A father who lined up his three sons and shot them dead will spend the rest of his life in prison after accepting a plea deal.

Chad Doerman, 33, admitted to killing his sons Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3, when he was arrested on June 15, 2023, in Monroe Township, 20 miles east of Cincinnati.

He broke down in tears after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated murder in Clermont County Court on Friday.

Doerman also pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault on his then-wife, who tried to stop the murders, and stepdaughter.

Judge Richard Ferenc jailed Doerman for three life sentences without parole, and a minimum 16 years for the assault charges.

Doerman initially faced 21 charges, including nine counts of murder, and the plea deal took the death penalty off the table.

His then-wife, Laura Doerman, told the court she approved of the plea deal, which removed the need for her to re-live the murders during a trial.

‘I am in full agreement with how the criminal case was resolved, and the decision to end this criminal case with a plea and multiple life sentences brings some finality to the court case for my daughter and me,’ she told the court through a victim advocate. 

‘No punishment will ever bring my boys back. Having a guarantee that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars is what is best for my family.

‘Remember them as the three little boys who loved fishing, go-carting, and swimming. Remember them as the little boys who were always at the baseball fields or running around outside. 

Remember them as the boys who love to have fun and were inseparable from one another. 

‘Their lives are not only about what happened to them- they are so much more that that. I love you Clayton, Hunter, and Chase.’

Prosecutors have previously claimed Doerman planned the executions for months. 

Doerman lined the boys up before fatally shooting them with a rifle, also injuring their mother when she tried to protect them. 

Chief prosecutor David Gast said during Doerman’s arraignment that one of the boys tried to flee into a nearby field but Doerman ‘hunted’ him down and brought him back to their home before killing him. 

Deputies responded to the home in Monroe Township shortly before 4:30 pm after receiving two 911 calls, one apparently from the mother who was screaming that ‘her babies had been shot.’ 

Another call came from a passing motorist who said a girl was running down the street saying her father was killing people. 

The deputies found three boys outside the home with gunshot wounds and tried to save their lives, but the children died at the scene.

Haunting police bodycam footage shows the moment officers arrived to find Doerman calmly seated next to his rifle moments after executing his young sons.

Doerman was detained without incident after he was found on the steps of his Ohio property.

‘I ain’t gonna hurt nobody,’ Doerman told arresting officers as he told them that his dog wouldn’t bite them.

‘Shut up, dude. You have the right to remain silent. F**king use it,’ a deputy tells him.

The sheriff’s office said the 34-year-old mother, who was not identified, was outside the home and had suffered a gunshot to the hand while trying to shield her sons from their father.

Doerman’s father, Keith Doerman, has said he and his wife are ‘still trying to comprehend’ how their son could have killed his own boys, but added they have ‘no answers.’

‘He just snapped,’ Keith said. ‘There was something going on in his life that he couldn’t handle no more. I can’t talk to him, they aren’t letting me talk to him so I don’t have any answers. He probably hid a lot of stuff from me.’

Detective Michael Ross said Doerman said during an interview that, ‘The Bible says you kill your first born, you kill your second born, you kill your third born. 

‘But first you’re supposed to kill your wife. I didn’t kill my wife.’ 

Last modified: October 5, 2024