Ohio Father Executes Three Sons, Wounds Mother
A man from Ohio has been charged with aggravated murder after lining up his three young sons and shooting them with a rifle at their family home on Thursday. Chad Doerman, 32, has reportedly confessed to the execution-style killing, in which the boys’ mother suffered a gunshot wound to the hand.
An Ohio man accused of fatally shooting his three young sons as his daughter fled screaming admitted to planning the killings and lined them up before executing them with a rifle. https://t.co/AqYt7SZTXH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 16, 2023
According to prosecutors, one of the boys attempted to escape to a nearby field but was pursued by his father, forcibly brought back to the house, and callously murdered. The heart-wrenching screams of his daughter, who managed to flee, alerted neighbors and passersby to the unspeakable violence taking place.
Deputies arrived at the scene shortly after receiving a distressing 911 call from the boys’ mother, who was distraught and frantic, informing authorities that “her babies had been shot.” Another call had come in from a motorist who had encountered the Doerman family’s terrified daughter running down the street, tearfully revealing that her father was killing everyone.
The young girl reportedly ran down the street, desperately pleading for help, as her father continued his disturbing rampage on the unnamed boys who were 3, 4, and 7 years old.
Officers pronounced the boys dead at the scene. Their mother, a 34-year-old woman, was discovered outside the home with a gunshot wound to her hand. Authorities said she had been shot while attempting to wrestle the gun away from Doerman, in a desperate bid to protect her children. Fortunately, her injuries are not critical and she was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment.
The condition and age of the surviving daughter remain undisclosed at this time, as well as the names of the woman and her three sons.
Authorities arrested Doerman who was found sitting calmly on the stoop of his home. When he was questioned, he admitted to lining up his sons in the yard before shooting them, according to police. Adding an even greater layer of darkness to this unimaginable tragedy, he further revealed that he had been planning these heinous murders for several months.
Doerman has been formally charged with three counts of aggravated murder and now awaits trial. During his arraignment, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve expressed his shock and horror, declaring the murders as the “most sickening” and “horrifying” crime he had ever witnessed.
“I can only imagine the terror these little boys felt and experienced as their father — their protector — was murdering them,” he stated.
Clermont County Chief Prosecutor, David Gast, in his address to the court, also emphasized the “unspeakable” trauma the killings inflicted upon the family involved, the community, and all those affected by this horrific act.
As investigators continue their work, the motive behind these devastating shootings remains unknown. In a historic move, the court set his bail at a staggering $20 million, the highest bond ever recorded in the county.
