THE DAD WHO BECAME A KILLER
YOU South Africa|2 September 2021
Matthew Coleman is behind bars charged with stabbing his two little children to death with a fishing spear
MAXINE PETERS
THE DAD WHO BECAME A KILLER

THE kids in the picture are grinning from ear to ear, kitted out in wetsuits and holding up their “surfs up” hand signs with instructors from the Love water Surf School. With them is the school’s founder, who looks like a stereotypical happy-go-lucky surfer dude.

But the cheerful guy beaming out from the photograph turned out to be anything but laid-back and chilled. The surf community in Santa Barbara, California, was shocked after Matthew Taylor Coleman’s recent arrest.

Matthew’s students and fellow surfers knew him as a pleasant guy who’d happily chat about surfing, his kids and how his toddler son’s surf lessons were going.

That’s why they’re horrified at news that the 40-year-old was arrested for murdering his two-year-old son, Kaleo, and 10-month-old daughter, Roxy, with a fishing spear during a trip to Baja California, Mexico.

Matthew’s wife, Abby, reported him and the children missing after they’d disappeared ahead of a camping trip they’d planned for the weekend of 7 August. He hadn’t said a word to Abby about going anywhere with the kids but she wasn’t worried that he’d hurt them.

The police tracked his iPhone to Rosarito, in Baja, and CCTV footage showed him checking into a hotel with their children and checking out a few days later without them.

Then came the shocking discovery: two tiny bodies found by a farmhand on a ranch near Rosarito, less than 20km from the US-Mexico border. Roxy had been stabbed 17 times and Kaleo 12 times.

Local authorities alerted border police and Matthew was taken into custody by US customs agents two days later when he returned to the US.

This story is from the 2 September 2021 edition of YOU South Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the 2 September 2021 edition of YOU South Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM YOU SOUTH AFRICAView All
BALLON IN THE BAG
YOU South Africa

BALLON IN THE BAG

Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
IT WAS ALL A LIE
YOU South Africa

IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
YOU South Africa

'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'

After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country

time-read
10+ mins  |
14 November 2024
AGREE TO DISAGREE
YOU South Africa

AGREE TO DISAGREE

Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
PAUSE THE CLOCK
YOU South Africa

PAUSE THE CLOCK

Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
MPOOMY ON TOP
YOU South Africa

MPOOMY ON TOP

We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
YOU South Africa

MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MATT THE RECLUSE
YOU South Africa

MATT THE RECLUSE

A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
A LEAP OF FAITH
YOU South Africa

A LEAP OF FAITH

After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
YOU South Africa

THEY'RE MY KIDS!

This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024