Calif. man accused of killing his 2 young kids with spear gun is deemed not competent to stand trial

SAN DIEGO (TCD) -- A Southern California man who was arrested in 2021 for allegedly kidnapping his young children and killing them with a spearfishing gun in Mexico because they were "possessed by serpent DNA" was found not competent to stand trial.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports a judge in the U.S. District Court of Southern California determined the ruling Thursday, Oct. 12. The suspect will reportedly undergo a second competency hearing in March and will be sent to a facility until then.

Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California charged Matthew Coleman in September 2021 with two counts of foreign first-degree murder of United States nationals in connection with the death of his 2-year-old son, Kaleo, and 10-month-old daughter, Roxy. He was indicted on the same charges in the Central District of California, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said those charges will be dropped.

According to the affidavit, on Aug. 7, 2021, Coleman allegedly took Kaleo and Roxy from their home in Santa Barbara and drove them to Rosarito, Mexico. While there, he allegedly "murdered his children by shooting a spearfishing gun into their chests," then left their bodies in a ditch.

Around the same time, Coleman’s wife spoke with law enforcement, and she said Coleman told her he was taking the kids on a camping trip. The wife reportedly "did not believe that M. Coleman would harm their children, nor did she believe her children were in any danger," but she expressed some concern because Coleman did not have a car seat in his vehicle.

One day later, on Aug. 8, 2021, Coleman’s wife reported them missing to the Santa Barbara Police Department. Police used Find My iPhone to pinpoint Coleman and saw he was in Rosarito. Santa Barbara Police contacted the FBI, and he was stopped at a port of entry Aug. 9, 2021, without any other occupants in the car.

The special agent at the border reportedly noticed blood on the car’s registration paperwork.

According to the affidavit, Coleman allegedly confessed to killing Kaleo and Roxy because "he believed his children were going to grow into monsters, so he had to kill them."

Their bodies were found Aug. 9, 2021, with "large puncture wounds in their chest cavities."

After allegedly killing them, Coleman discarded the gun and bloody clothing in a creek and in a trash can in Tijuana.

Coleman was reportedly "enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories," which supposedly gave him visions that his wife "possessed serpent DNA and had passed it onto his children."

He allegedly claimed he "was saving the world from monsters."

The affidavit says Coleman admitted he knew his actions were wrong, but "it was the only course of action that would save the world."

Prosecutors were reportedly debating about whether to pursue the death penalty, but in January, they announced they would not, according to KFMB-TV.

MORE:

• Conspiracy theorist charged with killing his children in Rosarito not competent to stand trial, judge finds - San Diego Union-Tribune
• United States of America v. Matthew Taylor Coleman
• Santa Barbara Man Indicted in San Diego for Killing his Children in Mexico, 9/8/2021 - U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California
• No death penalty for California surf instructor who killed his two young children in Baja, 1/31/2023 - KFMB
• Matthew Coleman case: Dad believed kids were 'possessed by serpent DNA' before killing them, 8/12/2021 - TCD
• California surf school owner arrested on suspicion of killing his children in Mexico, 8/11/2021 - TCD