Justice prevails! Keith Coleman gets life sentence for killing girlfriend before chasing down and strangling her young children who witnessed their mother’s death; Judge ignores his claims of remorse
29-year0old Keith Coleman killed his 36-year-old live in girlfriend, Christina Sargent in her Garland, Maine home in Dec 2014
Coleman, then 27, chased down Duwayne Coke, 10, and eight-year-old Destiny Sargent and strangled them because they witnessed their mother’s death
Convicted last November of three counts of murder and one count of sexual assault on the family, He was jailed for life on Thursday
Coleman also received a 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting Sargent’s 8-year-old daughter
Keith Coleman, 29, received three life sentences for killing girlfriend and her kids
Keith Coleman, 29, asked for mercy before a judge imposed three life sentences for the slayings of a family of three late in 2014. Coleman was accused of killing Christina Sargent, 36 and her two children – Duwayne Coke, 10, and 8-year-old Destiny Sargent at their Garland, Maine home.
Maine police said Coleman told them that he chased down and strangled the children because they’d witnessed their mother’s death. The bodies were found on December 20, 2014.
Coleman was convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two young children. He received the maximum penalty for his heinous crime, Thursday, in spite of his last ditch proclamation of remorse, in court.
Coleman then 27, was arrested on December 21, 2014, in Bucksport, Maine and has been held without bail since then.
Christina Sargent and daughter Destiny Sargent at a home in Garland. Keith Coleman was also convicted of assaulting Destiny
Keith Coleman [left] told police them that he killed his girlfriend Christina Sargent’s and her two children
Coleman who received the maximum penalty for the triple homicide and sexual assault of a minor only avoided the death penalty because Maine is one of 19 states without it.
Jurors in November heard a taped confession from Coleman, who was arrested a day after the bodies were discovered.
‘I did it,’ Coleman said through sobs. ‘I did it. I don’t want to say that word but I did it. I killed my girl.’
Then he clarified he killed the children as well.
Coleman told the judge Thursday that he’s been painted as a ‘monster’ but that he’s remorseful. He said he felt responsible for the deaths, even though he avoided saying he killed the victims.
Police Keith Coleman confessed that he chased down and strangled Duwayne Coke [left] and Destiny Sargent’s because they’d witnessed their mother’s death.
‘I just hope you have mercy on me,’ he told the judge, according to WLBZ-TV.
Coleman was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of sexual assault.
He received a 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting Sargent’s daughter.
In December 2014, police found the three bodies of inside the family’s trailer by Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies, who had been alerted by worried relatives.
A taped confession from Coleman was played for jurors, who was arrested a day after the bodies were found. ‘I did it. I don’t want to say that word but I did it. I killed my girl,’ he said through sobs.
Then he admitted that he also killed Sargent’s 10-year-old son Duwayne Coke, 10, and his 8-year-old sister, Destiny Sargent.
In mitigation Keith Coleman [white shirt] told the court that he was not the ‘monster’ they’d heard and that he is full of remorse for his crimes
Coleman was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of sexual assault. He received a 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting Sargent’s daughter
Coleman’s ex-girlfriend Amanda Ellis, 31, told the Bangor Daily News that he and Sargent, who was her cousin, had been together since January 2012.
Ellis, who has a three-year-old with defendant, described Coleman, whom she met in 2007, as “aggressive and very manipulative.” She also mentioned that he had a history of domestic violence dating back to when she lived with him. Coleman tried to strangle her on more than one occasion and threatened her with a knife at least twice. She reported the incidents to police.
Worried relatives alerted Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies who found the three bodies of inside the family’s home [photo]
Sheriff’s deputies remove bodies of the three victims from the family’s trailer home in Garland, Maine on Dec 20, 2014
Coleman’s criminal record includes two arrests in 2011 and 2013 on outstanding warrants, and a misdemeanor conviction in October 2011 for growing marijuana.
He was found guilty of all charges in the slaying of Christina Sargent and her two children November 2016.
After the verdict was announced, Mary Worster told WVII-TV that her daughter ‘was looking for love,’ she said.
“Chrissy was looking for love. And she thought Keith was it. So he took that love and he killed her with it, and my grandkids.”
Keith Coleman’s attorneys have indicated that they intend to appeal the verdict to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
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