The father of Chad Doerman, the 32-year-old who allegedly shot his three young sons on Thursday, said something in his son must have “popped.”
Keith Doerman, 59, told the New York Post that he and his wife are “still trying to understand” how Chad could have killed his own boys, but added that they have “no answers.”
“He just snapped,” Keith told the After.
“There was something going on in his life that he couldn’t handle anymore. I can’t talk to him, they won’t let me talk to him, so I have no answers. He probably kept a lot of things from me.”
Chad Doerman, 32, cried as he was taken to court on Friday and his bail was set at $20 million for allegedly murdering his three young sons
A tearful Doerman was taken to court on Friday, where his bail was set at $20 million.
Haunting police bodycam footage shows the moment officers arrived to find Chad calmly beside his rifle on Thursday afternoon, shortly after he reportedly executed his young sons.
Doerman was detained without incident after being found on the steps of his Ohio estate.
The deputies discovered the victims, aged 3, 4 and 7, unconscious in the yard with gunshot wounds. They attempted to resuscitate the children until the Monroe Fire/EMS arrived, but they all succumbed to their injuries at the scene.
Their 34-year-old mother was also outside the property when deputies arrived, with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the hand that was not life-threatening.
She was taken to University Hospital in Cincinnati, where she was told her children had died.
The sheriff’s office said there were no signs of a break-in at the home and detectives are not looking for any other suspects.
Doerman later confessed to lining up his three young sons and shooting them one by one, while his terrified daughter ran, screaming that her father was “killing everyone,” prosecutors said Friday.
He is also accused of shooting the boys’ mother in the hand. He was charged with aggravated murder on the death of his children.
Chad’s father said he just visited his son last week.
“He seemed fine,” Keith Doerman said. “He was a joker and a jolly fellow.”
He also insisted that Chad had no criminal history or mental illness. Chad was once charged with a domestic violence incident in 2010, where he allegedly strangled his father.
However, the case was dropped when Keith Doerman failed to appear as a witness for the prosecution.
The elder Doerman told the Post that the Cincinnati Enquirer’s account was incorrect about his account and that the “judge dismissed the case.”
A tearful Doerman appeared in court on Friday for his arraignment
Doerman updated his Facebook page with this photo six days ago
He shared several recent photos of the boys before he was due to execute them last Thursday
A child’s bicycle, along with evidence, in the front yard of the Monroe Township home where three brothers, ages three, four and seven, were killed, execution-style, according to Clermont’s chief prosecutor
Police body footage shows the arrest of Doerman, who was sitting on his doorstep when police arrived after allegedly shooting his three sons aged 7, 4 and 3
Mug shot of Chad Doerman released by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office
Just days before their gruesome deaths, Doerman appears to have changed his profile picture on Facebook to one of his three young sons.
He also posted several photos of himself with the boys in recent days.
a GoFundMe established for the family and funeral expenses for the boys have raised nearly $140,000