Bio

Christine Coffman was born in 1961.

She is the mother of Daniel Acevedo. Reports also refer to her as the wife of Duffy Coffman.

It is unclear from available records when she became part of her step-grandson's life. Laura married Daniel Acevedo in November 2003.

Murder Story

Christine Coffman was born in 1961. She was classified as a murderer. Her case involved one victim.

The victim was Matal Zachery Sanchez, age 4. He vanished on June 29, 2005, from his home in Milwaukie, Clackamas County, Oregon.

Police searched after the boy was reported missing. The search involved local police, FBI agents, Oregon State Police detectives, the Clackamas County Interagency Crime Team, search and rescue teams, and an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter.

Coffman left the house the day the boy vanished and returned without him. Her T-shirt was stained with a red-colored substance. She first told police she had been picking blackberries, donating blood and running errands. Investigators found that blackberries were not ripe on the route she described and that she had purchased raspberries. A forensic scientist said the red stains on her shirt appeared to be berries smeared over blood.

Police questioned Coffman and took her into custody. She led authorities to a densely wooded plot of land near Estacada about 25 miles from the boy’s home. An autopsy indicated the boy died of one or more blows to the head.

Coffman confessed to the boy’s death three days after he disappeared. She said she first tried to strangle him, then she struck him in the head with a rock. She was arrested and held without bail. She was on suicide watch in jail.

A grand jury indicted Coffman on aggravated murder charges in July 2005. She had been expected to use an insanity defense at trial, but a psychologist later testified she was mentally competent to enter a plea. Coffman pleaded guilty to murder in March 2007.

Prosecutors said Coffman’s motive was revenge. They said she wanted to hurt her husband, Duffy Coffman, because he was close to the boy and the couple was having marriage problems and facing a possible divorce. The boy’s family consulted with prosecutors and supported a plea agreement for life in prison rather than seeking the death penalty.

On March 12, 2007, a Clackamas County judge sentenced Christine Coffman to life in prison. Her status is listed as pleaded guilty and sentenced to life.