In a case that has shocked Ohio, Chad Doerman, 33, was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole after admitting to the execution-style killings of his three young sons. Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Richard Ferenc handed down the sentence for the murders of Clayton, 7; Hunter, 4; and Chase, 3.
Plea agreement and charges
Doerman avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to three counts of murder. Prosecutors agreed to drop the aggravating factors that made him eligible for capital punishment. Judge Ferenc confirmed that the victims’ families approved the plea agreement. Additionally, Doerman pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault, including the shooting of his wife, Laura Doerman.
“There was really nothing — despite desperately fighting to save the lives of her boys — that Laura Doerman could have done,” Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in court.
Harrowing details of the crime
Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve described the brutal events of June 15, 2023, in court. Chad Doerman returned home early from work, took a nap with his sons, and then retrieved a rifle from a gun safe. He shot Hunter twice, prompting Laura Doerman to try to aid her son while Clayton fled. Doerman pursued and repeatedly shot Clayton, eventually killing him with a bullet to the head, witnessed by Laura’s 14-year-old daughter.
The teenage daughter attempted to flee with Chase, but Doerman, after threatening her, reloaded his rifle and shot the boy in the head. Laura Doerman tried to shield Chase, pressing her thumb over the rifle barrel, but was ultimately shot in the thumb before Doerman killed the child.
In a statement read in court, Laura Doerman expressed her enduring grief and anger, saying, “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.”
Chad Doerman admitted to authorities that he had been contemplating killing his sons for months, unable to sleep in the days leading up to the murders. In court, he confirmed the prosecutor’s account of the events.
One of Doerman’s lawyers noted that his client, who had previously pursued a not guilty because of insanity plea, was delusional at the time of the killings.
Community reaction
The case has left the community in Monroe Township, southeast of Cincinnati, reeling. The severity of the crimes and the detailed account of the tragic events have underscored the gravity of the sentences handed down to Chad Doerman.
