What happened to Chad Doerman, and why did he kill his kids? We discuss a horrific triple murder that some readers will find disturbing.
In a world where true crime stories are often adapted or recreated to viewers as content, there will always be a valid criticism that the surplus of material could lead to people becoming desensitized.
With streaming platforms quickly understanding that a vast audience watches true crime, it does not take a lot of research to see that the rise in true crime has been constant.
However, it is not a new phenomenon, and you only need to look at television from the seventies and beyond to see that audiences worldwide have always had a morbid interest in the horrors that happen in real life.
I would venture that every significant television broadcaster, from BBC to NBC, has hosted weekly insights into the world of true crime.
However, now and then, a story so chilling and heartbreaking is reported that it leaves you numb and distraught, left with a disillusionment of humanity that you can never recover from.
One such case involves Chad Doerman and the unimaginable horror that he committed that would stun the world.
READ: What happened to Chad Doerman’s daughter?
This article explores the story: What happened to Chad Doerman, and why did he kill his kids?
Reader discretion is advised.
Who is Chad Doerman, and what happened to him?
Cincinnati, Ohio, was rocked with the horrific news that thirty-two-year-old Chad Doerman allegedly and ritualistically lined up his three young children, all boys, and executed them outside his home.
Doerman would allegedly use a rifle to end the lives of the children aged three, four, and seven.
His wife would be injured in the event, and his stepdaughter would also held at gunpoint but would later escape.
Police were called and arrived to find Doerman, who was charged with murder, felonious assault, and kidnapping.
Why did Chad Doerman kill his kids?
On June 15, 2023, Doerman would return home from work, and it would seem that nothing was out of the ordinary. He would ask his wife and three children to join him in the family home’s bedroom where they could nap together. Then, he would retrieve his rifle, a Martin Model HC .22. It is alleged that Doerman would shoot four-year-old Hunter first, and his wife would try to intervene while his other two sons tried to run.
The couple’s stepdaughter would hear the shots and run to the room. Witnessing the horror, she would tell the others to escape. Seven-year-old Clayton made it to the woods before his father found him, shot him twice, and returned his body to the house.
The stepdaughter would find the third son, three-year-old Chase, and would run out to the road where Doerman would discover them and aim the rifle at them, but it was out of ammunition at that time.
The stepdaughter would run to the nearby fire department; young Chase would return to the home where his mother would try to protect the young boy.
Doerman would struggle with his wife, biting her to release her grip on her son. With more ammunition, a gunshot would strike his wife’s thumb, she would release Chase, and Doerman would shoot the child at point-blank range, killing him.
He would carry the body outside and lay it down next to his brothers, then sit waiting while his wife tried resuscitating her dead children. Doerman would announce that he “did it” when police arrived.
He faces 21 counts: nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of felonious assault. In a taped interview, he would admit that he had been planning the killings since October.
It is still unclear what the motivation was behind the murders; some sources have suggested that it was done to hurt his wife, who he believed was unfaithful, but this is mere speculation and not confirmed in any way.
How did Chad Doerman plea, and will he get the death sentence?
Despite initially admitting the crime, he entered a not-guilty plea at his court hearing. The prosecution is pushing as much as possible for the death sentence.
