Rich doctor and devoted Mormon, Martin MacNeill begins a torrid affair with fiery vixen, Gypsy Willis while his wife Michele tends to their children. But when Michele finds out and demands Martin end the affair, someone is bound to get burned. -The Doctor and the Beauty Queen, Scorned: Love Kills (S5,E4)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ID Go: Shortly after Chris Coleman starts a new job as Security Chief for a Christian ministry, he begins receiving threatening emails. Then, tragedy strikes: his wife and two sons are found dead. Police must work to trace the emails back to the killer. -Hate Mail, Web of Lies (S2,E11)
Date: May 5, 2009 Victims: Sheri Coleman, Air Force veteran, Garett Coleman, Gavin Coleman Offender: Chris Coleman, Marine Corps veteran Location: Waterloo, Illinois Circumstances: Devout Christians, rushed to get married because Sheri was pregnant, moved to Waterloo, Illinois after getting out of the military, Chris got a job as head of security for Joyce Meyer, Joyce attracted extreme fanatics, Chris monitors e-mails and hate mail for Meyer, paid $100,000 a year, Joyce travels the world and Chris goes with her, unrelenting schedule that keeps him away from home, Chris was gone 260 days out of the year, Chris starts getting threatening emails at work, threats escalate to include harm to Chris’ family, neighbor finds Sheri, Garett, and Gavin strangled to death in their Illinois home, investigation leads police to Chris Coleman, Chris wanted to end his marriage to be with a woman he was having an affair with, Chris knew Sheri didn’t want a divorce Disposition: Sentenced to life in prison, no parole
In the News:
Press conference in 2009 about the triple murder of Sheri, Garett and Gavin Coleman in Columbia, Illinois. Their father Chris Coleman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders two years later. -Belleville News-Democrat (May 12, 2011)
Unedited video from Joyce Meyer’s testimony in the Chris Coleman Murder Trial. -Belleville News-Democrat (July 7, 2011)
Excerpt from the Chris Coleman interview. Coleman was convicted of killing his wife and two sons. This interview took place after the bodies were found in their Columbia, Illinois home. The evidence was released by the judge on July 7, 2011. -Belleville News-Democrat (July 8, 2011)
“The Writing on the Wall” | 48 Hours | CBS (May 5, 2012)
Angela DeCicco, mother of Sheri Coleman, talks about the civil suit. Her daughter and grandsons were murder by Chris Coleman. -Belleville News-Democrat (May 12, 2012)
Sheri Coleman and her two boys were found brutally murdered in a scene that looked like it was right out of the Manson Family Horror. They were strangled to death and someone spray painted over their bodies. Sheri’s husband Christopher, a bodyguard for a televangelist, claimed his family had been threatened prior to the murders because of his line of work, but was his family actually targeted for the job he held? -True Crime Daily (April 26, 2018)
Pt. 2: Woman, Sons Found Strangled After Home Spray Painted – Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen -True Crime Daily (April 26, 2018)
Pt. 3: Woman, Sons Found Strangled After Home Spray Painted – Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen -True Crime Daily (April 26, 2018)
Pt. 4: Woman, Sons Found Strangled After Home Spray Painted – Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen -True Crime Daily (April 26, 2018)
Chris Coleman was convicted in 2011 of murdering his wife Sherri and sons, Garret & Gavin to death. -Crime Statement Analysis (November 26, 2018)
Convicted murderer Chris Coleman is back in a Columbia, Illinois court Tuesday. Ten years ago, Coleman was convicted of killing his wife and sons. Fox 2/News 11’s Kelley Hoskins is live in Waterloo with what was decided today during Coleman’s attempted appeal. -FOX 2 St. Louis (April 17, 2019)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
ID Go: In December of 1990, young Navy wife and mother Dina Kichler is found brutalized and strangled in her Mayport, Florida apartment. Investigators work through a list of the victim’s admirers before closing in on the killer. -An Eye for Murder, Unusual Suspects (S7,E7)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
ID Go: When a Naval Officer is apparently raped and stabbed by a coworker, a mysterious VHS tape suggests the victim may have been silenced to prevent a scandal. Dogged investigation and cutting edge forensic science reveals a shocking murder plot. -Deadly Accusations, Unusual Suspects (S7,E4)
Navy Petty Officer Elise Makdessi worked as an Air Traffic Controller at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Elise was married to Eddie Makdessi for five years and they lived off base in Virginia Beach. Elise unknowingly helped plan, organize, and carry out her own murder and it is unclear if she was a willing participant in the original plot with Eddie to scam the government out of money or if she was controlled by Eddie. Eddie Makdessi murdered Elise Makdessi and Navy Petty Officer Quincy Brown on May 14, 1996 as part of an elaborate scam. The whole thing was a set up. Elise thought she was part of an arrangement where she would invite Quincy Brown to the house, have sex with him, then accuse him of rape. She also manufactured evidence to make it look like she was documenting sexual abuse in an effort to sue the Navy and make millions. She had journals and created what looked like a rehearsed video outlining what four Navy men, including Quincy Brown, did to her on the job.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
In November 2014, Army soldier Montrell Mayo was convicted at an Army courts martial and found guilty of the pre-meditated murder of Army soldier Kimberly Walker. Kimberly was his girlfriend and stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. She was visiting Montrell in Colorado because he was stationed at Fort Carson. Kimberly was found dead at a Colorado Springs hotel on February 14, 2013. Authorities found her body tucked into bed and covered in flower petals. After an investigation, Mayo was charged with Kimberly’s murder but during that time frame he fled to Greenville, North Carolina where he had family. In the meantime, Mayo admitted to his Army supervisor that he may have killed Kimberly and shortly after turned himself into North Carolina police. Mayo was arrested and extradited back to Colorado to face a murder charge for Kimberly’s death. At trial, the defense argued that Mayo hit and strangled Kimberly after an argument in the heat of passion. Mayo claimed Kimberly threatened his military career during an argument and he hit her with a glass in response, then unraveled. An autopsy found blunt force trauma, strangulation, and evidence that Kimberly was smothered to death. Therefore the prosecution argued that Mayo deliberately killed Kimberly when he smothered her to death with a pillow after hitting and strangling her. A panel of five military officers sentenced Montrell Mayo to life in prison without parole.
When some brides vowed to love and honor their husbands, they lied. These Deadly Women made a mockery of marital commitment. They only promised “To Have and To Kill”. -To Have and To Kill, Deadly Women (S8, E14)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
A war hero is beaten to death for no apparent reason. The crime scene offers few clues, but Lt Joe Kenda notices an unusual pattern in the victim’s head wounds and enlists a team of engineers to help him identify the murder weapon and crack the case. -Blood Innocence, Homicide Hunter (S4,E6)
,Korean War hero and Air Force veteran Carl Vincent Taylor, 47, of Oklahoma, died of blunt force trauma injuries in Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 14, 1977. In the course of an investigation, Lt. Joe Kenda learned an individual named Eric Kendall was involved in the crime. But after the crime Kendall fled to Pennsylvania where police found him and had him extradited back to Colorado. Eric confessed to the crime and implicated three other individuals. Eric said he and Phil Brown met up with Sonny Evans and Ricky Dillon to plot the robbery. Eric Kendall, Phil Brown and Sonny Evans pleaded guilty to first degree burglary in exchange for their testimony in Ricky Dillon’s trial. The three individuals testified Ricky was the one who attacked and killed Carl Taylor. Kendall, Brown, and Evans were sentenced to 5-7 years in prison. Ricky Dillon was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
“The jury found defendant Ricky Dillon guilty of first degree murder and the trial court sentenced him to death…The death sentence was subsequently reduced to life imprisonment when the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty statute was unconstitutional.” -People v. Dillon (July 13, 1987)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Army veteran Carlos Antonio Holcombe was accused of kidnapping a twelve year old child from a high school parking lot and raping her on August 22, 2014 in El Paso, Texas. He lured the little girl by asking her if she would help him move some boxes. He then pointed a gun at her back and forced her into his truck. He took her to his home, put duck tape over her eyes, bound her, and raped her. School cameras caught him in the act of the abduction and he was arrested by police the next day. He was indicted on one count of aggravated kidnapping and three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. According to reports, Holcombe served ten years in the US Army in support of Operation Desert Shield and was honorably discharged. He now claims he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) yet has not received any treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs. He used the PTSD defense claiming that he suffers from a disassociative disorder he developed after he was sexually abused as a child. He also used the temporary insanity defense, claiming he was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana right before the incident. A psychologist testified that he examined Holcombe by giving him several psychological exams and the results of the exams showed that Holcombe was exaggerating or lying about his symptoms. Holcombe was found guilty by a jury of three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and one count each of aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child involving sexual contact. He was sentenced to life in prison on one count of aggravated kidnapping and 20 years in prison on a charge of indecency with a child involving sexual contact. The sentences will be served concurrently.
“You don’t get to claim you have PTSD and commit a rape.” -Prosecutor Alyssa Nava
ID Go: The Phillips’ family moves to a quiet seafront town in Maine to escape a crime wave in Indiana. But their dream home comes with a not so dreamy ex-military neighbor. A barrage of gunfire between the houses one night shatters both families forever. -Red Picket Fences, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E2)
On August 29, 1989, Navy veteran Richard Uffelman and his two sons opened fire from their living room window and shot and killed their neighbors Michael and Florence Phillips in Machiasport, Maine. The Phillips family moved back to Maine so they could be closer to their family and the ocean, and they wanted to escape crime in Indiana. Shortly before they moved to Maine, a murder occurred outside their home and this was it for them; they wanted to raise their son Michael in a safe environment. Richard and Anita Uffelman and their two sons were the new neighbors of the Phillips in Maine. Richard was described as an authoritarian and a believer in good order and discipline. He worked at the local post office and taught his two children to shoot guns. Initially the neighbors were good friends and their boys played together. At some point, family came to visit the Phillips for a week. The happy family reunited outside on the front lawn while they barbecued, drank some beers, and enjoyed one another’s company. Apparently Richard found a broken bottle on his lawn during the event and automatically assumed the Phillips threw the bottle on his lawn. Richard called the police to complain about the incident but there was no proof since the Phillips denied doing it. This was it for Richard; the Phillips home interfered with his view of the ocean and he was going to exact his revenge.
After this first broken bottle incident, Richard continued to call the police complaining that the neighbors were throwing bottles on his property. He would bag them up and give them to the police as evidence. The Phillips continued to deny the allegations. The police were beginning to get concerned for the Phillips. Then Richard’s wife Anita called the Phillips family and told them that Richard did not want their two sons playing with Michael anymore. Florence was confused. Soon Richard began harassing them while they were outside on their lawn. He used a megaphone and yelled at them until they went back into their house. The Phillips became fearful of him because he was quite literally bullying them. Richard upped the anti and put up some bright lights that shined directly on their home. He also shot guns in front of his home with his two boys on a regular basis which to the Phillips began feeling threatening. They called the police to ask Uffelman to stop shooting the guns because it felt like he was flexing his muscles but their was nothing illegal about shooting guns for target practice in Maine. The police couldn’t do anything. They needed evidence so Michael and Florence set up a video camera to start taping the behavior because they were not the gun types.
Tension and fear was building daily. The Phillips called the police on Richard Uffelman and Uffelman called the police on them. Now Richard wanted a protection order. It was obvious to police that Richard was getting paranoid and he had some fear that could not be alleviated by the police. Uffelman wanted to play war. Uffelman began dressing in full military fatigues with his two sons and they all carried guns and marched together as if they were in the military or a militia. The kids were impacted by Richard’s paranoia as well; as a matter of fact the whole family was brainwashed. Eventually the Phillips were afraid of Uffelman and his two sons. The Phillips left the city to get away from violence and now they were in the middle of it. They decided to file a harassment suit to get Richard Uffelman to stop. At this point, they felt trapped in their own home and they continued to videotape because it was their only option. One day Richard and his two sons armed with guns started chasing the Phillip’s son after school as if he was prey. The trio scared the entire Phillips family and they called the police again. The cops took it seriously and knew things were not going to turn out right. The Phillips got a protection order and then went on a vacation to Indiana to visit family in July 1989.
While the Phillips were visiting with family, they began viewing the videotapes. All of them were terrified at what they were witnessing but the Phillips were stuck financially. They assured their family they would be fine but in reality they were afraid Richard Uffelman would kill them when they got back. They asked their family to raise their son Michael if Uffelman killed them. They left for Maine the next day because it was their home and they had no other option. They got back to the war zone and the front lines had moved closer to home. When they got out of their vehicle, they realized that someone had dumped gasoline on their front porch. They witnessed someone running in the shadows from their home to Uffelman’s home. They called the police again but they didn’t have any proof that Uffelman had done it. They all recognized that Uffelman was raising the stakes. Unfortunately the system was at a stand still until someone made an overt act. On August 29, 1989, family visited the Phillips because they were celebrating a pregnancy in the family. The Phillips revealed to them that dealing with Uffelman was very stressful because they hadn’t caught anything of value for their harassment case. In this case, the best evidence would come too late.
Michael and Florence Phillips left the house that evening for a walk, just like every other night. This time Michael was carrying a gun as they walked in an effort to let Richard know that they were not going to take it. Then all of a sudden Richard and both of his sons began shooting at both of them from the living room of their home as they walked. The remaining family in the home were fearful that they were going to kill young Michael next. Meanwhile, Michael and Florence are struggling to move to safety in the woods to escape the barrage of gunfire. Uffelman did go to the Phillips home but turned around and left. After this near miss, the three family members in the home left to protect young Michael. They were not sure how Michael and Florence were doing at this point; they were not sure if they had been murdered or if they were still alive. Police arrived on the scene and knocked on Richard Uffelman’s door. They found him sitting at his kitchen table which was covered with handguns and firearms. The police were worried about their own safety but Uffelman surrendered without incident and he was taken into police custody. Michael and Florence Phillips both died at the scene in the woods where they attempted to escape the gunman.
Richard Uffelman, US Navy Veteran
Richard Uffelman was arrested for murder after the Phillips’ bodies were found. His two sons participated in the shootings as well and together they fired twenty-five rounds or so from the inside of their home. Investigators concluded the two boys were doing what they were told to do; they were victims too and as a result were not charged. Upon search of the property, police learned that Uffelman’s land was rigged with trip wire and his home was riddled with explosives. Bomb technicians were called in to remove the undetonated devices. Police also found secret passageways and tunnels. Uffelman tried to claim self-defense at his trial but the video coverage the Phillips had showed otherwise. The videotapes revealed that Uffelman went outside to check to see if his prey were dead; his murderous intent was all captured on film. Richard Uffelman was sentenced to life in prison for the first degree murders of Michael and Florence Phillips. Young Michael sued Richard Uffelman in Maine Superior Court and was awarded a wrongful death judgement for $513,320 but he has never received a dime. According to a YouTube site called Abandonment of Maine, shortly after new owners moved into the Uffelman home, the house caught on fire and burned to the ground.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Selfish women will sometimes sell their souls to the devil to get what they want. A scorned lover weaves a web of lies, a teenage Goth orders a reign of terror, and a gold-digger buries secrets in her basement. These Deadly Women have “Souls of Stone.” -Souls of Stone, Deadly Women (S7, E18)
Full Episode: Gail Fulton, a librarian living in a Detroit suburb, was gunned down in a parking lot by a trio of Florida killers. Donna Trapani, a nurse from Pensacola, hired the three because she had been jilted by Gail’s husband. This documentary goes on the road, re-riding the death trip from the deep south. It’s a crime of passion that leaves behind a ruined family. -Red Neck Revenge, Mugshots (TruTV)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 