"When you left the house this morning, was your wife alive? 'Oh, yeah. What would you say if I told you I didn't think she was?' 'I don't know what to tell you. I mean, I think she was. And she was. She was laying right beside me.'" — Detective and Chris Coleman
"We kind of talked about the divorce a little bit, just like December. Yeah, and I went to Joyce with it. I told her about it, or dating, or which one. And they knew about it. I suggested that we meet with somebody and see if we could work out whatever it was, and really all it was, was just communication, communicating very well." — Chris Coleman
"The biggest lies in history, listen to chameleon wherever you get your podcasts." — Josh Dean (Chameleon Podcast)
The episode begins by introducing the Coleman family: Chris, Sherry, and their two young sons, Garrett and Gavin. Chris, a former Marine, and Sherry, formerly of the Air Force, met in military canine training. After marrying, they had two sons. Chris secured a position as head of security for Joyce Meyer's ministry, earning a substantial salary. The narrative shifts to November 2008 when Chris began receiving threatening emails from an account named "DestroyChris@gmail.com," which contained explicit threats against his family and demanded he facilitate a meeting with Joyce Meyer.
The investigation into the Coleman family's death revealed a disturbing scene: Sherry and her sons were found murdered in their home, which had been vandalized with spray paint. Initial suspicions arose around Chris due to inconsistencies in his account, particularly regarding the timeline of the murders and physical evidence on his person. His claim that he left for the gym before the estimated time of death contradicted the forensic evidence. Further investigation uncovered an affair between Chris and Tara, who was also Sherry's high school friend, and evidence suggested Chris had been planning this for months, even orchestrating the threatening emails from his own computer to frame a fictional perpetrator.
The trial focused on presenting Chris's extensive deception, including the staged threats, the affair, and the financial motive tied to his job at the ministry, as divorce could jeopardize his employment. Despite significant evidence, the jury's deliberation was initially split, with a photograph of Chris and Tara with a timestamp proving crucial in convincing the jury of Chris's deceit. Chris was convicted of the murders and is currently appealing his conviction, raising points about the admissibility of evidence and the effectiveness of his legal counsel. The episode also touches on the controversial opinions of Chris's parents and an alternative serial killer theory, while highlighting Chris's own prison blog that focuses minimally on his family.