The Ohio man accused of murdering his three boys said he had lined them up and shot them dead with a rifle, prosecutors said on Friday.
Authorities have charged 32-year-old Chad Doerman with aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of his sons and the wounding of their mother at their house.
On Friday, during Doerman’s arraignment, David Gast, the chief prosecutor of Municipal Court in Clermont County, claimed that one of the boys had tried to flee into a neighbouring field but that Doerman had “hunted” his son down and brought him back to their home, where he was later killed.
The bail amount for Doberman is $20 million. There was no indication in the arraignment papers as to whether or not he had legal counsel. He is being detained in the Clermont County Jail at the moment. The murders were the worst crime Gast had ever witnessed, according to him.
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, prosecutors said Friday. https://t.co/oM0v9w3lZj
— 48 Hours (@48hours) June 17, 2023
The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that deputies responded to a home in Monroe Township at around 4:30 p.m.
On Thursday, after receiving two 911 calls, one from the mother screaming that “her babies had been shot” and another from a passing motorist who said a girl was running down the street saying her father was killing people.
The deputies discovered three little boys outside the house, ages 3, 4, and 7. They were all shot, and despite their best efforts, they were pronounced dead at the site. The names of the lads have not been made public.
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The unnamed 34-year-old mother, who was outside the house trying to protect her sons from their father, was shot in the hand, according to the sheriff’s office. Her non-life-threatening injuries led to her being taken to the hospital.
Doerman was arrested when he was seen lounging on the front porch. On Friday, he was formally charged with three charges of aggravated murder. Authorities have given no reason for the shootings.
Residents in Monroe Township, located roughly 75 miles (120 kilometres) west of Columbus, have reported hearing gunfire in an otherwise peaceful community.
