Prosecutor: Ill. man strangled his wife, 2 sons

WATERLOO, Ill. – Prosecutors opened the trial of an Illinois man accused of strangling his wife and two sons by telling jurors the defendant spent months setting up the crime with threatening messages sent from his work computer.

Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz (ryts) says the case will be a complicated one for jurors, involving as many as 40 witnesses. Reitz says the evidence will show Christopher Coleman lied when he insisted he was working out at the gym as his family was killed in their Columbia home in May 2009.

In his opening statement Monday, defense attorney Bill Margulis asked jurors to keep an open mind and said they'll find plenty of reasonable doubt about the prosecution's case.

Coleman has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bond.