The Clermont County father, Chad Doerman, who executed his three young sons in June of 2023, will spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole. This article delves into the chilling details of the case, the events leading up to the murders, and the subsequent legal proceedings.
The Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Chad Doerman, now 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault. The plea deal with prosecutors allowed him to avoid the death penalty in exchange for his admission of guilt. Doerman was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
It has been nearly 14 months since Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and 3-year-old Chase, were found gunned down in the front yard of their own home while their father sat quietly on the porch with a rifle by his side.
Statements from the Victims' Family
Laura Doerman and her daughter, Alexis, appeared in court in black dresses. Alexis faced her stepfather as her statement was read:
"Chad, I trusted you with my life," she wrote. "I always wanted to make sure I was making you proud … but most of all, I saw you as my dad, not just a stepdad." She added, "I don't think I will ever be able to hate you," she wrote. "I will forever hold on to the memories I have of you and the boys because those are all happy memories ... I will never in a million years ever forgive you for what you have done, and hope you pay for your actions like you deserve, but I will never hate you."
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Laura Doerman cried as her statement was read in court: "Where there used to be so much laughter, happiness, noise of rowdy little boys, there is now sadness and emptiness," she wrote. "I would do anything to push them on the swing, cover them up one more time and hear their little ways of saying, 'I love you.'" She questioned herself every day about whether she could have done something more to save her sons. Laura Doerman wrote, "Grief will never go away because it is all the love that is left with no place to go," before closing her statement paraphrasing a quote from a Brad Paisley song: "When I get to where I'm going, I'll only have happy tears," she wrote. "Until then, I will live my days with nothing but sadness."
The Events of June 15, 2023
On June 15, 2023, Doerman was at home with his wife and sons when he started pacing the house carrying a Bible and mumbling, "Chad knows what's right," according to prosecutors. It was a warm Thursday afternoon. The boys had baseball practice the night before. Their bikes and toys sat in the yard of the single-story home on Laurel Lindale Road in Monroe Township.
His wife noticed the behavior and told Doerman he was scaring her. Doerman told her he was "just kidding" and "playing around," and decided to lie down. His wife did not want him to be alone, so she and her sons went into the bedroom with him. At some point, Doerman got back out of bed and got his .22 caliber Marlin rifle out of the gun safe and shot one of his sons twice, the document states.
His wife immediately called 911 while screaming for her other children to run. Doerman chased one of the boys into a field behind the house and shot him as he fled then again at close range after the boy fell, according to the document. The boys' sister picked up her last surviving brother and ran with him toward a nearby firehouse, but Doerman caught up to her and at gunpoint demanded she put the boy down.
The boys' sister kept running toward the fire station telling a passerby that her father was "killing everyone." Doerman went to the last boy and shot him. His mother suffered a gunshot wound to her hand trying to protect the boys, prosecutors said. The document said after the boys were dead, Doerman picked them up and laid their bodies next to each other in the yard.
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When Clermont County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the house, they spotted Doerman on his front porch. Body camera footage shows the deputies at the edge of the Doerman property with their guns trained on Doerman demanding he put his hands up and step toward them. He did not comply. As they began approaching the house, they debated with each other whether to rush in or try to approach more cautiously. Then they grabbed him and pulled him away from the rifle resting at his side.
"I ain't gonna hurt nobody," Doerman said calmly. "I'm completely sober." He also told the officers his dog wouldn't bite them. A woman screamed in the background of the footage: "What do I do? You took my life from me! My life! They're so little."
As he was escorted to a cruiser, Doerman asked a deputy if he would take his wallet out of his back pocket. "Shut up, dude," the deputy replies. "You have the right to remain silent. (Expletive) use it." Prosecutors said that during his arrest Doerman said, "I did it. Take me to jail."
Doerman was given a $20 million bond. At his arraignment, he appeared in padded green vest meant to stop prisoners from harming themselves. He would eventually plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
The Investigation and Legal Hurdles
After his arrest, Doerman was interviewed for more than two and a half hours. He said he had contact with members of the CIA and, according to prosecutors, confessed to the killings. During that interview, Doerman said he had been planning the executions for months, according to investigators. Doerman's lawyers said their client was denied access to an attorney even after he asked for one.
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Judge Ferenc agreed with the defense and said Doerman's rights were violated because his Miranda rights were not read to him completely and he asked for a lawyer multiple times without being provided one. Much of Doerman's confession was thrown out and deemed inadmissible in trial.
Mental Health and the Plea of Insanity
In May, Doerman's attorneys filed a motion asking the death penalty be dropped against their client, citing "serious mental illness at time of offense." In Ohio, people proven to have suffered from a serious mental illness at the time they committed a crime cannot be executed by the state; however, they can be given a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is what Doerman was sentenced to as part of his plea deal.
Prosecutors say experts evaluated him and believe he knew right from wrong the day he murdered his sons. In recorded jail calls and visits, Doerman spoke with relatives. Detectives say he would at times say he did not remember what happened, but other times, he openly admitted to the killings, comparing himself to Hitler.
According to Tekulve, Chad explained what happened on June 15 to his mother on a recorded phone call from the Clermont County Jail. His statements in the call and to detectives were also conflicting, but prosecutors did not explain what those statements were. Additionally, Chad told his mother he did not want to meet with a psychiatrist because it would not get him anything, Allen said. When asked if he felt bad about what he did, Chad replied no, the chief prosecuting attorney added.
Two weeks after the killings, Chad made a phone call to his brother. Prosecutors say Chad compared himself to Adolf Hitler because Hitler made news across the world, and so has he.
Pure Evil: Plot to Kill Three Sons Revealed | Chad Doerman Case Update | Monroe Township Ohio
The Victims and Their Community
The Doerman boys all played baseball and their sister played softball. Playing ball is a big deal in the Clermont County community of Monroe Township. It's the type of place where people will go to watch games even if they don't have kids on the team. It's generational. After Clayton, Hunter and Chase were killed, their teams canceled the rest of their seasons.
This year, the boys even got their own field. CHC Field - for Clayton, Hunter and Chase - was dedicated on May 25.
The Family Dynamic Before the Murders
To understand what happened, prosecutors outlined Chad’s behavior in the five days leading up to the killings.
- Chad and Laura Doerman were married.
- Chad worked as an insulator.
- Laura was a stay-at-home mom and had plans to home-school the kids.
- They shared three sons: Clayton, Chase and Hunter, who were described as “active little boys” who loved baseball and fishing.
- Laura’s 14-year-old was Chad’s stepdaughter, described as an “outstanding student” and “softball star.”
The Days Leading Up to the Killings
- June 10: It was a normal day. Chad and his sons had a “boys’ day” together while Laura and her daughter had a “girls’ day.” There was “no indication of any trouble,” Tekulve said.
- June 11: Chad takes the boys fishing. It is just another normal day. No reports of abnormal behavior.
- June 12: Nothing seemed out of the ordinary according to his co-workers.
- June 13: Chad had issues with his truck’s headlights, so he had to fix those himself. He apologized for anything that he had done to hurt her. His co-workers did not notice anything unusual about him. After work, he went to coach his son’s baseball game. Other parents said he seemed a little distracted but nothing strange. The boys ran up excitedly and greeted their father in the yard, while Laura prepared lunch. While she is in the kitchen, Chad tells her, “This will be my last good meal.”
Moments later, Chad called his dad, saying, “Clayton is going to be the hardest one.” It was an unusual statement especially without context. Chad spent the rest of the day playing with the kids and doing yard work. He then started reading the Bible to Hunter.
The 911 Calls
When Laura tried to call 911, Chad grabbed her phone out of her hands and said, “It’s too late.” He lifted the rifle and pointed it at Hunter first, firing several times at the four-year-old, the prosecutor said. Laura screamed at the kids to start running while she tried to help Hunter and called 911. In the background of the phone calls, Chad is heard screaming at Laura to get up - to stop trying to help Hunter. The other three children are heard screaming in the background as well. Laura managed to move Hunter out of the house and into the field where she continued to yell for help.
Five minutes after the initial 911 call, Laura calls again. “My children are shot, my children are not breathing, and no one is helping me,” she told the dispatcher. Tekulve said the first 911 call somehow got disconnected.
Aftermath
As part of a plea agreement, Chad will spend the rest of his life in jail without the possibility of parole, Clermont County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Ferenc said. Originally, Chad faced nine counts of aggravated murder and other charges of kidnapping and felonious assault in a total 21-count indictment. He pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault. The plea deal was agreed upon by the surviving victims.
In a letter that was read in court, Laura had a message for those who may be struggling with their mental health or know someone who is. She encouraged others to call a crisis hotline, dial 988, or ask for help if someone is considering hurting themselves or others. “Violence is never the answer,” she wrote.
While Chad admitted to the crimes and has been sentenced, one thing still remains a mystery: Why did he do it? Prosecutors say they are still unsure.
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