TRUE CRIME JUNKIE

WITH JOHNNY FLETCHER

CHAD DOERMAN: ACCUSED CHILD KILLER

Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes Chad Doerman. Now, I've covered family annihilators in this column before, including Chris Watts and Christopher Coleman - in fact, both technically did more damage, overall - but there's something about this current case that's just inherently evil. Because Doerman, a 32-year-old Ohio resident, did the absolutely unthinkable: he literally lined up his three young sons (aged 3, 4 and 7) and executed them with a high-powered rifle. Out on the front lawn, mind you, where neighbors could hear and see what was going on. The true crime world has never experienced anything quite like it and hopefully never will again. Of course, Doerman is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law yet he admitted to killing his boys when police arrived on the property on June 15, 2023.

What separates this case from the Watts and Coleman murders is that while those two men wiped out their entire families, it appears that Doerman purposely spared his wife - though he did shoot her in the hand - as punishment, in effect. He wanted her to have to live with the loss of her three boys as payback for the problems in their relationship (that's what's been reported, anyway - other sources have stated that he intended to kill his wife). Watts and Coleman, on the other hand, were both driven by the desire to be with another woman. Either way, all three situations resulted in the most heinous of crimes. So what drove Doerman to this extreme behavior?

That's the million dollar question. Thus far, there's no clear-cut motive other than talk of his mental state leading up to the murders - neighbors stated that he was angry 24/7, always yelling at his wife and children. Yet family members, his dad, in particular, claim that Doerman was a normal individual who never displayed any signs of such brutality. That's interesting, considering Doerman was once arrested for allegedly choking his father in 2010. Apparently pops has conveniently forgotten that encounter.

Not surprisingly, Doerman will face the death penalty for his unthinkable act - it's the first death penalty-eligible case in Clermont County in 30 years. He's currently being held without bail in the Clermont County Jail where Doerman will likely have plenty of time to sit and contemplate the mess he's made of his life and the heartbreak he's caused so many. In time we'll hopefully come to understand what caused him to snap and commit such atrocities so that future violent attacks of this nature can be prevented.