(CNN) -- Police arrested a southwestern Illinois man in connection with the slayings of his 31-year-old wife and their two young sons.Christopher Coleman was arrested Tuesday at his parents' home in Chester, Illinois.
Coleman faces three counts of first-degree murder, said Maj. Jeff Connor, of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.
Coleman is being held without bond and was expected to appear in court Wednesday, according to Connor.
Police found the bodies of Sheri Coleman and the children, Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, in the bedrooms of their two-floor home in the St. Louis suburb of Columbia, Illinois, on the morning of May 5.
Connor said the three died of ligature strangulation, meaning a item such as a cable or wire was used.
Coleman told police he left the house at 5:43 a.m., and drove to a gym to work out.
"Shortly thereafter, he started calling his house, realized that nobody was answering and on his way back at around 6:50 a.m. is when he made the phone call to the Columbia Police Department," Connor said.
Connor said Coleman told police he started calling his house shortly after leaving it because he "was making sure the kids were getting up for school."
Connor said threatening messages were found on the walls inside the home, but he would not disclose the exact wording.
Earlier this month, police said they had an idea who committed the slayings, but they were waiting on prosecutors to build a strong forensic case.
Police said Tuesday that they do not have a motive for the killings.
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