Ohio man accused of killing his 3 sons indicted, could face death penalty

An Ohio man accused of lining up his 3 young sons in his yard and shooting them to death was indicted Thursday on 21 counts, the Clermont County prosecuting attorney Mark J. Tekulve announced on Friday. 

Chad C. Doerman, 32, who appeared in court on Friday for his initial arraignment, pleaded not guilty, the prosecutor's office said. Doerman could face the death penalty for the killings. He is facing nine separate counts of aggravated murder, eight separate counts of kidnapping, and four separate counts of felonious assault, the prosecutor's office said. Tekulve requested that Doerman be held without bond. 

Late in the afternoon on Thursday, deputies responded to the Doerman home in Monroe County after receiving reports that a girl was running down the street saying her "father was killing people," a news release from the Clermont County Sheriff's Office said. A 911 call came in at 4:15 p.m. from the mother, who was screaming that "her babies had been shot," the news release said. 

The mother, 34, suffered a gunshot wound in the hand and was taken to the hospital.

The prosecutor detailed how Doerman allegedly slaughtered his three boys —Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3— "execution style," and that each boy was shot in the head. The oldest boy, Clayton, ran about 300 feet away before his father shot him from behind. He then approached the boy, Tekulve said, and shot him point blank in the head. 

The brothers "loved unconditionally," an obituary posted online said.  Clayton loved riding his go-kart, telling jokes and giving gifts; Hunter, the middle boy, loved catching frogs and baseball, and the youngest boy, Chase, loved swings and was the "best cuddler," the obituary said. 

Rachel Brown, who identified herself as the mother's sister, posted on social media: "We want the world to know how amazing these babies were. They are not only this tragedy. They were happy and funny, so very funny, goofy, kind, loving boys."

Brown set up a GoFund page to raise money for funeral costs.  She set a goal of $20,000 – but more than $250,000 has been raised.  A funeral and celebration of life for the boys has been scheduled for June 26. 

Officials have not yet released motives for the crime. According to court records, Doerman has had 15 brushes with the law since 2009. Most of the charges were for minor infractions such as speeding or traffic violations. In 2010, he had one domestic violence misdemeanor charge involving his father, Keith Doerman. Charges in that case were dropped when a witness failed to appear, court records showed. 

CBS affiliate WKRC-TV reported that a neighbor said he allegedly saw Doerman lose his temper with his kids. "He tossed a couple of them around in the yard one day," said the neighbor.

Doerman is next scheduled to appear in court on July 5.

In:
• Murder
• Ohio

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at [email protected]