Joyce Meyer, Son Might Testify in Murder Trial
Charismatic speaker Joyce Meyer and her son might be asked to testify in a murder trial involving their ministry's former chief of security.
On Monday, a lawyer representing the family of slain mother-of-two Sheri Coleman alleged that Meyer's son, Dan Meyer, had traveled with the accused murderer, Christopher Coleman, and his girlfriend, Tara Lintz, prior to the May 5 slaying of Coleman's wife and two sons.
And, as Dan Meyer is the CEO of Joyce Meyer Ministries, attorneys Jack Carey and Enrico Mirabelli allege that the ministry knew that Coleman was having an affair and should have warned Sheri Coleman's family when threatening e-mails surfaced.
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Mike King, attorney for Joyce Meyer Ministries, however, has denied the allegations and maintained that there is no responsibility on the part of Joyce Meyer Ministries.
"Joyce Meyer Ministries had no knowledge prior to these tragic deaths of an extra marital affair involving Chris Coleman. Neither did the Ministry have prior knowledge that Chris Coleman allegedly was the source of threats against his family," King expressed in a prepared statement.
Coleman, 32, is currently on trial for first-degree murder and faces the death penalty for the deaths of his wife, Sheri Coleman, 32, and his two sons, Gavin, 9 and Garett, 11.
According to investigators, Coleman had called police from a gym on May 5 and asked a police officer who had investigated prior threats related to the family to check on them after calls to the house allegedly went unanswered.
When police got to the house later that morning, they found the bodies of Coleman's wife and two children all strangled with some type of wire, rope or cord. Spray-painted across the walls of the house, meanwhile, were obscenities that appeared to have been directed at Sheri Coleman, including the words "punished," "wh*re paid," "u have paid," and "I saw you leave, [expletive] you, I am always watching."
Though it was well-known that the family had received threatening letters and that their mailbox was tampered with, police arrested Coleman around two weeks later after more evidence was brought to light.
The week before, Coleman had resigned from his position at Joyce Meyer Ministries after being questioned about a violation of the organization's moral conduct policy, according to Roby Walker, a spokesman for Joyce Meyer.
Walker did not say what policy Coleman allegedly violated but reports have claimed that he was romantically involved with a woman from Largo, Fla., and had visited her while traveling with the ministry.
Coleman, who pleaded "not guilty" on May 20, has since remained in jail and denied bond by the judge.
The next court date has been scheduled for Dec. 18.
