A grand jury indicted an Ohio man for allegedly massacring his three young sons and injuring their mother.
Chad Christopher Doerman, 32, faces nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of felonious assault. As seen on body cam footage on June 15, he appeared amenable as he sat on the porch next to a rifle at a home in the 1900 block of Laurel Lindale Road in Monroe Township. His hands were in the air as officers wrenched him to the grass and handcuffed his hands behind his back.
“I ain’t going to hurt you,” he told an officer after allegedly lining up the boys — ages 3, 4, 7 — and executing them with the firearm. He had hunted one of them down, a prosecutor said.
As seen on bodycam footage, he advised the officer how to approach the barking dog safely. A woman yelled out. Authorities said Doerman had shot her in the hand.
“You took my life from me! My life!” she said.
The boys’ sister had reportedly fled during their father’s rampage.
“Can I stand up?” Doerman asked an officer from the grass. “It’s kind of uncomfortable.”
A neighbor told NBC affiliate WLWT about hearing “boom! boom!” sounds and seven gunshots.
“There has been a full admission in this case,” prosecutor David Gast said. “The case is still new. We’re still discovering facts. But the evil horror of what we know is impossible to process. In an act of incomprehensible cruelty, the father that stands before you lined up his three young boys and executed them in his own home with a rifle. In an act of desperation, the mother at some point grabbed the gun the father was wielding to attempt to protect them.”
Bond was set at $20 million. Doerman is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Monday at 1 p.m.
A sister of the boys’ mother, a family friend, and the New Richmond Youth Sports Association are collecting donations to support the family.
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A WLWT profile described the boys in warm terms. They reportedly would walk hand in hand on the way to fish or catch worms. Their laughter was contagious. The outlet described the eldest as a feisty-lefthander and team player.
“I was just with them less than a day before on the field, having a great time, encouraging his teammates,” said Dwayne Kuhn, the New Richmond Riverbats head coach.
The 7-year-old encouraged a teammate who struck out.
The 7-year-old approached him during the game and said, ‘It’s OK, buddy. I struck out too. It’s no big deal. We all do it,’ and that’s just the kind of kid he was,” Kuhn said.
The 4-year-old was gifted at tee ball.
“I would often be the one throwing to him because it’s still coach pitch,” said Brandon Allen, a New Richmond Lions assistant coach. “And just the seriousness of his eyes, he would nod, ‘I’m ready to go. Let’s go.””
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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