An Ohio man who fatally shot his young sons last year pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of aggravated murder as part of a deal with the state to avoid the death penalty.
Chad Doerman, 33, received three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the deaths of 7-year-old Clayton, 4-year-old Hunter and 3-year-old Chase Doerman, who were shot in their home in Monroe Township on June 15 2023, several sockets reported.
Doerman also pleaded guilty to two felonies against his former wife and stepdaughter, who had tried to stop the killings.
According to an account of data filed in Clermont County and obtained by local stations WCPO And WLWTthe incident began when Doerman came home from work and walked around with a Bible in a way that scared the children.
His then-wife, the mother of the three boys, told him she didn’t like what he was doing, and she and their sons then took a nap with him, according to the court document.
After some time, Doerman got out of bed to get a gun from a gun safe and shot Hunter twice, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in court Friday.
The boys’ mother screamed for the other two to flee as she tried to render aid, and Doerman’s stepdaughter entered the room after hearing the shot, according to the specification. The stepdaughter ran outside with Clayton, but Doerman was right behind them and shot in their direction.
Clayton was shot and fell to the ground, the court document said. It was at this point that Doerman fired an additional shot into the boy’s head at close range.
His stepdaughter went back into the house to grab Chase and run, but Doerman caught up with them. Doerman then demanded she put Chase down and tried to fire a shot at him, but the gun did not discharge, the court document said.
Chase ran outside to where his mother was now as she continued to render aid to Hunter. However, Doerman caught up with the child and shot him at close range.
During this time, Doerman’s stepdaughter left the home to get help and flagged down a passerby as she headed to a nearby fire station.
The boys’ mother struggled with Doerman when he tried to take Hunter from her and she was shot in the thumb, the court document said. He then shot Hunter in the head. Doerman was later arrested outside his home by Clermont County sheriff’s deputies.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports this that prosecutors agreed to halt the death penalty against Doerman in exchange for a guilty plea. Tekulve, who had been adamant in demanding the death penalty, told reporters Friday that his decision to offer the deal came after recognizing the “trauma” the boys’ mother and her daughter had experienced.
“The trauma that these two experienced that day and continue to experience, my job, as I saw it this week, is to relieve them of that additional pain. And that is why we are here today,” Tekulve said.
A victim statement from the boys’ mother and her daughter was read out in court on Friday. This was reported by Fox affiliate WXIX.
The mother said she agreed with the way Doerman’s case was resolved, adding that it provided a sense of closure for her and her daughter. She said she wants the public to remember her sons as they were in life before last year’s incident.
“Remember them as the boys who liked to have fun and were inseparable from each other,” the mother said in court. “Their lives are not just about what happened to them – they are so much more than that.”