Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2009

Coleman claimed in Joyce Meyer job application that he protected U.S. president

Christopher Coleman, accused of strangling his wife and two sons, told Joyce Meyer Ministries in his job application that he worked with the U.S. Secret Service protecting President Clinton and other heads of state.

Coleman wrote in his application dated Oct. 25, 2000, that was faxed from his father's church, Grace Church Ministries in Chester, that while serving as a U.S. Marine as a military police officer, he specialized in physical security.

Coleman, the $100,000 per year former personal bodyguard of televangelist Joyce Meyer, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the ligature strangulations of his 31-year-old wife and their sons, Gavin, 9, and Garett, 11.

More than 400 pages of Joyce Meyer Ministries documents filed in a wrongful death lawsuit against former employee Christopher Coleman were released last week to plaintiff's lawyers.

Among those documents were his application to Joyce Meyer Ministries. As part of the application, he completed a "spiritual criteria form" and stated that he was born again in March 1986 and began speaking in tongues in June 1988.

He also reported that his wife, Sheri Coleman, was born again in October 1998 and began speaking in tongues the same month. Sheri Coleman was found dead May 5 with her two sons in their Columbia home.

When asked how he learned about Joyce Meyer Ministries, Coleman responded, "I learned about Joyce Meyer Ministries through my mother who used to attend meetings when there was only 14 or 15 women attending them."

Coleman also signed a release allowing Joyce Meyer Ministries to check his credit.

On May 13 -- eight days after his wife and sons were killed, Coleman was allowed to resign. The ministries' original document stated it was "management's decision" to terminate the employment; however, Coleman crossed out those two words and wrote Christopher Coleman's personal decision.

The document also showed that Coleman received a $10,000 advance the day after his wife and sons were found murdered.

Roby Walker, the ministries' spokesman, wrote that Christopher Coleman confirmed having an extramarital affair with a female in Florida, who was later identified in police documents as Sheri Coleman's high school friend, Tara Lintz.

"Chris admitted to meeting the female later in Houston, Texas, and in Honolulu, Hawaii," Walker wrote. "Chris made the confession to Michael Shepard a day or two before (on either May 11 or 12)."

Walker met with Coleman and his father, the Rev. Ron Coleman, at the family home in Chester at 2 p.m. May 13. During that discussion, Christopher Coleman admitted the affair. Ron Coleman also told Walker, according to the memo, that Christopher Coleman told him he couldn't do the job anymore and intended to resign.

In February, Christopher Coleman's salary rose from $72,000 a year to $100,000 a year. The increase was backdated to Dec. 14, 2007. It also noted that Christopher Coleman traveled 170 days a year.

Coleman remains in the Monroe County Jail without bond.