A California father accused of killing his two young children has reportedly attempted to harm himself in federal lockup. Matthew Taylor Coleman, a QAnon follower and former surf shop owner, allegedly killed his 2-year-old son, Kaleo, and 10-month-old daughter, Roxy, because he believed they possessed serpent DNA. He was deemed incompetent to stand trial in October 2023, and is now under constant supervision.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Coleman has reportedly tried to harm himself in multiple ways and is being medicated against his will.
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Coleman reportedly meets the criteria for mental illness.
Per a filing by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, a doctor determined Coleman meets the criteria for unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychiatric disorders. He reportedly is unable to understand the charges against him or defend himself. He has been medicated in prison since May.
Coleman has allegedly attempted self-harm.
Court documents show Coleman has cut himself with a razor, repeatedly punched himself in the face, and slammed his head against the floor. He also reportedly dove into a toilet headfirst. He resides in an undisclosed federal medical facility in Southern California and pleaded not guilty.
He allegedly killed his children out of fear.
The father of two reportedly told federal agents in 2021, that he killed Kaleo and Roxy because he believed serpent DNA possessed them. He wanted to protect the human race, so he took off from his Santa Barbara home with his children and drove over the border into Mexico, where he allegedly stabbed them with a spearfishing gun and left them for dead.
He was arrested while trying to re-enter the United States.
After his arrest, he compared his visions to The Matrix. Court documents state that Coleman was trying to decode a message and believed his wife, Abby Coleman, might be a shapeshifter.
"He said visions and signs revealed his wife, [Abby Coleman], possessed serpent DNA ([He] mentioned that he was not sure if his wife was a shapeshifter) and had passed it onto his children and that all things were pointing to the idea that his children have corrupted DNA that will spread if something is not done about it," the affidavit reads.
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The father's alleged actions shocked the community.
According to the New York Post, his wife moved back to Texas to be with family. Deb Fletcher, whose son took surf lessons from Coleman, couldn't believe the news.
"I really had no idea. He could be intense, but nothing that would indicate that he was so mentally off. I wonder if he just snapped," she said.
"This came out of nowhere," a family friend said. "He always seemed normal, I wish we had known that this was coming. It's really sad."
