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Man accused of killing his two young children believed they 'possessed serpent DNA'

A California surf school owner allegedly told the FBI he used a spear fishing gun to kill his two young children in Mexico on Monday, according to federal prosecutors, and claimed to have been enlightened by conspiracy theories that drove his actions.

Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara, was charged with foreign murder of U. S. nationals on Wednesday in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles, according to the U. S. Attorney's Office. A federal magistrate judge ordered Coleman to be detained without bond, prosecutors said. An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 31.

Coleman was detained by U. S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Monday while crossing into the country from Mexico, authorities said.

The bodies of the children, a 2-year-old boy and 10-month old girl, were found Monday morning by a farmworker at a ranch near Rosarito in Baja California, said prosecutor Hiram Sánchez Zamora.

After Coleman's arrest, he reportedly told authorities he had put the youngest child in a box because he had no car seat. During the recorded interview with FBI agents, Coleman allegedly said he "believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them," the affidavit says.

The document also indicated Coleman told investigators he had been "enlightened" by what authorities described as "QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories," and told officials he had received visions and signs that revealed his wife "possessed serpent DNA" and had passed it on to the children.

"Coleman said that he was saving the world from monsters," according to the affidavit.