Chad Doerman murdered his sons Chase, 3, Hunter, 4, and Clayton, 7, at their home in Clermont County, Ohio, on June 14, 2023, authorities said. (Mugshot: Clermont County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Newly revealed documents detail how an Ohio father allegedly executed his three sons and how the boys’ mother and sister heroically tried to save them. The bill of particulars against defendant Chad Doerman, 32, sheds light on how he allegedly killed the children and even how long he contemplated the act.
But it falls short on revealing a key detail — the motive for the deaths of Chase, 3, Hunter, 4, and Clayton, 7.
Doerman returned home from work early on June 14, according to the bill of particulars obtained by WCPO. He allegedly asked his wife and sons to join him for a nap in the master bedroom. His rifle, a Marlin Model HC .22, was next to the bed, authorities said. Meanwhile, the boys’ sister watched TV in the family room.
Doerman got into bed with his wife and sons, got out of bed, grabbed the rifle, loaded the magazine, and allegedly shot one of the boys twice. The mother immediately tried to help the boy and told the other sons to run.
The sister had seen the first shots fired, authorities said. She ran after one of the sons, screaming for him to keep running, according to the documents. Doerman allegedly chased and fired at the boy, striking him. The child fell. His father allegedly shot him at close range.
The girl returned to the home and picked up one of her other brothers, holding him in her arms in another attempt to flee.
Doerman caught up to them, however, raised the rifle, and demanded she put the child down, authorities alleged. He allegedly tried to fire but failed — the gun appeared empty, according to documents.
The boy ran to his mother, who had left the home and gone into the yard to help the son who had been shot outside. The sister ran to the nearby fire department, telling a passerby about her father “killing everyone.”
Doerman allegedly approached the surviving boy and the mother and bit the woman to get the child away.
The woman grabbed the rifle. Doerman allegedly shot her through the thumb. She dropped the child. Doerman allegedly shot him in the head, according to documents. He sat on the side stoop and watched while the mother tried to save her sons’ lives.
One of the boys was shot once, and the other two were shot four times each.
As seen on body camera footage, he was cooperative, even polite, with the arresting officers.
“I ain’t going to hurt you,” he told an officer.
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Doerman told authorities in an audio and video-recorded interview he had been thinking about carrying out the act since October, according to the documents obtained by WCPO. He had not slept in three or four days up to the killings because “the thoughts of having to kill his sons was so heavy on him.”
A neighbor described Doerman’s pre-shooting behavior in ugly terms, saying the defendant had a temper, yelled all the time and treated the wife like “s—.”
“He was angry every day,” Richard Kincannon said, according to WCPO. “There wasn’t a day he didn’t yell at his wife and kids out there.”
Doerman’s father, Keith Doerman, told the outlet he had no explanation for the killings and maintained his son had “just snapped.”
“I could tell in his eyes he’s hollow inside,” he said. “That wasn’t Chad standing at the arraignment. That was not him.”
Body camera footage shows Doerman banging his head against a wall during the jail booking.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Charges include aggravated murder.
The boys’ obituary is heart-wrenching.
“Three brothers bonded together in life and now for eternity as God has reeled them in to heaven for unending days of fishing, playing outside way past bedtime, laughing loudly, and non-stop giggling,” it said. “They loved unconditionally, sharing their big hearts with anyone who they could make laugh and give them love.”
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