Coleman Family Update 21 May

An Illinois man accused of strangling his wife and two young sons pleaded not guilty Wednesday and was ordered held without bail.

During a brief court appearance, Chris Coleman answered "Yes, sir" when asked if he understood the charges.

Coleman, 32, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sheri Coleman, 31, and their children, 11-year-old Garett and 9-year-old Gavin. All three were found dead in their Columbia home on May 5.

The day the bodies were found, Coleman called police from a gym and asked a Columbia police officer who had investigated prior threats related to the family to check on their well-being, investigators have said.

Coleman told officials that he called the house and no one answered, authorities said.

Officials have declined to discuss details about the alleged threats. Some neighbors in the well-kept subdivision have said the Colemans received threatening letters and that their mailbox was tampered with.

Police went to the home that morning and discovered the bodies. Shortly after, Coleman arrived and appeared visibly upset.

Coleman's attorney, William Margulis, refused to discuss anything relating to a possible death penalty.

"My client, Mr. Coleman, maintains his innocence and we'll play this out," Margulis said.

He told reporters he would likely seek to move the trial out of Monroe County. When Coleman arrived at the courthouse in Waterloo, a small crowd had gathered nearby and shouted insults at him.

Coleman was arrested Tuesday at his parents' home in Chester, about 40 miles from Columbia, said Jeff Connor of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.

"We've done all we could to solve this as quickly as we could but as efficiently as we could," Connor said after the arrest.

A preliminary hearing was set for June 10.

Coleman worked security for Joyce Meyer Ministries, a Fenton, Mo.-based evangelical Christian group. Joyce Meyer spokesman Roby Walker said last week that Coleman resigned after an internal inquiry found he failed to follow a ministry policy. Walker would not say what policy Coleman allegedly violated. (He was probably fired for being a cheating sleazeball on company time. That never looks good, especially when you work for a church.)

Now we just have to wait for the girlfriend to come forward like Amber Frey. Hopefully the trial doesn't become all about her the way the Scott Peterson trial became all about Amber.

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