CHAD DOERMAN STANDS ACCUSED OF MURDERING HIS CHILDREN
On 15 June, according to his own confession, Chad Doerman shot his three young sons, Clayton, seven, Hunter, four, and Chase, three. The senseless crime sent shockwaves through the community of Monroe Township, Ohio, as details of the killings were revealed. At approximately 4.15pm, 911 operators received a distress call to report a shooting at Laurel Lindale Road. Chilling police bodycam footage shows officers arriving to find Doerman, 32, seated on his porch, looking calm and holding a rifle, near to the lifeless bodies of his sons. Moments earlier, he had watched his wife attempt to save the life of the children he had callously shot.
Doerman has been charged with 21 offences: nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of felonious assault. He appeared in court on 16 June, where – despite initially admitting killing his three sons – he pleaded not guilty. Assistant prosecutor David Gast told the court, “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.” He added, “This is the most serious offence we have on the books. This is it. You can’t commit a more serious offence.” The judge ordered Doerman be held on $20million bond while he awaits trial.
Newly released documents revealed Doerman had not slept for days because the “thought of killing his sons had overwhelmed him”. He would later say in a taped interview that the “thought of having to kill my sons was so heavy”.
According to the documents, which do not name his wife or daughter, Doerman arrived home from work early, and told his wife and three sons to join him in the bedroom under the guise of taking a family nap. Doerman kept a gun safe beside the bed, and inside was the weapon he would soon use. At the same time, the boys’ sister was watching TV in another room in the home. Doerman lay down with his family for a short period, but then he got out of bed, walked over to the safe and pulled out his gun. He loaded and fired twice at one of his sons. His wife screamed at the other boys to run as their sister entered to the bedroom to find Doerman holding the rifle.
As one of her brothers ran, the girl screamed as Doerman chased the boy, shooting as he fled. When the boy fell to the ground, Doerman shot him at
