General discussion regarding trial - The Week in Review

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Hello All,

StMarysMead, most upsetting to me was the text that Sheri sent:

>>"Chris wants a divorce. A couple days ago he said me & my kids are in the way of his job."<<

Texts are generally short and to the point, so people are not necessarily exact about their wording. Some people are not necessarily exact at anyrate, it is only texting afterall -- it is not the witness stand.

Was Sheri indicating that Chris referred to the children as "Sheri's kids" or "you and your kids" -- as opposed to "you and our kids" (or you and our children). Did he separate himself from relationship with them as father when he was speaking with her in anger and wanting a divorce? Is it possible that he only separated himself from the older child, Sheri was pregnant with Garrett before they married. Did Chris resent Sheri and Garrett?

Some of the reporters have mentioned that Chris seemed to "wince" or respond in some seemingly "touched" kind of way when Gavin was mentioned, or a picture of him shown. I have to wonder if he was more attached to Gavin? Or is it because Gavin was the one for whom it was not just a matter of quietly slipping in and murdering, maybe there was some resistance and so Chris is remembering that? Or maybe it is that Chris was not going to take the children's lives, but one of the children being witness dictated that he would have to take their life, and well, he might as well take both as one? I know, particularly sick thinking but what well person murders?

Bottomline, did Chris reference the children as belonging to Sheri, and had he disassociated himself from them. It speaks to more to his premeditation, he disassociates himself in preparing for his plan. It also speaks more to his motive in killing them. He had disowned them mentally, they were Sheri's kids. He was not going to let some world view on responsibility and child support muck up his life, those weren't his "kids" anymore.

Which makes me think... I'm going to bet that Chris DID, at some point, go to consult with a divorce attorney or someone who "knew about divorce, costs etc." My guess would be that he did that some time in Nov or early December of 2008, as he was already talking about leaving Sheri then and Tara had already "changed" his life. Now then, he might have done it just after that time when someone might have said to him, "Do you know what you are getting into by leaving your wife and forcing a divorce?"

My bet is that someone -- maybe his brother -- eventually educated Chris as to the cost of an attorney, a divorce battle, the Illinois law in splitting property (whether or not someone's name is on the papers or not), alimony and child support.

OH WOW! Yeah... I bet Chris said, "hey, the house is in my name..." and he heard, "That doesn't matter." WHICH REMINDS ME! If Tara could call and masquerade for Sheri with the Disney stuff, did she also do that with the house paperwork stuff? Is that the reason that point about Disney was brought up? Is that why we "didn't hear" a "Did you masquerade as Sheri to have her name taken off the house paperwork in November? Did you sign for her, forge her name for that paperwork?"

Is it possible that LE said, "You know, we have a witness that identified you as coming in and signing that paper. We have had a hand writing analyst check out your writing and well then there is your fingerprints. Do you know how much it will cost you to defend yourself in a forgery case, and how long you could go to jail for that? Now, didn't you want to help us by being a witness for the prosecution?"

If Tara did sign that paper, or if she was a part of that, it could have meant, could mean big trouble for her on that count AND might have fit her into a nice tight slot as accessory to the crime? I'd say there is a real good reason that Tara is a prosecution witness and it isn't because she wanted to be, but perhaps because testifying for them has also kept her out of a WHOLE flock of other trouble. LE wants to make SURE they get Chris on this, he did the crime. Maybe they gave Tara a bit of a deal to make sure that she did her part to help them get Chris, while she got to save her little hiney.
 
As a note...

Chris would have been fairly dirt poor after filing for divorce, particularly if he lost his good paying job.
 
Great post, Wrinkles. And maybe that "deal" is why Tara so helpfully wore that ring.

There was testimony too that Sheri "ruined his life." Was that by getting pregnant? Going along with your theory, maybe he somehow thought Garrett, as the result of that pregnancy..."ruined his life" too.

I know there is zero chance he will take the stand...but this is such a slamdunk, I would be fascinated to see him try.
 
Wrinkles said:
As a note...

Chris would have been fairly dirt poor after filing for divorce, particularly if he lost his good paying job.
Click to expand...

Despite the defense's posture that he was looking for another job anyway (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_cf367d5d-b64f-5cdf-b8ec-4cea1eb67706.html), I will agree, he most likely wouldn't receive the same salary as with JMM and every day he continued to work for JMM he risked being terminated if they found out about his affair. Alimony and child support would've eaten up whatever salary he did have and the money wouldn't be there for his "new life". MOO
 
stmarysmead said:
In “processing” the testimony to date, I’m very interested in the cruise that Tara admitted taking in the midst of her Great Love Affair with Chris. The question is: did he know this at the time or just find out when his defense was preparing for trial?

Here’s my guess: he KNEW and this is a big part of the story about how this heinous crime came to be. IMO, Tara was the one in ABSOLUTE control of this relationship and he was completely besotted. His notebook of her favorite foods, jewelry choices, sexual fantasies...is pathetic and juvenile...like he needed to remember EVERYTHING to hang on to her. Paying her bills, letting her buy a cruise when he had money problems... canceling his sons Disney trip because she demanded it...and her intervention TO BE SURE IT WAS DONE show her control. But I think Chris was not getting this divorce done SOON enough.

I think cruising with another man was her punishment. Remember she testified that they were in contact CONSTANTLY. The transcript that was posted here (thank you) says she repeated that point several times yesterday (“constantly”) How could she cruise with another man and Chris has no contact with her for a week and he NOT know?

He must have been out of his mind.

I wonder when he let her book that second cruise with him? When she came back from The Love Boat with the other guy?

Chris needed money to keep her and Sheri and the boys were a drain. And he needed to be out of that marriage FAST to keep Tara from moving on...but divorces from stubborn wives trying to save their families don’t move along quickly.

Chris knew he had to act fast and definitively.

Tara knew how to play this desperate idiot. IMO, she has some real culpability in the deaths of her “best friend” and her little boys.

I find the wearing of that ugly ring that looks like something you win at a carnival very interesting too. The D.A. HAD to know to ask that question IMO...it’s not like that was a diamond solitaire. And she could so easily have left it home or in the hotel. I believe she was told to wear it. I think they had a lot more ugliness they could have used yesterday if she did not comply. Remember the Facebook stalking?

Finally, I’ve been thinking about the boxes being packed at the home that I learned here from you wonderful sleuths. I’m wondering if Sheri was leaving. But, for chris to keep Tara, that only solved part of the problem. There would be a long process of divorce . Then there was supporting an ex and two sons.

Tara says they had their usual “constant” conversations that night. I would bet anything she said A LOT MORE than “good luck.” (her testimony)
Maybe she said..you better not be lying to me. Maybe she said if Sheri is NOT served with papers tomorrow..I’m done with you. But Chris hadn’t even been to a lawyer. There were no papers to serve.

I bet he sat there in his basement in agony. I bet he remembered the week he suffered while she cruised and cavorted sexually with another man.

He had no divorce papers in the works. But he had a cleaner solution WELL in the works.

Time to put The Plan in action. It was THEM or Tara.
Click to expand...

You are so correct!! Excellent analysis!!
 
Hello Panthera,

I suppose the question is, was Chris "really" looking for another job? Where is the proof? Will the defense show the jury résumés dated during the time he was job hunting and retrieved from those to whom he handed them (or his computer)? More believable -- because a résumé could be sitting on any computer, this house has 3 with résumés on them -- did the defense find a set of witnesses that would come in and testify that they interviewed CC for job positions on x, y and z dates?

The end of the matter is that Chris did not "take" another job, and why might that be? He didn't look for one? He wasn't offered one after all of his job hunting? He didn't take what was offered?

Check this out...:

>>Daniel Meyer says that after Coleman told him of the threats, he offered Coleman a chance to stop travelling and offered to provide additional security at his home. He testified that Coleman told him that he and Sheri had prayed about it and decided they didn’t need anything.<<

The above was testified, I believe. Also, a responsible employer would likely have done just what is mentioned above, to not do so would be to put the employer at risk (not to mention their employee). An employer who knew their employee since they were a little boy would likely have offered that which was mentioned above.

Additionally, one part of the above was confirmed, as has been testified to by one of Sheri's friends in her document. A security camera (or equipment) was offered to Chris, but he refused it and said, "She knows how to use a gun" in referring to Sheri.

My guess is that Chris DID get that two pronged offer above -- extra security, no travel position -- but he refused it and likely never told Sheri that he had that offer. It was convenient for him to tell her about the security camera and remind Sheri he turned it down because she knew how to use a gun. It WOULD NOT have been convenient to take a job position that kept him away from Tara's bed.

If CC had wanted a "no travel" position, he had it the minute he quit his job due to a threat against his family's lives AND a desire to stay at home to protect them. If protection of his family was a priority, he had that protection available, "I quit." He didn't quit, he didn't take a position of "no travel" with his employer, because he didn't ask for it or want it. When you love your family, you would rather lose everything you have than lose your family. Chris opted to lose his family and keep the rest. Of course, we have proof of that -- the house was put into "his name only" in November "after" having had Tara change his life in November. This was prior to the neighbor being told that he wanted to leave Sheri after the holidays in December. He was timing things, what stopped him from leaving then? A conversation with someone, as in "That house won't be yours if you divorce, I don't care if it 'is' only in your name."

So, Chris wasn't looking for a job near his family to protect them -- he didn't want them to be protected and there is proof of that. Guilt by "omission." He might have been looking for homes in the area to please his new lady, she may have been looking for jobs there to be with CC. That kind of speaks to Chris becoming a widower or a divorced man working for the same employer, maybe traveling with his babe -- no kids to keep her out of his hotel rooms when traveling, nothing to keep him from his destiny of hot sex in the showers of hotels here, there, and everywhere with his new hot chick. His chick was likely looking for a ticket to travel, a way out of the dog track -- proven by her cruise and willingness to travel to Hawaii and Arizona (or was that New Mexico.)

But such is the way of love... Chris and Tara loved each other so much that Tara said, "Quit your job, move down here, I will support the two of us until you can find a job." Yeah right. Chris said, "I'm moving down and will work 3 jobs to take care of you and be near and with you. Neither of the latter two things happened, and they didn't because this was about money and sex. They wanted both of those things, not one without the other.
 
Good thoughts, as always, Wrinkles. I doubt he was looking for another job and ask the defense to put forth witnesses who actually interviewed him before I'll believe it. As you said, a resume on a computer means nothing. And I also agree, if these "threats" were real he would've taken his employer's offer for additional security or a position that wouldn't entail travel. But his employer didn't realize just how much travel meant to CC........ MOO
 
Wrinkles, I am so with you on that last post of yours except that during all this time, jobs are hard to get. I know because I was unemployed for two years - and was right in the middle of it when this murder took place. Did he look for other work? I don't know. He might have? I still doubt it. I also think that IF he did look, he would have found himself hard-pressed to replace the job he had.

But it all still boils down to the bottom line of your post - it was all about money and sex.
 
I believe I read that at one point Sheri told her friends that he was looking for another job or thinking of starting a business. She complained about the heavy travel schedule and he was going to see if he could find something else. But then, the Ministry gave him a nice pay raise.

And then came Tara.

I've wondered if he's trying to use THOSE job searches for cover now. I doubt he was looking AFTER he met Tara.
 
stmarysmead said:
I believe I read that at one point Sheri told her friends that he was looking for another job or thinking of starting a business. She complained about the heavy travel schedule and he was going to see if he could find something else. But then, the Ministry gave him a nice pay raise.

And then came Tara.

I've wondered if he's trying to use THOSE job searches for cover now. I doubt he was looking AFTER he met Tara.
Click to expand...

I doubt it also. It was his opportunity (see, Chris, this is how it's spelled! :D) to travel that allowed him to be with TL. MOO
 
Bwahahaha!!!

>>I doubt it also. It was his opportunity (see, Chris, this is how it's spelled! ) to travel that allowed him to be with TL. MOO <<

YES, IT'S OPPORTUNITY! I hope the Prosecution uses this to their best advantage...

According to one wiki page...

>>In US Criminal law, means, motive, and opportunity is a popular cultural summation of the three aspects of a crime needed to convince a jury of guilt in a criminal proceeding.<<

For Chris it is MEANS, MOTIVE AND "OPPURTUNITY"
 
I have to wonder why neither the defense nor the prosecution got into more details with the mistress. I want to know if Chris' boys were a part of Tara's new future.

MOO
 
Stella5 said:
For lack of a better place to put this, here are Chris Hayes notes from the pretrial hearing. A very good review of what happened two years ago.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=171081092917695&topic=309
Click to expand...

I found this interesting. This is from the notes from 2 years ago:

"Garret's lips were blue - skin gray - ligature markings around his neck - his body was cold. The officer believed he was dead for quite some time. The officer also noted spray paint on the bed."

"Another Sgt. checked the bathroom and saw Sheri in the next room. He called out. She was face down. He checked for a pulse. He turned her over and said her entire body was locked, rigid and discolored. Her blood had settled to the front of her body. She was dead for quite some time."

"Another officer saw Gavin - face purple - skin yellow - spray paint on the sheets on top of the bed. The officer also saw evidence on Gavin - so he didn't touch him. He noticed ligature marks."

So he left at 5:43am. He then contacted Off. Barlow at 6:50am. Look like they entered the house and did the search (I'll estimate 30mins) That is a little more than an hour and a half.

If she was already in rigor, and full lividity. Wouldn't that indicate that by his own timeline he was there when they died? Or maybe I have my rigor mortis/lividity time wrong.:banghead:
 
gelfie68 said:
I found this interesting. This is from the notes from 2 years ago:

"Garret's lips were blue - skin gray - ligature markings around his neck - his body was cold. The officer believed he was dead for quite some time. The officer also noted spray paint on the bed."

"Another Sgt. checked the bathroom and saw Sheri in the next room. He called out. She was face down. He checked for a pulse. He turned her over and said her entire body was locked, rigid and discolored. Her blood had settled to the front of her body. She was dead for quite some time."

"Another officer saw Gavin - face purple - skin yellow - spray paint on the sheets on top of the bed. The officer also saw evidence on Gavin - so he didn't touch him. He noticed ligature marks."

So he left at 5:43am. He then contacted Off. Barlow at 6:50am. Look like they entered the house and did the search (I'll estimate 30mins) That is a little more than an hour and a half.

If she was already in rigor, and full lividity. Wouldn't that indicate that by his own timeline he was there when they died? Or maybe I have my rigor mortis/lividity time wrong.:banghead:
Click to expand...

No, you don't at all. I have a friend who works in a mortuary and even she said the TOD is earlier from what Coleman said from what she knows about it. Seems to me it's slam dunk. I only hope the jury knows that.
 
gelfie68 said:
I found this interesting. This is from the notes from 2 years ago:

"Garret's lips were blue - skin gray - ligature markings around his neck - his body was cold. The officer believed he was dead for quite some time. The officer also noted spray paint on the bed."

"Another Sgt. checked the bathroom and saw Sheri in the next room. He called out. She was face down. He checked for a pulse. He turned her over and said her entire body was locked, rigid and discolored. Her blood had settled to the front of her body. She was dead for quite some time."

"Another officer saw Gavin - face purple - skin yellow - spray paint on the sheets on top of the bed. The officer also saw evidence on Gavin - so he didn't touch him. He noticed ligature marks."

So he left at 5:43am. He then contacted Off. Barlow at 6:50am. Look like they entered the house and did the search (I'll estimate 30mins) That is a little more than an hour and a half.

If she was already in rigor, and full lividity. Wouldn't that indicate that by his own timeline he was there when they died? Or maybe I have my rigor mortis/lividity time wrong.:banghead:
Click to expand...
Thank you for reposting this information. You're certainly not wrong. Bodies, especially in a controlled environment, won't be in this condition within a little more than an hour. Also take into consideration the time spent actually killing three people then spray painting. No way! MOO
 
I think the Prosecution has done an excellent job of proving Chris was a “man with a plan” in this first week of testimony. From the phony threats, to his first ever sick day on the day his family would be slaughtered, to the lies to Tara about divorce papers being served on the Murder Day, to his sick obsession with this strong-willed Mistress that had not only “changed his life” but was running it through “constant” contact.I believe the jury already knows Chris had a plan to murder his wife.

But I also believe the prosecution can make a compelling case that slaughtering his little boys was ALSO a part of the original plan. In addition to not allowing his son to sleep-over at a friend’s house in what had been TRADITION...there is Sheri’s text where he links the boys WITH her as standing in his way. And the threats were against the “family”, weren’t they? “Your worst nightmare?”

Think of all the ways he could have gotten those boys out of the house, if his murder target was just Sheri.The grandparents lived close by. He could have suggested the boys sleep-over so he and Sheri could have a date-night. He could have killed Sheri when the boys were at school. He could have chosen a school vacation week and sent them to the Chicago Grandmother to visit. It is obvious he had planned this for MONTHS...plenty of time to figure out a way to spare the boys and get them out of that house.

It would not have been difficult.

But IMO he always planned for his little boys to die too. Mr. list-maker of Tara’s bra size and jewelry and sexual preferences... had no plan ...in all those months...to get his boys away...to exclude his sons from The Extermination. I believe the Prosecution can make that argument very easily in closing.
 
Lintz was also asked about contact she had with two other men close to the case. She told the jury Sheri Coleman's brother sent her a message that said he wanted her to "have his baby."

She also said Coleman's younger brother Keith sent her explicit photos. Coleman's family tells NewsChannel 5 it was a modeling photo of Keith Coleman from college and that Lintz never responded to the message that contained the photo.

http://crimeseekers.net/forums/show...-Coleman-s-mistress-testifies-at-murder-trial
 
These faked threats have also struck me as such...

"I know Chris' schedule."
Why not "I know YOUR schedule"?

"I will kill his wife and kids .. in their sleep."
Why not "I will kill YOUR wife and kids .. in their sleep."?

"Your family is done!"
And then he realizes - "DOH"...that doesn't sound right...
 
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