A California man was arrested after his children, aged 1 and 3, were found stabbed to death. He was taken into custody at the US-Mexico border this week on suspicion of killing his two young children in Mexico.
The suspect identified as Matthew Taylor was arrested when he tried crossing back into the US, according to ABC News. The children, a boy and girl, both between ages 1 and 3, were each found with multiple stab wounds – the boy stabbed 17 times and the girl stabbed 12 times, according to Border Report.
Taylor Went to Rosarito with His Kids to Check into a City Express Hotel
Baja California prosecutor Hiram Sánchez Zamora said the man traveled to Rosarito, which is about a 30-minute drive south of Tijuana, and checked into a City Express hotel on Saturday with his 1-year-old son and his 3-year-old daughter, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Sánchez said investigators found he had left the hotel on Monday morning at 2:54 a.m. with both children. A few hours later, he returned to the City Express at 6:33 a.m., but without his children, according to the Union-Tribune.
Blood Stains and Wooden Stake Were Found at the Murder Scene
Sánchez said authorities responded to a 911 call around 7:30 a.m. Monday and found the two children near the El Descanso ranch after they were first discovered by a farmworker. The infants were found about 18 miles from where they were staying. Blood stains and a wooden stake, possibly the murder weapon, were found at the scene, reported ABC News.
The farmhand said he saw splattered blood on the ground when he came out of his home, and his dogs led him to the bodies. At least one of the children was dressed in diapers, according to Border Report.
The Children's Mother Filed a Missing Person's Report with the Santa Barbara Police Department
The children's mother Abby Coleman reported her husband and the children missing Sunday, after they had been gone for 24 hours, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. She shared information with detectives that her husband may have traveled to Mexico.
How was the Father Detained?
Santa Barbara police alerted the FBI and Border Patrol about the three missing Californians. As Coleman tried to re-enter the US from Mexico without his two children, he was detained by US Border police, according to ABC News.
The suspect was driving a Mercedes-Benz vehicle when was stopped by border agents around 7 a.m. Monday as he returned to the US via the San Ysidro Point of Entry in California, the Border Report said.
The suspect was being held in the US, awaiting likely extradition to Mexico to face murder charges, FOX 5 News - San Diego reported.
Multiple media reports say Taylor runs the Lovewater Surf Co., a surfing school based in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he was born.
Social Media Reactions
Though the motive of the murder is not known, social media users are looking at this story from various angles. One internet user wrote, "Guessing this has to do with another woman in his life." Another wrote: "He thought his kids were vampires... his attorney will use the "From Dusk Till Dawn" defense."
Some people believe that the Mexican prison will teach a lesson to this 'horrible' father. One comment read, "At least there will be justice in Mexico. The level of demonic influence just keeps increasing. These things don't fear consequences anymore due to the appalling lack of justice in America thanks to Liberals." Another comment read, "Maybe Mexico will do to him what America will not! If this guy did this horrible deed, he deserves nothing on this Earth!"
Absolutely heartbreaking. RIP
— surfer_rosa (@surferrosa12) August 11, 2021
