Matthew Taylor Coleman – Social media found for QAnon dad who ‘shot kids in chest with spear gun over “serpent DNA”‘
A father and surf school owner "obsessed with QAnon" has been accused of killing his two children with a spear gun believing that they were "serpent monsters".
Matthew Coleman, 40, the founder and owner of the Lovewater surfing school in Santa Barbara, California, is said to have admitted to cops that he killed his kids in Mexico on Monday.
Coleman told agents that he took his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter to Rosarito, where he shot them with a "spear-fishing gun" in the chests, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
He reportedly told authorities that "he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them," the court document said.
The papers also revealed that, after being detained at a border checkpoint, Coleman told an FBI agent that "he was enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA and passed it on to his children."
Coleman's socials show multiple pictures of his wife and children before the incident.
Read our Matthew Coleman live blog below for the latest news and updates...
WHAT WERE COLEMAN'S CHARGES?
The 40-year-old father was charged with with foreign murder of U.S. nationals and remains in federal custody, the authorities said.
He is scheduled for arraignment on August 31.
WHAT IS A SERPENT?
The serpent - or snake - is one of the oldest and most common mythological symbols and has become associated with evil.
The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake.
In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, the serpent who tempts them to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden is popularly equated with the Devil.
In the Genesis account Satan - the Devil - tempted Eve with the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
LAST INSTAGRAM POST WITH HIS CHILDREN
KALEO & ROXY
WHAT IS SERPENT DNA?
Serpent DNA is a likely to be a reference to the "lizard people" conspiracy theory associated with QAnon.
It falsely purports that reptilian aliens secretly run the world and have taken over important positions in government, banking and Hollywood.
The conspiracy theory contends that powerful people worldwide are actually human-lizard hybrids.
WHERE DID COLEMAN TAKE HIS CHILDREN?
An iPhone-finding application placed Coleman's phone in Rosarito on Sunday, and on Monday it was traced to an area of Mexico near the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance video obtained by Baja California investigators shows he checked into a hotel in Rosarito on Saturday with his two children, the LA Times reports.
Baja California prosecutor Hiram Sánchez Zamora said video showed left the hotel on Monday at 2:54am.with both children but returned to the hotel at 6:33am but without them.
WHAT HAPPENED TO ABBY COLEMAN'S CHILDREN?
Coleman confessed to the FBI during an interview that he took his children to Rosarito, Mexico.
There he fired a spear fishing gun into their chests, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent with the criminal complaint.
Coleman was detained after his wife reported him missing to Santa Barbara police on Saturday.
His wife told police that her husband had left in the family's van and she wasn't sure where they were going.
COLEMAN ALLEGEDLY BELIEVED HIS CHILDREN WOULD GROW INTO MONSTERS
But Coleman said that he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them, according to a court document.
He said receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife possessed serpent DNA and had passed it on to his children, according to the affidavit.
Serpent DNA is a likely to be a reference to the "lizard people" conspiracy theory associated with QAnon.
WHO IS MATTHEW COLEMAN'S WIFE ABBY?
Abby is the mother of the couple’s two-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter.
Coleman co-founded the surfing school Lovewater Surf Co in Santa Barbara, California with his wife.
“Matt and Abby enjoy finding ways to better lives through surfing, experiential education and community-based projects,” says the school’s website.
The site is still live with pictures of Coleman and his smiling family.
WITHOUT BOND
Coleman remains in custody without bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on August 31.
WHAT IS QANON?
QAnon is a far-right baseless theory that centers around an anonymous source Q who is apparently trying to tell the world a secret – or multiple secrets.
The conspiracy alleges that a cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring. The allegations are entirely unfounded.
WHERE DID COLEMAN'S WIFE THINK HE WAS GOING?
His wife told police that her husband had left in the family's van for a camping trip and she wasn't sure where they were going, according to reports.
She told cops that she didn't believe the children were in danger, according to court documents.
'ONLY COURSE OF ACTION'
FBI agent Jennifer Bannon wrote in a complaint obtained by People: "Coleman stated that he knew it was wrong but it was the only course of action that would save the world."
WHAT IS COLEMAN ACCUSED OF?
Coleman allegedly killed his two children in Rosarito, Mexico because he believed they "were going to grow into serpent monsters", according to a court document.
The surfing school owner reportedly told an FBI agent that he was "enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories".
He claimed he received “visions and signs”, alleging that his wife possessed serpent DNA, according to a police affidavit.
LAST FAMILY PHOTO
Credit: Instagram
‘ENLIGHTENED’ BY QANON
Coleman was detained at the border checkpoint, where during an interview with an FBI agent he explained that he was “enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA and had passed it on to his children,” according to the affidavit.
He is facing a federal charge of the foreign murder of U.S. nationals, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
FARMWORKER FOUND KIDS’ BODIES IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, SAY AUTHORITIES
A farmworker found the children’s bodies on Monday at a ranch near Rosarito in Baja California, authorities there have said.
An iPhone-finding application placed Coleman’s phone in Rosarito on Sunday, and on Monday it was traced to an area of Mexico near the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, according to the affidavit.
COLEMAN AND HIS KIDS CHECKED IN TO A ROSARITO HOTEL ON SATURDAY
Coleman and the children apparently checked into a Rosarito hotel on Saturday and were seen in video footage leaving before dawn on Monday.
Coleman later returned to the hotel himself and was detained later that day near an entry point into the US in San Diego.
ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS COLEMAN 'WAS WELL AWARE OF HIS ACTIONS'
At a press conference on Tuesday, Baja, California's Attorney General Hiram Sanchez said that Coleman was well aware of the consequences of his actions.
"We are talking about someone who was educated and had degrees," he said.
"It was clear to him of the consequences he could face for the actions he was taking."
FARMWORKER FOUND KIDS' BODIES IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, SAY AUTHORITIES
A farmworker found the children's bodies on Monday at a ranch near Rosarito in Baja California, authorities there have said.
An iPhone-locating application was placed Coleman's phone in Rosarito on Sunday, and on Monday, it was traced to an area of Mexico near the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, according to the affidavit.
COLEMAN CLAIMED KIDS WERE 'MONSTERS'
Coleman, of Santa Barbara, told authorities that "he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them," the court document said.
According to an affidavit, he believed "his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA and passed it on to his children."
COLEMAN CLAIMED TO BE 'ENLIGHTENED BY QANON'
After being detained at a border checkpoint, Coleman told an FBI agent that "he was enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA and passed it on to his children," the affidavit said.
DAD ADMITED TO HORRIFYING MURDERS
A "Qanon-obsessed" dad is accused of killing his two kids with a spear gun believing that they were "serpent monsters," cops said.
Matthew Coleman, 40, who owns a surfing school in California, reportedly admitted to the FBI that he killed the two children in Mexico on Monday.
He told FBI agents that he took his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter to Rosarito, Mexico, and shot them with a "spear-fishing gun" in the chests, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
HOW DID QANON START?
The bizarre theory originated in December 2016, when Edgar M.Welch entered a Washington DC pizza parlour and demanded to see a basement that did not exist.
According to NBC, he believed the restaurant was part of a child sex ring, a conspiracy known as Pizzagate.
The US news site reported that eight months later, a person going by "Q" posted for the first time on the anonymous politics message board 4chan, known to be a hotbed of conspiracy talk.
WHAT IS QANON? (CONTINUED...)
Supporters of the entirely unfounded theory believe that this ring is filled with celebrities and political elites, who have been covertly running the United States government for decades.
The theory gained more press coverage after a supporter held a vast letter Q at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania in August 2018.
In June 2018, an armed QAnon follower blocked traffic at the Hoover Dam, demanding the president release a report allegedly tying past presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to the alleged sex ring.
The protester, Matthew Wright, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in February 2020.
The movement seemed to lose steam with Trump's election loss, with QAnon supporters demanding "what happened to the coup?"