A man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting deaths of his three young sons at their Ohio home last year. On Friday, a Clermont County judge handed down three consecutive life terms to Chad Doerman, 33, after he pleaded guilty to aggravated murder charges. Doerman also received an additional 16-year sentence for two felonious assault charges related to injuries inflicted on his former wife and his stepdaughter, told NBC News.
Prosecutor Mark Tekulve had initially vowed to seek the death penalty for the June 15, 2023, murders of Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, in Monroe Township, about 75 miles west of Columbus. However, Tekulve decided against pursuing the death penalty, citing the ongoing trauma experienced by the surviving family members. “My job, as I saw it this week, was to relieve them of that additional agony,” he told reporters on Friday, according to AP News.
Prosecutors previously stated that Doerman, who was taken into custody after being found sitting on a stoop at the home, admitted to planning the killings and even chased down one of the boys in a field after the child tried to escape. Defense attorneys argued that Doerman was struggling with severe mental illness.
In court, Laura Doerman, the children’s mother and Chad Doerman’s ex-wife, wept as a prosecutor read her statement. “My life has been ripped away from me and destroyed,” she said. “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.’ … I have anger, frustration, and so much sadness. Grief will never go away because it is all the love that is left with no place to go.”
After the sentencing, Laura Doerman expressed her agreement with the resolution of the case in a statement issued through prosecutors. “No punishment will ever bring my boys back,” she wrote. “Having a guarantee that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars is what is best for my family.”
Prosecutor Tekulve announced plans to reveal more details about the case at a news conference on Monday. Laura Doerman thanked prosecutors and first responders and requested privacy for her family, stating they “grieve every day” for the boys. She also asked that people remember her sons as they were before the tragic events.
“Remember them as the three little boys who loved fishing, go-carting, and swimming,” she said. “Remember them as the little boys who were always at the baseball fields or running around outside. Remember them as the boys who loved to have fun and were inseparable from one another.”
This heartbreaking case has brought immense grief to the community, and the sentencing aims to provide some measure of justice for the innocent lives lost.