CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO — More than three years after three young Ohio brothers were taken from their family in a horrific 2023 case, newly released interrogation footage is shedding light on what their father, Chad Doerman, told detectives about his state of mind that day.

The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office has released previously unseen interviews showing Doerman discussing the events surrounding the deaths of his three sons — Chase, 3, Hunter, 4, and Clayton, 7.

During questioning, Doerman told investigators that he believed he was carrying out an act “for God.”

The footage provides new insight into a motive that had remained largely unexplained when Doerman pleaded guilty in 2024.

His legal case, however, was already resolved.

Doerman pleaded guilty to three aggravated-murder counts and two felonious-assault counts in August 2024. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with consecutive prison terms attached to the assault convictions. Ohio’s official inmate records currently list him as incarcerated.

The New Interview Begins With a Father Who Says He “Knew”
According to the newly released footage, Doerman returned home from work earlier than usual on June 15, 2023.

Investigators said he picked up a Bible and walked through the house, repeatedly mumbling words suggesting that he believed he knew what he had to do.

He then accessed a rifle kept in a gun safe.

Authorities later found the three boys outside the family home.

Two other family members were also targeted that day and survived. Doerman was eventually taken into custody and became the subject of a major criminal investigation in Clermont County.

The newly released video captures detectives attempting to understand what had happened inside the home and what led Doerman to act.

At first, he repeatedly told investigators that he did not know the answers to their questions.

Then his explanation began to focus heavily on religion.

He Recalled a Bible Story About Sacrifice
During the interrogation, Doerman told detectives about a story his father had read to him from the Bible.

He said the story involved a father being instructed to make a sacrifice to God.

Although Doerman did not identify the passage by name, investigators and reporters have noted that his description resembles the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22.

In that account, Abraham is tested by being commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac before an angel ultimately intervenes.

Doerman told detectives that he remembered the story after attending a church service in Amelia and that he could not stop thinking about it.

According to the footage, he described the situation as a test that had to be obeyed.

When a detective asked whether he had followed through, Doerman responded that he had done it “for God.”

He Spoke About Hell and the End of the World
The interview also contains comments showing that Doerman believed he was facing a larger spiritual crisis.

He told investigators that he felt he was already in Hell and believed something catastrophic was coming.

He talked about Jesus coming and described what he apparently believed would happen next.

Doerman also expressed regret about the order in which events unfolded and suggested that he believed one of his sons should have been targeted first so that another would not suffer.

These statements are part of Doerman’s own account to investigators. They are not an independent finding by police about his mental state or an official explanation of the crimes.

The Family Had Already Seen Warning Signs
According to the newly released material, Doerman told detectives he had been struggling with disturbing thoughts.

He said he had been looking for help because of thoughts involving Hell and other troubling ideas.

The newly released interview therefore raises another question that was never fully answered during the criminal proceedings:

How long had Doerman been experiencing the thoughts he described, and did anyone around him understand how serious they had become?

The footage does not provide a complete answer.

It does, however, give investigators’ questions — and Doerman’s responses — new significance more than three years after the tragedy.

The June 2023 Case Shocked Ohio
The events took place on June 15, 2023, at the family’s home in Monroe Township, Clermont County.

The three brothers were identified as:

Chase Doerman, 3
Hunter Doerman, 4
Clayton Doerman, 7

Authorities said Doerman also attempted to harm two other family members that day.

The case quickly became one of Ohio’s most closely followed criminal investigations.

Prosecutors initially pursued the possibility of a death sentence, and the case was expected to become a lengthy capital trial.

That changed in 2024.

Doerman Pleaded Guilty
In August 2024, Doerman pleaded guilty to three aggravated-murder charges and two felonious-assault charges.

The plea brought the planned trial to an end.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty. Instead, Doerman received three consecutive life sentences without parole for the aggravated-murder convictions, along with consecutive sentences associated with the assault convictions.

Because he pleaded guilty, the public never heard a full trial presentation in which prosecutors and defense attorneys would have argued at length over motive.

That is one reason the newly released interrogation footage has attracted so much attention.

The New Video Answers One Question — But Raises Others
For much of the case, the question of motive remained unclear.

Now, investigators have a direct recording of Doerman describing what he believed was happening in his mind.

His explanation centers on religion, sacrifice, punishment and an approaching catastrophe.

But the footage does not establish that his explanation is a complete account of everything that happened.

It is instead a record of what he told detectives during an interrogation.

That distinction matters because statements made during a traumatic criminal investigation do not automatically constitute an objective explanation of a person’s actions.

The Case Was Already Legally Resolved
Unlike some major true-crime stories that remain active in court, Doerman’s criminal case is no longer awaiting trial.

Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction currently lists him under inmate number A835208 and records him as INCACERATED at the Correctional Reception Center.

The official record shows three aggravated-murder convictions, each carrying a life sentence, with an aggregate sentence of life without parole.

That means the new video does not change his sentence.

Instead, it changes what the public now knows about what he told investigators.

Why the Interview Was Released Now
The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office released the material more than three years after the June 2023 events.

The release includes interviews and other investigative material gathered during the case.

For the public, the footage provides a rare opportunity to hear directly from Doerman about the beliefs he said influenced his actions.

For investigators and families affected by the case, however, the release also brings painful memories back into public view.

The Three Boys Remain at the Center of the Story
Clayton, Hunter and Chase were young children whose names became known nationwide because of what happened inside their family home.

Their ages — 7, 4 and 3 — have remained central to coverage of the case.

The newly released footage cannot change what happened to them.

It can only provide additional information about what their father later told detectives when asked to explain his actions.

For many people following the case, that distinction is important.

The video does not create a new criminal case.

It offers another piece of the historical record.

Doerman’s Current Status
The latest official records show that Doerman remains in custody in Ohio.

His sentence remains life without parole, meaning he is not eligible for ordinary parole release based on the three aggravated-murder convictions.

There is no indication in the current official record that the newly released interview has resulted in any change to his convictions or sentence.

The New Footage Leaves One Question Behind
The most striking part of the newly released interview is not simply that Doerman discussed religion.

It is that he described his actions as an obligation — something he believed he could not refuse.

He told detectives that he viewed the situation as a test and said he believed he had to follow through.

Whether that explanation can ever fully account for what happened remains impossible to determine from the interview alone.

What is clear is that investigators now have a much more detailed record of the explanation Doerman offered in the hours after the events of June 15, 2023.

Latest Status — September 16, 2026
As of September 16, 2026, Chad Doerman remains incarcerated in Ohio and is serving life without parole after pleading guilty to three aggravated-murder counts and two felonious-assault counts in 2024.

The newly released Clermont County Sheriff’s Office interview is the latest significant development in the case.

In the footage, Doerman told detectives that he believed he was acting “for God” and connected his thinking to a Bible story about sacrifice, while also describing beliefs involving Hell and an approaching catastrophe.

The video does not change the legal outcome of the case.

It does, however, provide the public with a much closer look at the explanation Doerman gave investigators for one of Ohio’s most devastating family tragedies.

The convictions remain in place, the sentence remains unchanged, and Doerman remains imprisoned for life without parole.

Sources
WFLX / WXIX: Newly released interview footage and details from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.