Saturday, Jul. 11, 2009

Coroner's jury in Coleman's deaths: Five minutes to decide they were murders

It took a Monore County coroner's jury about five minutes Friday to determine that the deaths of Sheri Coleman and her two sons were homicides by ligature strangulation.

Christopher Coleman, Sheri Coleman's husband and the boys' father, is charged with all three murders.

"The details of the case are disturbing, clearly," said Coleman's lawyer, Art Margulis, who attended the coroner's inquest. "As anyone would imagine, they are disturbing."

After the sort hearing, Margulis said he is considering asking that the case be moved out of the metro-east because of publicity surrounding it and a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by Sheri Coleman's family.

"Well, we could do without (the publicity) because it does impact the criminal case," Margulis said.

Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards was the only witness during the 10-minute hearing called by Monroe County Coroner Julie Gummersheimer to determine the cause and manner of death for Sheri Coleman, 31, Garett Coleman, 11 and Gavin Coleman, 9.

Edwards told the six jurors and one alternate that Detective Justin Barlow received a call on his cell phone at 6:50 a.m. May 5 from his neighbor Christopher Coleman asking him to check on Coleman's wife and children. Coleman said he was calling from Gold's Gym in south St. Louis County, and that he was concerned because his family wasn't answering the phone. Months earlier, Barlow had investigated Coleman's complaint involving letters threatening his family.

After receiving Coleman's call, Barlow got up, got dressed, then called Columbia police dispatcher for an additional officer. Sgt. Jason Donjon arrived and went to the back of the house, located at 2845 Robert Drive, and discovered an open basement window. Barlow and Donjon entered the home through the window, Edwards testified.

The two went up the basement steps and discovered a spray-painted message on the kitchen wall that Edwards described as "obscene and vulgar."

Christopher Coleman, who at the time was a bodyguard for televangelist Joyce Meyer, arrived at the home at the same time as Patrolman Steve Patton, who also responded to Barlow's request for assistance. They told Coleman was told to wait outside.

Barlow discovered Garett Coleman's body in his bed, Edwards said. He checked and could not find a pulse. He noticed a ligature mark on the boy's neck and that the body was "cold and stiff," Edwards said.

Donjon found Sheri's body, which was "locked and rigid," Edwards said. There were also ligature marks on her neck.

Patton found Gavin's body in his bed. He also had ligature marks on his neck, but Patton didn't touch the body because he believed there was "evidence on the body," Edwards said.

"A disturbing message was sprayed on the sheet that covered him," Edwards said.

The officers told Coleman about his family's deaths and they put him into an ambulance, then radioed Edwards, who came to the house.

Forensic pathologist Raj Nanduri conducted the autopsies. Toxicology reports showed no drugs or alcohol in their blood, Gummersheimer said.

Two weeks later, police charged Coleman with the murders. He is being held without bond in the Monroe County Jail.

During police questioning before his arrest, Coleman admitted to having an affair with St. Petersburg, Fla., dog-track waitress Tara Lintz, who was a high school friend of his wife, according to court records. Coleman and Lintz planned to be married in January. The night before the murders, Coleman told Lintz in a telephone conversation that Sheri Coleman would receive divorce papers the next day, according to court records.

Art and William Margulis are seeking certification by the Illinois Capital Litigation Trial Bar to continue working on Christopher Coleman's case if the Monroe County state's attorney decides to seek the death penalty, Margulis said. Both men have tried numerous murder cases, as well as death penalty cases before the 1997 reforms, and are trying to expedite their certification.

"We anticipate this case will go to trial next year," Margulis told reporters.