Chad Doerman: Father accused of executing sons could face death penalty

This breaking news report will be updated.

The father accused of executing his three young sons could face the death penalty if convicted, according to the indictment.

Chad C. Doerman appeared before a judge in Clermont County Common Pleas Court for an arraignment hearing Friday morning, a day after he was indicted on nine counts of aggravated murder.

Police said Doerman, 32, confessed to shooting and killing his sons, Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, at their Monroe Township home on June 15.

Doerman appeared in Clermont County Common Pleas Court on Friday morning in shackles and dressed in orange jail clothing. He responded to the judge's questions about his age and understanding the charges but was otherwise silent.

An attorney for Doerman entered a plea of not guilty on all charges.

Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve revealed more details about the accusations against Doerman on Friday in court.

Tekulve said Doerman killed his 4-year-old son Hunter first, shooting him twice in the head inside their Laurel Lindale Road home.

The prosecutor said 7-year-old Clayton fled and was “gunned down from behind” as he ran through a field near the home. Tekulve said Doerman then went up to the fallen boy and shot him in the head.

Then Doerman ripped 3-year-old Chase from his mother's arms and “put a bullet in his head,” Tekulve said.

The 34-year-old woman, whom authorities have not named, was shot in the hand.

According to court records, in addition to the aggravated murder charges, Doerman also faces eight counts of kidnapping and four counts of felonious assault.

Tekulve said this is the first death-penalty-eligible case in Clermont County in about 30 years.

“My goal is to have this man executed for slaughtering these three boys,” Tekulve told The Enquirer.

Doerman was being held in the Clermont County Jail on a bond of $20 million but on Friday, Judge Victor Haddad ordered him held on no bail. Defense attorneys did not object.

Officials have not released a motive for the killings. Clermont County Sheriff's officials previously said Doerman confessed that had planned the killings in advance.

Doerman's next hearing in the case is set for 11 a.m. July 5.

Funerals set for the boys

Funeral services will be held Monday for Clayton, Hunter and Chase at First Baptist Church of Glen Este, 1032 Old State Route 74 in Batavia, according to their obituary.

A visitation will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the church, with a celebration of life directly following.

The boys are remembered for their unconditional love for others and their big hearts, according to the obituary on the Geo. H. Rohde & Son Funeral Home website. They loved to fish, play outside and laugh.

The boys all played baseball and the New Richmond Youth Sports Association is hosting a memorial for them at the ballfields at 2117 Laurel Lindale Road at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Food will be provided by local churches. The organization is asking people to bring memories of the Doerman boys along with a lawn chair. The public will also be able to write messages that will be delivered to the family. The event will also serve as a way to thank law enforcement and first responders.

'Babies had been shot,' 911 caller said

Dispatchers were alerted to the crime by 911 calls, the first of which was received at 4:15 p.m. on June 15. In it, a woman screamed that her “babies had been shot,” according to a statement released by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. 

A second call made three minutes later was from a neighbor who reported that a young girl was running down the road screaming that “her father was killing everyone,” officials said. 

The girl was identified as Doerman's stepdaughter, who officials said was safe.

“The trauma this man has inflicted … is unspeakable,” David Gast, who heads the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office criminal division said in court last Friday. “The evil horror of what we know is impossible to process.”

Clermont County Sheriff's deputies who came to the home in response to the calls found Doerman sitting on the steps with the rifle next to him. He was taken into custody without incident.

Medics attempted to perform CPR on the boys to no avail.  “They held these children knowing there was nothing they could do,” David Gast, who heads the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office criminal division said in court last Friday.

He said the first responders and the community at large was traumatized by the deaths. “How do you unsee that sort of abomination?” Gast said.