Man accused of stabbing his children to death
Calif. Surfing Coach Accused of Stabbing Children to Death in Mexico Is Arrested Trying to Return to U.S.
Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, is accused of stabbing his two toddlers to death with a wooden stake
Authorities tell the San Francisco Gate that the girl was stabbed about 12 times and the boy was stabbed 17 times. A blood-stained wooden stake was found near the bodies.
Police say that Coleman had traveled with the children to Mexico and checked into a hotel room on Saturday. The children's mother reported her husband and the kids missing the following day, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Investigators believe that Coleman took the children to a ranch in Mexico early Monday morning, killed them, and returned to his hotel a few hours later, according to charging documents obtained by the newspaper.
After making the grisly discovery, agents with Baja California's State Security and Investigation Guard contacted U.S. authorities, saying that the suspect would likely be heading back to the United States. American border officers stopped him as he approached the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was arrested at the scene.
Authorities have not released a motive in the alleged murders.
In a statement, an FBI spokesperson said that there are several agencies working on the case.
"A joint investigation is underway among the Santa Barbara Police Department, the FBI in Los Angeles and San Diego, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Mexican authorities," the statement reads. "Currently the adult male is in federal custody and the investigation is continuing."
PEOPLE confirms through online court records that Coleman is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder. The records do not reflect an attorney authorized to speak on his behalf, and he has not yet entered a plea.
The children's bodies will be returned to the United States after the crime scene is processed.
