A California father who allegedly killed his children believing they had snake DNA tried to harm himself in jail

According to the New York Post exclusive, the murderous father was found cutting himself with a razor, trying to flush himself down the toilet, hitting himself in the face and hitting his head on the floor.

In 2023, Coleman, a California surf instructor, was declared incompetent to stand trial after being accused of taking his children to Rosarito, Mexico, stabbing them with a fishing spear and then leaving them to die. Earlier this year, prosecutors urged the Federal Bureau of Prisons to medicate him against his will to regain his ability to stand trial.

Matthew Taylor Coleman is being medicated against his will; he was deemed incompetent to stand trial

As the situation continued to worsen in the Santa Barbara man’s case, the process of involuntary medication eventually began and Coleman is now under constant supervision. What shocked people from his past is how mentally ill the instructor who was initially sought is.

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A court filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California states that a prison doctor has determined that the 40-year-old defendant’s symptoms are consistent with unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychiatric disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

In February, sources told the NY Post that the California man seemed to have no idea that his children were dead and kept talking about them “sometimes in the present tense.” The same problem arose when it came to understanding the allegations against him. Given his current state, prosecutors say he is not defending himself in the matter.

What happened in 2021?

Before the tragedy occurred, Coleman was due to go on a family trip with his children and his wife, Abby, on August 7, 2021. The defendant abruptly left with his two children in his SUV. His wife later reported him and the children missing from their home in Santa Barbara. Authorities eventually tracked him down in Mexico, where Coleman reportedly took his children to kill them.

After a two-day stay at a hotel, he attempted to re-enter the United States when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested him. Although his children were nowhere to be seen with him, two children matching his descriptions were discovered at a nearby ranch that same morning. During an interview at the border, he confessed to the murders, told authorities where he had left his children to die, and explained his motives.

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Motives are given for the alleged murder of a California man’s children

At the time of his arrest, he allegedly told authorities he was motivated by the QAnon conspiracy theory that his children had snake DNA and should be killed to save the world. When asked if he knew what he was doing wrong, Coleman said he did, “but it was the only course of action that would save the world,” according to the complaint.

An excerpt from the 30-page search warrant application reads: “He stated that visions and signs revealed that his wife, A.C. (Abby Coleman), possessed snake DNA ((He) mentioned that he was not sure if his wife was a shapeshifter) and had passed it on to his children and that all things pointed to the idea that his children have corrupted DNA that will spread if something is not done about it.”

The former surf instructor is currently being held at a federal medical facility in Southern California (his whereabouts have not been disclosed to the public). Coleman was charged with two counts of murder of U.S. citizens on foreign soil. He has not entered a plea.