer got in through that unlocked back window, snuck in, killed them all, and wrote a message and left. CC called from the gym, with no answers he called the cops to check. He came back home, saw the bodies and freakout knowing that not only they were killed and gone forever but that the threat was true and he did have his family killed.

If the threats really did say, "keep doing this and your family will be dead." Then they would be prohetic in the final note of "I told you this would happen". So, the reality kicked in, he became histerical and rolled around on the lawn, flailing his arms. He is so crazy that it takes two officers to subdue him and they take him to the hospital in an abulance. (This is what happened, as neighbors saw him roll around and was subdued by the LE. I saw the abulance, with CC in it, still at the scene and then drive off, about 8:30.)

How did the killer know which window was unlocked? This apparently was the only screen tampered with. Did he get lucky on the first try?

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

Bingo! I'd like to explore this angle more. The more we're figuring out, the more it's pointing to a crime of passion where he just snapped. I think the letters were a ruse to scare Sheri into staying in the marriage, i.e. "We can't get a divorce, you and the boys need me to protect you from this maniac", not to set up a premeditated murder of his entire family.

What I am thinking is that the house was used by CC - either he was staying there if things I have heard about them being separated are true, or he used it for a romantic hide away. I think he wanted her scared to stay with him, being aware of the provision in his employment against divorce. I think SC had found out about the affair - maybe only very recently - and wanted him out. Someone on the Post site posted a comment the other day that they knew someone who's sister was going to move in with SC to help with expenses - now, that hasn't been reported/verified, but, there was a ring of truth to her post, and, no, I can't find it right now, as there are a lot of comments on various articles there and I don't have time today or this weekend to go back through them all.

I think he thought he could first stay in the marriage, and when that proved untrue, he snapped and figured better an employed grieving widower than an unemployed divorced man. Maybe he figured that his position would make LE take his word for what happened, that they would see the threats he had reported and just say "well, then, they were strangled" and not look too hard at evidence. Maybe this is why he called JM out so soon that morning - that people would see her there and think, she trusts him, so should we.

MOO

 

[analytical]

Bingo! I'd like to explore this angle more. The more we're figuring out, the more it's pointing to a crime of passion where he just snapped. I think the letters were a ruse to scare Sheri into staying in the marriage, i.e. "We can't get a divorce, you and the boys need me to protect you from this maniac", not to set up a premeditated murder of his entire family.

I read in a blog post comment section this morning a comment that came from someone claiming to be a neighbor who reported Sherri said she wasn't scared as she kept a gun by her bed and "knew how to use it".

 

[Amster]

About the neighbor hearing a scream....if I heard a scream, unless the person/persons were outside, I don't know if I could say which house the scream came from. Calling 911 and reporting I heard a scream in the vicinity of my home may cause an officer to drive by....but, unless the screamer is outside or the screams were still happening....what could LE do?

Do we know what the autopsy shows as to time of death?

 

[chestergal]

There are many way to choke a person to death. One is by putting the person into a head lock and even possibly snapping their neck to kill them. This is a common military technique. There are air choke and blood choke techniques.

I read on another board that he killed the boys with his hands and used a coat hanger (or bale wire) to choke Sheri to death. (how true that is I don't know)

If this is too graphic please let me know and I will edit it out.

How to Understand The Difference Between an Air Choke vs. a Blood Choke
http://www.ehow.com/how_4677540_air-choke-vs-blood-choke.html

 

[Garnan]

I'll never get through reading all the posts tonight. I have to wonder if LE took CC's clothing and/or performed tests on his hands, etc. If spray paint was used it's likely whoever did the spraying had evidence of that on them somewhere.

This crime makes me ill. Sheri was a former MP, and if she wasn't drugged, I'll bet she fought hard. Hope there is an arrest soon.

I respectfully disagree. All he had to do was sit on them and pin their arms with his legs. Especially on a soft bed, there would be very little you could do to defend yourself.

Sickening.

 

[mikeysmommom]

I read in a blog post comment section this morning a comment that came from someone claiming to be a neighbor who reported Sherri said she wasn't scared as she kept a gun by her bed and "knew how to use it".

If this is true , then I would think they or at least Sheri was drugged. It does make sense since they did get those letters.I would think she would feel more secure with a gun near by.

 

[chestergal]

I respectfully disagree. All he had to do was sit on them and pin their arms with his legs. Especially on a soft bed, there would be very little you could do to defend yourself.

Sickening.

I agree but if he went for a blood choke all he would have to do is filp them over quickly while they were sleeping (in the process wrapping them up in the top bed sheet that may have been on top of them) and do a blood choke on them while they are on their stomachs. They would be out cold quickly, within about 10 seconds.

They wouldn't even know what hit them.

Trust me he was trained how to do this and even practiced it in the military.

again if this is too graphic please let me know and I will remove it.

 

[Lindadanette]

I do not think you could really scream (make a little noise yes) when being choked (I could not, I was trying and finally managed to hit him enough to wake him up)the pressure on your throat is just too much.
My boys at that age would have been sound asleep.

I believe I have read it only takes about 4 minutes to strangle some one and I would think most of fighting back would be over within 2 IMO.
I can imagine him doing this without waking anyone up.

ITA - I was attacked and almost killed by someone in 2000. The attack began with the attempt to strangle me. I can tell you that, from experience, you are fighting to get his hands from around your throat - you don't even think of screaming at that point. I was able to get under his little finger and pull it back (he was in front of me) and then bit his hand as hard as I could.

The attack went on for another 15 minutes and I won't burden you with the details, but when I could scream - I screamed bloody murder. It's truly by grace of God that I am here to tell the story. He was charged with Kidnapping and Aggravated Battery. He was a transient and mentally ill, he broke the head off of a concrete statue of Jesus that I had in my entry way, and did over $10,000 worth of damage to my home before the swat team got there. So I know what it's like to be targeted because of faith (I was leading a bible study at a homeless shelter) and because I felt sorry for him and tried to help.

Long story short, the kids wouldn't have stood a chance against an angry man bent on destroying them. But I imagine that Sheri fought at least as hard as I did. BTW, his name is/was Steven Ashley Martin, and I am certain that I am not his only victim.

 

[Carrington]

Hummm,
If I was said Ninja, I would be thinking SC may have a gun close by and shoot my a**.
Which as we know from her background she was more than capable of doing.
Therefore, I would decide my plan sucked and come up with a more secure plan and save my said a**.
IMO

 

[mikeysmommom]

I use to sleep so soundly if the smoke detectors went off(and we have 10)I would sleep thru it.When I became a mom a cough or sneeze would wake me up.Once kids grew up I now sleep soundly unless my grandson is here. I would think most mom's are like this.I am really starting to believe she was drugged,If she had a gun close by a stranger would not know it but her husband would.This stranger sure was lucky he or she did not get blown away.

 

[mikeysmommom]

I agree but if he went for a blood choke all he would have to do is filp them over quickly while they were sleeping (in the process wrapping them up in the top bed sheet that may have been on top of them) and do a blood choke on them while they are their stomachs. They would be out cold quickly, within about 10 seconds.

They wouldn't even know what hit them.

Trust me he was trained how to do this and even practiced it in the military.

again if this is too graphic please let me know and I will remove it.

I saw a comment where they were found on their tummies, if true then this fits.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Chestergal~ We get very graphic here at times. Don't worry about it. If it pertains to the case, the MOD, or COD, we go to places most boards do not because we research it extensively. There isn't much we haven't discussed at one time or another. It can be difficult and sometimes we have to walk away, but it is done to understand the true nature of the crime. We have to understand what took place, how long it would take, and other unsavory details. In this case, it is very important because of the limited time frame.

 

[Texas Mist]

I think I have been at that same site ............In the comment section someone wrote the wife was killed with a hanger.Just such a horrible thing to even imagine.

yepperz...saw the post about the hanger & the "hands" on the boys....made me nauseous.

Also, I read somewhere (I think it was comments @ fox2news site) that Sheri was into aerobics....sounds like she was in good physical condition & with her prior military training would not have been the "average" target....if someone such as the mysterious stranger who sent the "threats" were the perp, this person would have to have a *lot* of confidence in his own physical abilities to overtake her, right?

Wish I could remember more on the case, but a spouse hired a hitman to kill his wife, she came home & found the "burglar" & she strangled *him*.

So to me, this "confidence" that the perp had in successfully murdering 3 people during the early a.m. hours says a lot.

 

[kinsey milhoune]

TOD, I believe, will be the smoking gun in this whole case. With the short interval between the time CC left the house and when the family was discovered murdered there wuld have been little time for their body temperature to drop significantly. So if the coroner reports that the body temperature was such that the TOD was hours earlier, when CC was home, then I think there is little reason to doubt who the murderer is.

Of course we aren't privy to that info just yet. But the investigators are and they seem convinced that they know who the person responsible is. Any other evidence compiled, including circumstancial evidence, will just bolster their conclusion.

Oh that is so correct!!!! He left his window of opportunity so small, an unknown killer would have to have been right there waiting for him to leave to do all that.

Plus, that is correct too, if the deterioration of the bodies was more than just a few hours, then he has cooked his own goose, since it hasn't been stated that they were alone all nite & he was gone all nite!!!

 

[Stella5]

What I am thinking is that the house was used by CC - either he was staying there if things I have heard about them being separated are true, or he used it for a romantic hide away. I think he wanted her scared to stay with him, being aware of the provision in his employment against divorce. I think SC had found out about the affair - maybe only very recently - and wanted him out. Someone on the Post site posted a comment the other day that they knew someone who's sister was going to move in with SC to help with expenses - now, that hasn't been reported/verified, but, there was a ring of truth to her post, and, no, I can't find it right now, as there are a lot of comments on various articles there and I don't have time today or this weekend to go back through them all.

I think he thought he could first stay in the marriage, and when that proved untrue, he snapped and figured better an employed grieving widower than an unemployed divorced man. Maybe he figured that his position would make LE take his word for what happened, that they would see the threats he had reported and just say "well, then, they were strangled" and not look too hard at evidence. Maybe this is why he called JM out so soon that morning - that people would see her there and think, she trusts him, so should we.

MOO

I totally agree with that statement!!!

 

[mikeysmommom]

yepperz...saw the post about the hanger & the "hands" on the boys....made me nauseous.

Also, I read somewhere (I think it was comments @ fox2news site) that Sheri was into aerobics....sounds like she was in good physical condition & with her prior military training would not have been the "average" target....if someone such as the mysterious stranger who sent the "threats" were the perp, this person would have to have a *lot* of confidence in his own physical abilities to overtake her, right?

Wish I could remember more on the case, but a spouse hired a hitman to kill his wife, she came home & found the "burglar" & she strangled *him*.

So to me, this "confidence" that the perp had in successfully murdering 3 people during the early a.m. hours says a lot.

I remember that too.......Do not remember name just remembering wishing that happened more often!!! I think If she had any chance at all the perp would have become the victim.That is why I am leaning towards her being drugged.............or if her husband made like he was being affectionate she would have been totally off guard...........Just Sayin

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I read in a blog post comment section this morning a comment that came from someone claiming to be a neighbor who reported Sherri said she wasn't scared as she kept a gun by her bed and "knew how to use it".

This would fit more into the scenario of Chris being responsible since she would not fear him as an attacker. If she had a gun nearby and heard someone coming into the basement...it would logically be the first thing she would grab to defend herself and family. She would have the upper hand when he got to the bedroom door to find a gun pointed at his heart or head. With her training, she could have followed through with the shot.