The final moments an Ohio father spent with his three children before shooting them all dead have been revealed in court.
The tragic incident occurred on June 15, 2023, when Chad Doerman was arrested after shooting his three sons, Clayton, seven, Hunter, four, and three-year-old Chase.
The 33-year-old was arrested at the scene and charged with three counts of aggravated murder as well as a host of lesser charges.
He pleaded guilty to the murders on Friday and was handed three life sentences to run consecutively, as well as a further 16 years for assault charges against his wife and stepdaughter.
During the hearing, the court heard the last things Doerman had said to his three sons, as well as how they spent their final moments before their brutal murder at their family home in Monroe Township, 20 miles east of Cincinnati.
The court heard that Doerman had told his sons that he loved them and that they were the "best boys ever" before shooting them to death one by one.
Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney Mark J. Tekulve revealed more about Doerman's behavior in the lead-up to the horrifying incident in court on Monday.
Tekulve told the court that Doerman had called his father around lunchtime and cryptically told him that “Clayton is going to be the hardest one.”
While he did not give any further context, the attorney claimed it was "a reference to the killings which was only clear to his father in retrospect."
On the day of their murder, Doerman went home from work and had lunch with his wife, Laura, and allegedly told her: "This will be my last good meal."
Despite his chilling words, much of the afternoon then reportedly passed as normal, as Tekulve added: "Between around 1PM and 3.30PM, the defendant spent the afternoon doing yard work, playing with the kids, nothing out of the ordinary.
"There was nothing to alert Laura that she needed to do something to protect the family."
He continued: "At 3:30 or 3:45 p.m., he began to read the Bible to Hunter. He was wakling around the house with the Bible, mumbling 'Chad knows what’s right. Chad knows what’s right.'"
Laura began to become alarmed after Doerman opened the gun safe at 4PM, telling him: "You are scaring me," to which he allegedly responded: "I’m just playing around."
Tekulve continued, as per the New York Post: "Around 4PM, on that day of the killing, the defendant and Laura and all three boys go into the master bedroom. Laura is concerned in the back of her mind that he’s going to do something to hurt himself. They lie down.
"Suddenly, after lying down, the defendant jumps up, grabs the .22 rifle from the safe, and terror fills the room. Laura is screaming, the boys are screaming, They’re all trying to discourage him, telling him that they love him and begging him not to kill himself."
According to Tekulve, when Laura took out her phone to call 911, Doerman grabbed it and threw it across the room, telling her it was "too late" before pointing the gun at four-year-old Hunter and shooting him multiple times before turning the firearm on the other two boys.
Laura's older daughter Alexis, who was unharmed in the shooting, ran out of the house and alerted a neighbor who called the police.
Laura was also injured in the shooting with a bullet having hit her hand.
Following the news of his sentencing, she released a statement saying that it brings her some closure to know he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
She said: "I am in full agreement with how the criminal case was resolved, and the decision to end this criminal case with a plea and multiple life sentences brings some finality to the court case for my daughter and me.
"No punishment will ever bring my boys back. Having a guarantee that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars is what is best for my family."
Her statement added: "Remember them as the three little boys who loved fishing, go-carting, and swimming. Remember them as the boys who love to have fun and were inseparable from one another.
"Their lives are not only about what happened to them — they are so much more than that. I love you Clayton, Hunter, and Chase."
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