- Chad Doerman, 33, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the shooting deaths of his three young sons in Ohio last year.
- He was given three consecutive life terms after pleading guilty to aggravated murder charges and an additional 16 years for felonious assault related to injuries inflicted on his ex-wife and stepdaughter.
- Prosecutor Mark Tekulve initially aimed for the death penalty but chose to forgo it to reduce the trauma suffered by the surviving family members.
A man has received a life sentence without the possibility of parole in connection with the shooting deaths of his three young sons at their home in Ohio last year.
On Friday, a judge from Clermont County sentenced Chad Doerman, 33, to three consecutive life terms after he admitted guilt to aggravated murder charges. He was also sentenced to an additional 16 years for two felonious assault charges involving injuries to his former wife and stepdaughter.
Initially, Prosecutor Mark Tekulve had declared his intention to pursue the death penalty in the murders of Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, committed on June 15, 2023, in Monroe Township, approximately 75 miles west of Columbus.
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However, on Friday, he referenced the ongoing trauma that the surviving family members “experienced that day and continue to endure daily.”
Chad Doerman, featured in these images from bodycam footage and a booking photo, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of his three young sons at their Ohio home last year.
(Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, AP Newsroom)
“My role, as I perceived it this week, was to alleviate them from that extra pain,” he expressed to reporters on Friday.
Prosecutors disclosed that Doerman was arrested while seated on a stoop outside his home and had confessed to planning the murders, even pursuing one of the boys across a field after he attempted to escape. The defense had claimed that he was grappling with serious mental health issues.
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Laura Doerman, the mother of the children and the former wife of the defendant, was in tears as a prosecutor read a statement in court from her, explaining that her life had been “ripped away and devastated.”
“I would do anything to push them on the swing, tuck them in one last time, and hear their sweet ways of saying, ‘I love you,’” she stated. “… I feel anger, frustration, and profound sadness. My grief will always remain because it is all the love that has nowhere to go.”
In another statement shared through the prosecutors after the sentencing, she conveyed her “full agreement” with the outcome of the case.
“No punishment can ever restore my boys,” she remarked. “Knowing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison is what is best for my family.”
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The prosecutor announced plans to disclose more details regarding the case in a press conference scheduled for Monday. Laura Doerman expressed gratitude to prosecutors and first responders, requesting privacy as she and her family “grieve every day” for the boys. She also urged the public to remember the children as they were before the tragic events unfolded.
“Honor their memory as the three little boys who delighted in fishing, go-carting, and swimming,” she implored. “Remember them as the boys who were always at the baseball fields, running around outside, and who cherished having fun while remaining inseparable from one another.”
