Man charged with strangling family found indigent

WATERLOO -- A Monroe County judge has found murder defendant Christopher Coleman indigent and has appointed two new death penalty certified defense lawyers to handle the case of the southwestern Illinois man accused of strangling his wife and their two sons.

Circuit Court Judge Milton Wharton appointed Belleville attorneys John O'Gara and Jim Stern on Friday to represent the 32-year-old Coleman.

Coleman remains jailed without bond and has pleaded not guilty to charges he strangled his wife and sons, ages 11 and 9, in May in their Columbia home.

An affidavit filed on Coleman's behalf suggests his home mortgage is $45,000 more than the structure is worth, and that Coleman has just $1,000 in assets.