The Ohio dad accused of killing his three boys in an execution-style shooting last summer has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder.
Chad Doerman, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder before Judge Richard Ferenc in Batavia, Ohio, on Friday, August 2, according to reports from the Cincinnati Enquirer, FOX affiliate WXIX, and NBC affiliate WLWT.
The Enquirer also said that Doerman pled guilty to two charges of felonious assault in connection with crimes committed against his wife and stepdaughter on the day the three boys were slain.
Prosecutors also rejected the severe circumstances of the allegations, which could have resulted in Doerman being condemned to death. Ferenc told WXIX that Doerman’s surviving victims approved to the plea arrangement.
Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3, were all fatally shot in June 2023.
According to a statement from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were alerted to the killings after a lady, later identified as Doerman’s wife, called 911 and yelled that her “babies had been shot.”
Just minutes later, a car in the neighborhood contacted 911 to report a small girl fleeing down the road, yelling that “her father was killing everyone,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Police alleged that their father had lined up the three sons and shot them. They further claimed that one of the children attempted to flee, but Doerman “hunted him down” and shot him anyhow.
All three boys perished on the spot, and their mother was hurt while purportedly attempting to assist. When deputies arrived at the family’s Monroe Township home, they saw Doerman seated on the steps with a gun next to him, WXIX previously reported.
Prosecutors later stated that Doerman had planned the strike for months in advance.
The 33-year-old was accused in June 2023 on nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of assault in connection with his boys’ murders, but later pled not guilty due to insanity.
Earlier this year, a judge found that police had not properly advised Doerman of his Miranda rights during questioning, rendering his purported confession to the killings inadmissible, according to PEOPLE.
“It is unmistakably clear that you will spend the rest of your life in prison,” Ferenc told Doerman in court on Friday, according to The Enquirer. “There is no early release date for you.”
Ferenc then sentenced Doerman to three consecutive life sentences without parole, with a minimum of 16 years for the assault offenses, according to the reports.
According to the Enquirer, he has been imprisoned at the Clermont County Jail since his arrest in June 2023 and will be sent to a state jail.