Columbia (Illinois)

Photo: Suspect With Gray Wig, Red Lipstick, Unknown Gender, Robs Columbia Bank

Here's one way to successfully rob a bank, courtesy of the Columbia, Illinois Police Department: Put on a gray wig and red lipstick and hand the teller a note stating your intentions (and the fact that you have a gun). And with a good enough disguise, you just may escape the scene of the crime wit ... More >>

Starbucks and Shake 38 Offer a Unique Happy Hour Today

If you're in the market for an unusual post-work activity on this pleasantly mild Monday, you're not going to find much that's more unusual than a free coffee shop performance of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. This strange story of love, betrayal, attempted murder, voyeurism and divine intervention is s ... More >>

Christopher Coleman Case Is This Week's 48 Hours Mystery, But How?

This Saturday marks the three-year anniversary of the brutal murders of Sheri Coleman and her son's Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, found strangled to death in their Columbia, Illinois, home. And to mark the event, 48 Hours Mystery, will air a program Saturday night (9 p.m., KMOV Channel 4) re-examin ... More >>

Emmanual Sanchez: Charged with Running Over Victim Following Soulard Bar Fight

A loser's trifecta: Minivan. Drugs. Murder.​The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office yesterday charged 27-year-old Emmanuel Sanchez with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana. Sanchez, of the 700 block of Stat ... More >>

Christopher Coleman Found Guilty; Jury To Consider Death Penalty Today

Coleman will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.​If you're among the 13 percent of Daily RFT readers who predicted it would take two days for the jury to reach its verdict on Christopher Coleman, congratulations. You should apply for a legal analysis job with truTV. After deliberating sin ... More >>

Poll: How Long Will It Take Jury to Decide Christopher Coleman's Fate?

Coleman and his wife and children in happier times.​The jury overseeing the Christopher Coleman murder trial could begin deliberation as early as this afternoon. Coleman, as you surely know by now, stands accused of strangling his wife and two young boys in their Columbia, Illinois, home back in M ... More >>

Jury Selection Begins Today in Christopher Coleman Murder Trial

Christopher Coleman​Attorneys representing the state of Illinois and accused murderer Christopher Coleman will begin sifting through a jury pool of 300 people in Perry County today. By the end of next week, the lawyers hope to have the twelve jurors needed to begin the trial. Coleman, 34, is accus ... More >>

Stella Blues Reopens in South City

Image via​As mentioned in the January 2011 Openings and Closings post -- and first reported, I believe, by Joe Bonwich at the Post-Dispatch -- Stella Blues has reopened at 3269 Morgan Ford Road. The previous incarnation of the south city restaurant and bar opened in 2006 and closed in 2009. T ... More >>

The 2010 RFT News Challenge

Illinois DARE Officer Gets New Patrol Car: 2008 BMW M3

​Something tells me the Columbia, Illinois, police department is about to get a few more job applicants now that one of its patrol cars includes a 2008 BMW M3 -- a car capable of hitting 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and maxing out at speeds north of 150 mph. The Columbia po-po added the car to their flee ... More >>

Amy Tucker: Area Woman First U.S. Cancer Survivor to Have Child from Frozen Ovary

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergSherman Silber: Ice sculptor.​Add another bullet point to the already impressive resumé of St. Louis fertility expert Dr. Sherman Silber. In May, one of Silber's patients -- Amy Tucker of Columbia, Illinois -- became the first U.S. cancer survivor to give birth as a resu ... More >>

UPDATED: Christopher Coleman's Illinois Home/Murder Scene Up for Auction This Afternoon

Chris Coleman's home is up for auction. Crime scene tape not included.​UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: According to Diane Sendelbeck, Monroe County's deputy court clerk, the Coleman casa sold for $256,419.96.The buyer? Wells Fargo Bank.Sendelbeck said nobody from the public bid on the house."Channel 2 and 4 and ... More >>

A Year Ago Today: Christopher Coleman Introduced Us To a New Kind of Monster

The Coleman family.​It was a bright sunny morning -- just like today -- when a year ago Christopher Coleman called the Columbia, Illinois, police. The 32-year-old Coleman, an evangelical Christian and bodyguard for a televangelist, said he was at the gym for a pre-dawn workout and was concerned th ... More >>

Carolyn Tuft Leaving Post-Dispatch; Investigative Reporter Had Successful, Rocky Run

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergTuft outside the Post-Dispatch in 2006.​Veteran reporter Carolyn Tuft is stepping down from the Post-Dispatch.Daily RFT first got wind of Tuft's departure earlier this week. We've been unable to get in touch with Tuft, but today Post-Dispatch editor Arnie Robbins responde ... More >>

Christopher Channel Charged in January 3 Murder of Illinois Mother Carrie Shaw

Christopher Channel​St. Louis police arrested 18-year-old Christopher Channel on Wednesday for the murder of Carrie Shaw. Police believe Channel sold drugs to Shaw around 3:30 a.m. January 3 and then murdered the 40-year-old mother as she attempted to drive away. Shaw was shot several times while ... More >>

Bon Vivant Wines in Columbia, Illinois, Closing This Weekend

Dave NelsonAndrew Traughber of Bon Vivant Wines​Gut Check contributor Dave Nelson passes along word that Bon Vivant Wines in Columbia, Illinois, is closing its doors after business this Saturday, February 20. Owner Andrew Traughber is taking a position with Cellar Advisors, a St. Louis-based wine- ... More >>

The Noble Writ Keeps It Real with Traditional Rioja

Traditional Rioja holds a special place in my heart: It's one of the few wines that can achieve a captivating level of elegance. These wines have tremendous complexity, but in a very understated manner. This alone distinguishes them from most every other Spanish wine on the shelf.User "Gurrea," Wik ... More >>

Carrie Shaw, St. Louis Homicide No. 3: Shot in Vehicle After Alleged Drug Deal

A mother from Columbia, Illinois, was killed early Sunday morning around 3:30 a.m. after a suspected drug buy in south St. Louis. Carrie Shaw, 40, was shot several times while entering the southbound Interstate 55 ramp off South 7th Street. Her car crashed following the shooting. She was later prono ... More >>

Accused Murderer Chris Coleman, Quarterback Kurt Warner and a Grassy Knoll

If you look closely you can see Kurt Warner's head right above the wall on the grassy knoll.​As far as grand conspiracies go, this one might not rank up there with JFK's assassination and the alleged shooter on the "grassy knoll". But it does share some of the similar themes. A suspicious murder, ... More >>

FoodWire: Wine Tasting at Bon Vivant Wines Thursday, 11.12

Dave NelsonInside Bon Vivant Wines in Columbia, Illinois​Bon Vivant Wines, which this here publication deemed the Best Wine Store of 2009, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a wine tasting tomorrow, November 11, from 5-7:30 p.m. The tasting will feature wines from importer Kermit Lynch.Acco ... More >>

Coleman Claimed to be in Secret Service, Born-Again Christian Who Spoke in Tongues

Christopher Coleman with his wife, Sheri, and sons Garett and Gavin.​More details of accused killer Christopher Coleman's private life are emerging with the release of his employment records with Joyce Meyer Ministries. Last week the Fenton-based ministries handed over more than 400 pages of docum ... More >>

Even Creepier House Could Soon Be on the Market: The Coleman Home

flickr.com/photos/circulatingAnd here we thought that unloading a house built atop an Indian burial mound would be a difficult sell!Now we learn that the Coleman home -- you know the one in which father Christopher Coleman allegedly strangled to death his wife, Sheri, and two children -- could soon ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Coleman Sent Threats From Laptop, Told Girlfriend He Was Divorcing Wife

Christopher ColemanMore details are emerging in the bizarre case of Chistopher Coleman, the Columbia, Illinois, man accused of killing his wife and two sons last month. Yesterday Columbia Police Chief Joseph Edwards said that the threatening emails the Coleman family received prior to the murders or ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Coleman Told Girlfriend They'd Marry Next Year

Christopher ColemanThe Post-Dispatch is reporting that Christopher Coleman told his Florida girlfriend that they'd marry in 2010. The woman's name is Tara Lintz and went to high school in Largo, Florida with Coleman's wife, Sheri. Last week Coleman was charged with murdering Sheri and the couple's t ... More >>

Long Live Rock School

Hey kids! Dave Simon's music academy can transform you from a painfully shy teen to a guitar-slinging badass! Even your parents will approve!

Free Falling

A man and his bride-to-be are mistaken for, um, something less savory, and a local-girl-gone-Hollywood makes our Blog o' the Week. Plus: Where have all the good terrorist targets gone?

FATHERHOOD: YOU JUST NEVER KNOW

Terminal Illness

Twenty minutes from downtown, the $300 million MidAmerica Airport is ready and waiting for business -- any business. Trouble is, Lambert is killing its chances of attracting commercial traffic.

Of Wetlands and Wal-Marts

One development at a time, Missouri has lost 87 percent of its wetlands. And that means more floods, more damage, more levees, more bucks. The story of one Supercenter and how progress comes at a price.