Matthew Taylor Coleman, a California QAnon follower accused of killing two young children with an underwater gun, had attempted to harm himself multiple times in federal prison, including cutting himself with a razor, diving headfirst into a toilet, punching himself in the face and slamming his head repeatedly into the floor, according to court records.
According to court records, Coleman allegedly killed 2-year-old Kaleo and 10-month-old Roxy in 2021 because he believed they had snake DNA, and they are now under constant supervision and have begun administering medication against their will.
According to court filings from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Southern California, prison doctors determined the 40-year-old met criteria for an unspecified schizophrenia spectrum disorder and other mental illnesses.
Prosecutors say the defendant is unable to understand the charges against him and is unable to participate in his own defense.
He has been taking the medication since May of last year.
On August 7, 2021, Coleman and his wife, Abby, were preparing for a family trip when, without warning, he suddenly put their two children in a van and drove away from their Santa Barbara home, authorities said.
Coleman took the children across the border into Mexico and stayed at a resort hotel for two days before driving them to a ranch where he stabbed them to death with a spearfishing gun, investigators say.
He was arrested when he attempted to re-enter the United States.
Coleman has been charged with two counts of murdering a U.S. citizen abroad. He is being held at an undisclosed federal medical facility in Southern California and has pleaded not guilty.
He is being represented by a court-appointed lawyer, who did not respond to a request for comment.
When Coleman was arrested in 2021, he allegedly told federal officials he killed the children because he believed the QAnon conspiracy theory that the children carried snake DNA and needed to be killed to protect humanity, according to a 30-page search warrant application made public at the time.
Coleman, speaking at times incoherently, reportedly told FBI agents that he was “watching all the pieces unravel, like in the Matrix,” and that he was Neo, the main character in the film.
“He said that visions and signs had revealed to him his wife, A.C. [Abby Coleman]had snake DNA ([He] “He stated that he did not know if his wife was a shapeshifter, but that all of the circumstances made it clear that he believed she had passed it on to their children, that their DNA was damaged, and that it would spread if nothing was done,” the affidavit states.
After Coleman's arrest, his wife, Abby, left California and returned to her home state of Texas, where she now lives with her family.
But those who know Coleman are stunned by the shocking allegations against him.
“I had no idea,” said Deb Fletcher, whose son had taken surfing lessons from Coleman before the murders. “He may have had a fiery personality, but there was no indication he was mentally unstable. I think he just lost his temper.”
“This just happened out of the blue,” added a family friend who grew up with Coleman. “He always seemed normal. I wish we'd known this would happen. It's really sad.”
