Man allegedly inspired by QAnon, Illuminati conspiracy theories
A Santa Barbara man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly taking his two young kids to Rosarito, Mexico, and killing them.
According to a complaint by a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent, Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, believed he was “saving the world from monsters.”
He allegedly used a fishing gun to pierce the chests of his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter and disposed of the bodies on the side of the road.
He told investigators he was enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracies and had been receiving visions that his wife passed “serpent DNA” to his children, according to the federal complaint.
His wife initially called Santa Barbara Police officers Saturday. The family had planned to go camping but instead, her husband and kids had left in the family’s van without a car seat.
She did not believe the kids or herself were in danger but wanted the officer to call Mr. Coleman.
SBPD Officer Michael Chung followed up Sunday evening.
He instructed her to use the “Find My iPhone” application to locate her husband, and the phone had last registered to an open-air marketplace in Rosarito.
SBPD engaged the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol in the case, and they waited for Mr. Coleman to cross into the United States.
He reached the border at 1 p.m. Monday, and Customs and Border Protection officers noticed what appeared to be blood on his vehicle’s registration paperwork.
There were no other occupants in the vehicle.
Law enforcement in Rosarito found the bodies of two children that morning. Mr. Coleman later identified and initialed photographs taken at the scene of the discovery.
Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles detained Mr. Coleman during his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon. Arraignment is set for Aug. 31.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.
email: ahanshaw@newspress.com
