Last week, lawyers representing an Ohio man who allegedly killed his three sons last year filed a motion to spare him from the death penalty.
In the April 30 motion, Chad Doerman’s attorneys cited a 2021 law that bars the death penalty for individuals who were seriously mentally ill at the time of the crime. A hearing regarding Doerman’s mental state is scheduled for August 5, and his lawyer said on Friday that they are waiving his right to a speedy trial at least until January 1, 2025, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The motion claimed that two experts assessed Doerman, 32, and determined he was mentally ill when he fatally shot his three sons. However, they could not agree on whether Doerman was aware that his actions were wrong at the time, according to WCPO.
WXIX reported that Clermont County Judge Richard Ferenc, overseeing this case, said he is expected to retire at the end of the year and will have “aged out of the system” by the time Doerman’s trial is scheduled to begin.
Prosecutors have asked for a visiting judge to preside over the case as the earliest a judge in Clermont County will be death penalty certified is April 2025.
Doerman is set to stand trial for fatally shooting his three sons, ages 3, 4, and 7, on June 15, 2023. Doerman allegedly carried out the execution-style murders in front of his wife and stepdaughter. He was also accused of planning his sons’ slayings for months before doing so.
Clermont County prosecutors alleged that Doerman got off work early and walked around the home with a Bible while mumbling, “Chad knows what’s right.”
The boys’ mother told Doerman that he was scaring her — to which Doerman responded that he was “just kidding” and “just playing” before going to the master bedroom to lie down, according to WXIX.
Prosecutors said the mother and one of the boys went into the bedroom with Doerman because they did not want him to be alone. Shortly after that, Doerman allegedly got out of bed, retrieved a rifle, and shot his 4-year-old son twice in the head.
After allegedly killing his two sons, Doerman then snatched his 3-year-old son from his mother’s arms and shot him in the head. Doerman reportedly shot his children’s mother in the hand during the triple murder.
At some point, the stepdaughter reportedly picked up one of the surviving boys and tried to flee to a nearby firehouse. Doerman allegedly chased down the stepdaughter and demanded she put the boy down, to which she obliged.
Doerman tried to shoot the boy, but the gun misfired and he fled, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Prosecutors claimed Doerman eventually caught up with the boy and killed him.
The stepdaughter reportedly fled the home on foot and found a neighbor who called the police. Before police responded to the scene, the boys’ mother told a 911 dispatcher her “babies had been shot.”
Responding police officers discovered the three boys dead in the yard, while Doerman was found sitting next to the rifle on the porch. Doerman is believed to have lined up his deceased sons in the yard before police arrived.
In late March, Doerman changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. His plea came days after Judge Ferenc ruled that his interrogation video could not be shown at trial. He also ordered that statements taken before the initial questioning are inadmissible in court.
Ferenc determined that Doerman’s rights were violated when Detective Michael Ross failed to read his Miranda Rights verbatim. Police questioned Doerman for three hours after he invoked his right to counsel — which the judge found also violated his rights.
Ross testified earlier this month, “He [Doerman] had made a comment that ‘the Bible says you kill your firstborn, you kill your second born, you kill your third born, but first you’re supposed to kill your wife. I didn’t kill my wife.’”
A motive remains undisclosed.
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[Feature Photo: Chad Doerman/Facebook]
