By AP/KWMU
Columbia, Ill. – The family of Sheri Coleman, the Metro East woman found strangled in her home with her two sons is suing Christopher Coleman, who has already been charged in the killings.
Attorneys for Sheri Coleman's mother and brother filed the wrongful-death suit Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Christopher Coleman strangled his wife and their sons in the bedrooms of their Columbia, Illinois home on May 5. Police arrested Coleman two weeks later, and he has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
Attorneys said the lawsuit is meant in part to keep Coleman from selling the house.
A judge allowed Sheri Coleman's relatives access to the home Tuesday, so the family could collect photos and other personal items.