Father avoids death penalty for murdering three sons in Ohio
It is one of the most shocking crimes in recent years in the USA. A father shot his three sons in an execution-style manner. A verdict was reached, and 33-year-old Chad Doerman avoided the death penalty.
The case against Chad Doerman, a 33-year-old from Ohio, USA, lasted over a year in court. In June 2023, he killed his three sons in front of his wife. He did it with a shotgun, which he kept in a gun safe. After the massacre, he sat in front of the house, waiting for the police to arrive, and watched as the children's mother tried to save them.
Doerman faced 21 charges, including nine counts of premeditated murder, eight related to kidnapping, and four concerning armed assault. Initially, the man did not plead guilty, claiming he was insane. The prosecution wanted him to be sentenced to death.
Chad Doerman heard the verdict
Doerman avoided the death penalty. On Friday, August 2, he pleaded guilty to three charges of murder with particular cruelty—one for each of his sons, 4-year-old Hunter, 7-year-old Clayton, and 3-year-old Chase. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to two charges of assault with particular cruelty. The judge sentenced the man to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
During the Friday court session, statements from the murderer’s ex-wife and stepdaughter were read, who survived the massacre. "Chad, I trusted you with my life. And honestly, I looked up to you more than anyone. Most of all, I saw you as my dad — not just a stepdad," read the stepdaughter's letter, which was read on behalf of the girl by the Clermont County prosecutor.
A father like something from a horror movie. Terrible what he did to the children
In her statement, the stepdaughter expressed her longing for the three boys who died in the massacre. "Waking up on Christmas isn't the same anymore. I don't get excited. I don't even look forward to having presents, because it's not the same. I don't get to wake up early and wake the boys up. I don't get to hide the elf. I don't get to do any of the fun stuff anymore because they're gone and you took their live."
On the other hand, Doerman's now ex-wife wrote in a letter that she cannot stop imagining what her life could have been like if her sons had had a chance to grow up: "Where there used to be so much laughter, happiness, noise of rowdy little boys, there is now silence and emptiness. 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.' All of it gone, when I should have had so much more life left to live with them."
Source: WCPO 9
