Court date set for Santa Barbara man accused of killing his children
LOS ANGELES – Matthew Taylor Coleman, the Santa Barbara man accused of killing his two young children in Mexico, will appear in court in September.
He is scheduled to appear in federal court in southern California for a proceeding hearing Sept. 9. Coleman was originally supposed to be in court for his arraignment Tuesday.
His September court date will not be an arraignment, but rather "further proceedings," according to Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley. Dudley says her office will be involved in the case, but she will not be in attendance during this scheduled proceeding.
The Santa Barbara man, who operated a popular local surf school alongside his wife, has been charged with brutally killing his two young children in Mexico in early August. Coleman allegedly admitted to the killings and told investigators he was influenced by Illuminati and QAnon conspiracies. He told detective he believed his wife was possessed with "serpent DNA" which she had passed onto their children and believed he had to kill his children to "save the world."
The case has garnered national attention. Over the last several weeks, memorial sites have been set up around Santa Barbara in honor of the children.
NewsChannel 3-12 will continue to follow the case as it makes its way through the federal court system.
