Ohio | Father accused of murdering his 3 young sons appears in court

BATAVIA, Ohio (WKRC) - A Clermont County father accused of killing his three young sons was back in court Monday morning.

Chad Doerman of Monroe Township could face the death penalty if convicted.

Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Richard Ferenc is considering more than two dozen motions filed by the prosecution and defense attorneys.

They include everything from whether Doerman will have to wear restraints during the trial, to a motion that would instruct the jury to consider mercy.

Judge Ferenc did not make any decisions during Monday's hearing.

Doerman was allowed to wear street clothes for the hearing, but was wearing handcuffs that were attached to a restraining belt around his waist.

Judge Ferenc referenced one of the motions regarding the restraints. He pointed out Doerman has been a "model citizen" while in jail.

"Mr. Doerman has not been disruptive in any fashion at the county jail. He has not caused any problems. He has been in my courtroom twice and been very compliant. That will weigh in on the methods of restraint that I will consider at issue at this time," Judge Ferenc said.

Judge Ferenc also spoke of the more than 350 photos and videos of the scene. One of the defense motions would exclude gruesome or redundant photos of the dead children.

Ferenc said it was too early to rule on the photographs and videos but added, "Capital [murder] case jurisprudence tends to label photographs as 'non gruesome,' 'not particularly gruesome,' and 'gruesome.' So, those three categories are all at issue here."

Clayton, Hunter, and Chase Doerman were killed on June 15. The boys were just three, four, and seven years old.

According to court documents, Chad Doerman came home early from work and had his wife and the boys take a nap with him in the master bedroom.

He then allegedly took a rifle out of the safe next to the bed and shot one of the older boys. His stepdaughter reportedly witnessed the shooting.

Their mother yelled at her other kids to run as she tried to tend to the boy's wounds. Her daughter started to escape, but said one of the boys ran the wrong way toward the back door.

She called for him to keep running as he headed toward a field, but witnessed her stepfather chase down and shoot him, court documents state.

She then rushed back to the home, picked up the youngest boy and fled with him. Prosecutors claim Doerman caught up with her and aimed his gun at the child.

He reportedly tried to fire, but failed, appearing to be out of ammunition. The boy then ran to his mother, who was still rendering aid to his brother.

Prosecutors allege Doerman pointed the gun at his stepdaughter, who was able to run away toward the Monroe Township Fire Department while shouting that her father was "killing everyone."

The mother picked up the youngest boy and she and her husband got into a physical struggle, prosecutors say. At one point, she apparently grabbed the gun with her hand, placing her thumb over the barrel, and he fired.

The documents say she dropped the boy during the altercation, and Doerman then reloaded his weapon before killing the child.

He is also accused of moving the bodies to the front yard, before sitting on the front stoop and watching as their mother continued trying to perform life-saving measures.

Doerman pleaded not guilty in court to 21 counts, including aggravated murder, kidnapping, and felonious assault.

Source: dayton247now.com, WKRC, November 20, 2023

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