CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - he father charged with killing his sons, ages 3, 4 and 7, lined them up in their yard and executed them with a rifle, Clermont County prosecutors said in court Friday.
Clermont County Municipal Court Judge Jason Nagel set a $20 million bond for Chad Doerman, 32.
“In an act of incomprehensible cruelty, the father that stands before you lined up his three young boys and executed them in his own home with a rifle,” Assistant Prosecutor David Gast told the judge.
Doerman is charged with three counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his children Thursday outside their Monroe Township home.
“This is by far the most sickening, horrifying crime I have seen,” Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said. “I can only imagine the terror that these little boys felt and experienced as their father ... their protector was murdering them. We will do our utmost within my office to see this defendant never sees the light of day again.”
The boys’ mother, 34, also was shot in her hand.
Doerman “confessed to planning and carrying out the deaths of victims involved for several months,” a detective with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a criminal complaint.
The sheriff’s office says more charges could be added.
A woman called 911 screaming that “her babies had been shot.” Three minutes later, a separate caller who drove by the scene told 911 they saw an underage girl running down the road saying “her father was killing everyone.”
Responding deputies found Doerman, who county records list as the owner of the home, sitting on a step outside.
The deputies also found the three boys unresponsive in the yard with gunshot wounds, officials said. They tried life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but the boys died at the scene.
The boys’ 34-year-old mother was also found outside the home when deputies arrived. She had a gunshot wound to the hand and was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment.
Deputies detained Doerman without incident. A motive for the tragic killings has not been released, and a large portion of both the affidavit and criminal complaints in his new court filings are blacked out.
Sheriff Steve Leahy said Friday morning they can’t release a motive at this time to ensure nothing they say or do impacts the prosecution.
The sheriff’s office will have a complete review with the county prosecutor’s office regarding all facts they have currently, he said.
Investigators found no signs of forced entry, and the sheriff’s office is not searching for any additional suspects.
Dan Thomas, a resident in the neighborhood, said he arrived home shortly after the shooting and couldn’t pull into his driveway because of the police presence.
“This place is always quiet. It’s a great neighborhood, lots of kids playing at the park up there,” said neighbor Dan Thomas. “Never anything like this. Never.”
The Clermont County coroner arrived at the scene around 7:30 p.m. The bodies of the boys were taken to the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office for autopsies.
The New Richmond Schools superintendent issued a statement Thursday night that says, “Our hearts are once again broken tonight as we yet again ask the community to lift up those affected by this horrific incident.”
A New Richmond Middle School student died in a quadruple murder-suicide in February.
Grief counselors will be available at Monroe Elementary School on Friday.
“That’s horrible. That’s uncalled for. I don’t know what’s going on in this world. You get that mad, you walk away,” Thomas added.
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