Terrifying murder mystery unfolding at upscale L.A. apartment complex
by: Josh DuBose
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Residents of a Valley Village apartment building are scared and frustrated after a gruesome murder in their building remains unsolved and management at the sprawling complex has, so far, done nothing to improve building security.
The victim, now identified as 53-year-old Menashe “Manny” Hidra, lived on the top floor of the five-story Ashton Sherman Village Apartments in the 12600 block of Riverside Drive.
The 53-year-old’s body was found inside his apartment on April 26, but only after a concerned friend, who said Manny had been home sick with COVID, called police for a welfare check.
Three days before the unsettling and tragic discovery, one resident who lives near the murder scene told KTLA that around 3 a.m. on April 23, he heard screams and someone yelling for help.
“I just woke up to some loud noises, something crashing,” he told KTLA. “There was screaming, and I called our security and, also, right after that, I called the police.”
The resident did not want his name shared.
Even more chilling is home security footage obtained by KTLA capturing a man, who police believe is a possible suspect, attempting to get into apartments on another floor just before 3 a.m.
- The suspect seen in surveillance footage attempting to gain entry into apartments on April 23, 2025. (viewer image)
- The suspect seen in surveillance footage attempting to gain entry into apartments on April 23, 2025. (viewer image)
- The suspect seen in surveillance footage attempting to gain entry into apartments on April 23, 2025. (viewer image)
- What appears to be bloodstains on the exterior of the building between a reportedly empty apartment’s balcony and the victim’s balcony. (viewer pic)
- An apparently bloodstained door handle leading to an exterior stairwell. (viewer pic)
- A broken security fob seen on a door leading to the exterior of the building. (viewer pic)
- A possible suspect seen in the building’s stairwell between April 23-26, 2025. (LAPD)
- A possible suspect seen in the building’s stairwell between April 23-26, 2025. (LAPD)
- A man seen in the building’s stairwell between April 23-26, 2025. (LAPD)
In the footage, the man, described as a Hispanic male between 30 and 40 years of age, is seen going door to door, attempting to force his way into several units.
Residents, many of whom did not want to go on camera out of safety concerns, said it appears that whoever committed the murder entered an empty fifth-floor apartment and then climbed from that balcony to the victim’s balcony.
Photos of the building’s bloodstained exterior between the two balconies bolster those claims, as well as a photo of a bloodstained door handle leading to an exit stairwell where the killer may have fled after the murder.
“I walk past those bloodstains every day now,” a fifth-floor resident who did not want to be identified told KTLA. “They’re still there.”
So far, management has done little to quell residents’ fears other than acknowledging the incident in an email reading in part:
“We understand that incidents like these can be concerning, and we want to assure you that our team is fully cooperating. You may continue to see a police presence on-site in the coming days.”
Frustrating residents even further, management has reportedly been taking down photos of the suspect put up by tenants. KTLA has reached out to building management and has yet to hear back.Murder in upscale L.A. apartment complex has tenants furious with management
Residents also said they have repeatedly complained to management that transients have been living on the roof of the building for months, along with complaints about broken security fobs and easily accessible exterior entrances.
“What are they going to do to keep us safe, what security measures are they taking,” one resident told KTLA.
In a news release, detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department said the approximately 30-40-year-old Hispanic male suspect stands between 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs around 180-200 pounds and was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded jacket with a baseball cap, a white shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone who recognizes the man or who has information about the investigation is urged to contact LAPD’s Valley Bureau at 818-374-9559. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
Dad’s terrifying mask drops after he frantically calls police to check on family
Chris Coleman called police in May 2009 to ask them to check on his family because he’d been unable to reach them by telephone – but the truth was far more sinister
Michael Moran
08:19, 19 Sep 2025
A friend called Sheri and Chris “Ken and Barbie” because their life was so seemingly perfect(Image: http://www.cbsnews.com/)
A security guard’s desperate call to the police to check on his family revealed a chilling tale of deceit and murder. Ex-US Marine Chris Coleman rang the police in May 2009, requesting them to check on his family as he’d been unable to contact them by phone.
However, when the police arrived at the family’s lakeside residence in Columbia, Illinois, they were met with a horrifying sight. Sheri Coleman, aged 31, and their sons, Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, were all found dead in their beds – seemingly strangled by an intruder.
Threatening messages such as “punished’ had been spray painted on the walls of the house, which together with a history of threatening letters sent to Coleman and his boss, religious author Joyce Meyer, led investigators to believe that a stranger with a grudge had targeted the Colemans.
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True crime podcaster Annie Elise explains that Coleman’s boss, Joyce Meyer, was a controversial figure at the time.
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The suburban home hid a scene of horror(Image: © FOX2)
She explained: “She was the televangelist at the time. She was raking in millions of pounds. She was flying private. She was preaching around the world. She also had a hit TV show called Enjoying Everyday Life. And by 2002, she was signing £10 million book deals.”
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“However, all of that success came with a lot of controversy,” Annie added, explaining that questions were being raised about how a self-proclaimed “servant of God” had managed to accumulate such vast wealth.
“Protesters started showing up to her events. People were calling her a fraud, a thief, you name it..”
Joyce Meyer had begun to receive death threats(Image: FOX2Now)
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It was for that reason that the charismatic preacher had decided to hire a burly ex-marine to head up her security team. Annie continued: “Joyce didn’t skimp when it came to paying her security team. Chris was pulling in a low six figure salary. Not too bad.”
She added: “At first, he was very into it. The travel, the money, everything. It all just felt very exciting. But after a while, he started to see the cracks. He would tell his neighbours that his job was mostly ‘looking intimidating” and that Joyce was never really in any real danger.
However, Joyce then began receiving menacing emails, cautioning her that if she didn’t abandon her ministry then Coleman’s family would suffer.
One of the threatening emails sent to Coleman(Image: FOX2Now)
The threats intensified, and Coleman fitted security cameras around his house to protect his family. He also consulted a police officer friend about the threatening messages and asked what else he could do to keep them safe.
“Then came the morning of May 5th, 2009,” Annie recalled. “Chris woke up early. He wanted to hit the gym before work. Nothing unusual.
“He kissed his wife Sherry goodbye and left the house at 5:45 a.m. And while he was at the gym working out, he sent his wife Sheri a text message saying, ‘Hey, wake up and check on the boys’. But he got no reply.”
Coleman contacted his police officer neighbour and requested he visit Sheri for a welfare check. What the neighbour discovered left him horrified.
Sheri, Garett and Gavin Coleman were found strangled in their beds
A window had seemingly been pried open and throughout the property were a series of menacing messages scrawled in blood-red spray-paint. The messages cautioned “I am always watching.”
Another declared “I saw you leave” and a third stated simply “You have paid.”
When detectives reached the two lads’ bedrooms, they discovered both youngsters had perished. Spray-painted across 9-year-old Gavin’s bed was a message officers found so deeply disturbing that its contents have never to this day been revealed publicly.
Sheri was discovered naked, face down on her bed having been attacked and then strangled. She had clearly struggled with her assailant before ultimately being overpowered and murdered.
Sinister messages were found daubed on the walls of the house(Image: FOX2Now)
However, following more thorough examination of the crime scene, certain elements didn’t make sense. Annie explains: “We know that Chris left for the gym at 5:45 a.m. That was caught on security camera footage. Police arrived just before 6:45 a.m.
“So whoever did this had under an hour to murder three people and then spray paint all of these threats on the walls and on the bed sheets. That was a lot of activity for under 60 minutes.”
Post-mortem examinations indicated that Sheri and her two sons may have perished before Coleman departed for the gymnasium. Heightening suspicions further, Coleman showed virtually no reaction when informed that his wife and children had been slain, and bore unexplained scratches on his arms that he appeared reluctant to discuss.
Coleman’s defence crumbled when he voluntarily surrendered his mobile to officers, confident that his “wake up” text to Sheri would demonstrate his innocence. However, the message he’d dispatched – which he claimed was routine – marked the first and sole occasion he had ever sent such communication.
Coleman had been dreaming of marriage to Tara Lintz(Image: Monroe County Circuit Court.)
Additional messages on Coleman’s device disclosed that he had been openly discussing divorce, whilst voicing worries that Sheri might claim a portion of the earnings from his lucrative new position.
Most incriminating of all, investigators discovered proof that Coleman had been conducting an extramarital relationship with Sherry’s former closest friend, Tara Lintz.
Under questioning, Tara, a former cocktail server at a strip club, confessed to detectives that she had been exchanging explicit messages with Coleman since November 2008 and that he had vowed to wed her following his divorce.
This evidence proved sufficient for prosecutors to bring charges against Coleman. In May 2011, Coleman, aged 34, was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder.
Whilst the prosecution considered seeking capital punishment, the State of Illinois had abolished the death penalty shortly before proceedings commenced. However, he was given a life sentence.
