The Coleman family appeared to have the perfect life—until May 5, 2009, when a horrifying discovery shattered that image forever. Inside their Columbia, Illinois, home, 31-year-old Sheri Coleman and her two young sons, 11-year-old Garrett and 9-year-old Gavin, were found brutally murdered. They had all been strangled to death, sparking an intense investigation that would ultimately uncover a dark secret: a husband’s deadly betrayal.
Chris Coleman, a security chief for televangelist Joyce Meyer, projected the image of a devoted family man, but behind closed doors, he was leading a double life. Sheri had begun suspecting that her husband was having an affair, and those suspicions would prove tragically correct. Investigators soon discovered that Chris had been engaged in a long-term extramarital relationship with Tara Lintz, a woman from Florida whom he had met years earlier. As the relationship intensified, Chris became desperate to escape his marriage—without jeopardizing his career, which required him to maintain a Christian family image.
Before the murders, the Colemans had received a series of threatening emails and letters warning that Sheri and the children were in danger. The chilling messages, which seemed to be from an anonymous stalker, warned that Chris’s association with Joyce Meyer Ministries put his family at risk. However, as police examined the threats more closely, they found inconsistencies that pointed back to Chris himself. The messages had been sent from his laptop, and forensic evidence showed that he had been planning the crime well in advance.
On the morning of May 5, 2009, Chris Coleman claimed he had left home early for the gym and later returned to find his wife and children dead. However, investigators found no signs of forced entry, and the timeline of events did not align with his account. The crime scene showed clear signs of staging, further raising suspicions about his involvement.
As detectives delved deeper, the evidence against Chris became overwhelming. His phone records revealed explicit messages with Tara Lintz, in which he promised they would be together soon. Bank records indicated he had been preparing financially for a life with his mistress. The final piece of the puzzle came when forensic experts determined the time of death—well before Chris had left for the gym, proving he had been home when the murders occurred.
In 2011, Chris Coleman stood trial for the murders of his wife and children. The prosecution argued that he killed them to be with his mistress while avoiding divorce, which could have cost him his reputation and job. After just 14 hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The brutal nature of the crime, combined with Chris Coleman’s calculated efforts to cover his tracks, continues to haunt those who followed the case. The tragedy of Sheri, Garrett, and Gavin Coleman remains a grim reminder of how deception and betrayal can lead to unimaginable consequences.
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