"Miranda rights were violated": Judge rules Chad Doerman accused of killing his three sons confession inadmissible as case heads to trial

Chad Doerman’s confession in connection to the deaths of his three sons has been dismissed by a Clermont County Judge. According to the judge, Doerman wasn’t properly made aware of his Miranda rights. The 32-year-old was accused of fatally shooting his children in June 2023 at their Monroe Township residence.

Judge Richard P. Ferenc stated that the suspect’s rights were violated twice during the interrogation. In his ruling, the judge said,

“The Defendant's Miranda rights were violated when the custodial interrogation continued after the defendant had unequivocally and unambiguously invoked his right to counsel when he told Det. (Michael) Ross, ‘I'll wait for a lawyer, I don’t know, give me a couple of days, I can talk to a lawyer and get nice good answers.’”

"Therefore, irrespective of the detectives’ failure to fully and properly advise Doerman of his Miranda rights as immediately set forth above, all statements obtained during the Custodial Interrogation shall be suppressed and the state shall not adduce any of these statements in their case-in-chief."

Based on the alleged murders, Chad Doerman faced indictment on about 21 charges, including nine counts of aggravated murder.

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32-year-old Ohio father, Chad Doerman, pleaded not guilty to the charges in connection to the shooting that killed his sons

In June 2023, authorities took Chad Doerman into custody for allegedly shooting his sons to death in the front yard of their house. The victims were all minors and have been identified as 3-year-old Chase, 4-year-old Hunter, and 7-year-old Clayton.

According to law enforcement officials, the suspect confessed to the shooting during interrogation. However, in January, the defense team claimed that Doerman hadn’t been advised about his Miranda rights. Finally, a judge gave a ruling that threw out the confession due to violation of Doerman’s rights during interrogation.

The first violation would be the one related to his Miranda rights. The second violation would be that the officers with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office continued interrogation when Doerman had invoked his right to an attorney. According to the latest court ruling, no audio or visual recordings can be used during the murder trial.

Apart from the aggravated murder charge, Chad Doerman has also been charged with eight counts of kidnapping and four counts of felonious assault.

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The victims' mom was also injured during the shootings

The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that last year in June, a woman called the cops and reported that “her babies had been shot.” According to investigators, one of the victims tried to escape, but Doerman “hunted him down” before allegedly shooting him.

Bodycam footage later obtained showed the arrest of the suspect after the alleged killings had taken place. The police reportedly found a rifle lying next to Chad Doerman when they arrived at the crime site to apprehend him.

Cops further said that the mother of the kids sustained injuries while trying to protect them from getting shot. The suspect's trial is set to begin in July 2024.