Coleman Murder Trial: Jurors Outside of Monroe County Will Hear Case

WATERLOO -- The trial of Christopher Coleman will take place in Monroe County, but the jurors will be brought to the courthouse in Waterloo from another county.

That was the crux of a court order issued Tuesday by 20th Judicial Circuit Judge Milton Wharton in response to a request by defense attorney John O'Gara for a change of venue because of massive pretrial publicity. The order did not specify which county would be used to supply jurors.

Coleman, 33, is accused of the strangulations of his wife Sheri Coleman, 31, and their sons Garett, 11 and Gavin, 9, in their Columbia home in May. Police reports state that Christopher Coleman killed his family so he could marry a Florida waitress who was a high school friend of his wife.

In March, O'Gara and Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz argued the merits of a change of venue during a hearing where Wharton presided. O'Gara said intense media coverage, including inflammatory and sometimes erroneous newspaper and broadcast reports, both locally and nationally, made it all but impossible to select jurors in Monroe County who had not already made up their minds about Coleman.

O'Gara had commissioned a survey showing that most residents of Monroe County believe Coleman is guilty.

Wharton wrote in his ruling: "This court must give strong consideration to the inherent difficulties in conducting a trial of this nature in a close-knife community where even if the jurors are sequestered, there remains an enhanced possibility of a breach of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 436(b), which even if inadvertent and/or unintentional, could result in a mistrial or compromise of a jury verdict resulting in a reversal during the appeals process."

Reitz had argued that while it might be difficult, impartial jurors could be found. He also stated that the people of Monroe County deserve to have the trial held in the jurisdiction where the murders occurred.

Wharton agreed the proceedings should be held in Monroe County. He wrote that county residents should "be given an opportunity to exhibit their capability of providing a peaceful and orderly trial forum and to have access to the proceedings."

When Coleman initially was charged, onlookers gathered outside the courthouse and shouted taunts at him such as "baby killer," "murderer" and "they finally got you."

Wharton wrote in his order: "My personal observations of the sparseness of spectators, inside and outside of the courthouse, on pretrial hearing dates indicates to me that the preliminary heated interest in this matter may have, to some degree, waned. I have not observed a repeat of previously reported individual public expressions of animus directed toward the defendant."

The judge's order continues: "It is the opinion of this court that there has been no showing, relative to locality of the trial, that there exists reasonable grounds to believe that a community passion or prejudice appears to exist in Monroe County, which would give rise to a reasonable apprehension that defendant's safety might be threatened, a jury's performance of its duties might be impeded, a 'circus-like atmosphere' might develop, or that the defendant cannot receive a fair trial. If subsequent events are to prove otherwise, there should be ample warning early in trial proceedings and opportunity for the court to chance course, before the attachment of jeopardy."

Wharton stated in his order that he'll decide later on the county from which the jurors will be chosen.

Coleman was linked to the crimes through evidence gathered by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis. He did not confess to the killings, which he blames on an unknown assailant or assailants who sent threatening messages to him through the Internet and wrote vulgar and violent messages in red spray paint inside the house.

Police, however, according to the search-warrant documents, have linked the e-mailed threats to a computer at Joyce Meyer Ministries, where Coleman worked as head of security for the famed televangelist. He was asked to resign after evidence surfaced that he was having an affair with Tara Lintz, the waitress at a Florida dog-racing track. She has told reporters she will not comment.

Recent documents that surfaced in Monroe County Circuit Court include police reports that allege Coleman told Lintz that he would have surgery to reverse a vasectomy so he could have children with her.