More than three years after the deaths of three young brothers in Clermont County, Ohio, newly released police interview footage is providing a disturbing look at what their father told investigators in the hours after the incident.

Chad Doerman, who is serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole, told detectives that he believed he had been given a religious command and said he carried out the act “for God,” according to the newly released interview and sheriff’s office records.

The footage was released publicly in August 2026 by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, more than two years after Doerman pleaded guilty and was sentenced.

The recordings do not change the legal outcome of the case. Doerman pleaded guilty in 2024 to three counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault and is already serving life sentences without parole.

But the interview offers previously unseen details about what he told detectives about his thinking at the time.

THE JUNE 2023 INCIDENT
The case began on June 15, 2023, when Doerman returned home earlier than usual from work at his family’s Monroe Township property.

According to investigators and previously released evidence, Doerman’s three sons — Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3 — were at the home.

Investigators said Doerman took a Bible and began moving around the house while repeatedly saying words to the effect of “Chad knows what’s right.”

He then retrieved a rifle from a gun safe.

The three boys were later found outside the home.

Two other members of the family were also injured during the incident, according to authorities.

The case immediately became one of the most closely watched criminal investigations in Clermont County.

DETECTIVES WANTED TO KNOW WHY
After Doerman was taken into custody, investigators spent hours questioning him.

The newly released footage shows detectives attempting to understand what had happened and, more importantly, why.

At first, Doerman frequently responded that he did not know or could not remember.

As the questioning continued, however, he began discussing religion, the Bible, the idea of Heaven and Hell, and what he described as thoughts that had been troubling him.

At one point, he told investigators that he believed the world was coming to an end.

He also repeatedly described himself as being in Hell.

According to the released interview, Doerman told detectives:

“Because it’s the end of the world.”
He also spoke about what he believed were signs around him and said he had been afraid of what was coming.

The statements provide investigators’ account of his thinking at the time, but they do not establish that the beliefs he described were objectively true.

HIS EXPLANATION INVOLVED A BIBLICAL STORY
During the interview, Doerman told detectives about a story from the Bible involving a father being asked to sacrifice his son.

He said his own father had previously told him the story, and that he later remembered it after attending a church service with his family.

Doerman never specifically identified the passage during the interview.

Detectives interpreted his description as being similar to the biblical account of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, in which Abraham is tested by being commanded to sacrifice his son before an angel intervenes.

Doerman told investigators that he believed the story represented a test.

He said, according to the interview, that a person had to obey the test and could not stop.

When a detective asked him whether he had followed through, Doerman responded:

“For God.”
That statement became one of the most significant portions of the newly released recording.

HE ALSO TALKED ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL
Throughout the interview, Doerman repeatedly returned to the subjects of Heaven and Hell.

He told detectives that he believed his children could go to Heaven while he would remain in Hell.

At another point, he discussed what he described as an order in which his family was supposed to die.

The comments were disorganized and difficult for investigators to interpret.

Doerman also expressed regret, but investigators noted that his statements focused on the sequence of events rather than offering a conventional explanation for why he had decided to harm his children.

The footage shows detectives repeatedly attempting to bring him back to the events of that day and establish what he had been thinking before the incident.

DETECTIVES ALSO ASKED ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Investigators questioned Doerman about whether drugs or alcohol had played a role.

A toxicology report later showed that he did not test positive for drugs, although alcohol was detected in his system.

The newly released interview therefore became an important piece of the record because it allowed investigators and the public to hear his own description of his thoughts shortly after the incident.

However, the interview alone does not provide a complete explanation for his behavior.

HIS FAMILY HAD NOTICED CHANGES BEFORE THE INCIDENT
The sheriff’s office also interviewed Doerman’s parents as part of the investigation.

They described changes they had noticed in their son’s behavior in the months before June 2023.

According to the interview material, his parents described him as depressed and said his behavior had become unusual.

One parent compared his condition to what they described as a possible nervous breakdown.

Those observations later became relevant as investigators and attorneys examined Doerman’s mental state around the time of the incident.

A MENTAL-HEALTH DEFENSE HAD BEEN EXPECTED
The case initially appeared headed toward a capital murder trial.

Prosecutors had announced that they intended to seek the death penalty.

Doerman’s defense, meanwhile, had been preparing a mental-health argument concerning his state of mind.

According to reporting surrounding the case, experts concluded that he had experienced a form of psychosis around the time of the killings.

Before the case went to trial, however, Doerman accepted a plea agreement.

In August 2024, he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault.

The agreement removed the possibility of a death sentence.

He was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole.

THE NEW FOOTAGE DOES NOT REOPEN THE CASE
The release of the interrogation video does not mean Doerman is facing a new trial.

His criminal case has already been resolved through his guilty plea and sentence.

Instead, the footage provides additional documentation of the investigation and gives the public a clearer picture of what detectives heard directly from Doerman shortly after the incident.

The release also comes after legal proceedings surrounding the interview.

A judge previously ruled that police had violated Doerman’s rights during the interrogation, according to reporting on the case. The newly released material nevertheless became public through the sheriff’s office in 2026.

THE THREE BOYS’ LIVES WERE MORE THAN THE CASE
While the newly released footage focuses heavily on their father’s statements, the three children had lives and personalities far beyond the circumstances of their deaths.

Clayton, Hunter and Chase were remembered by their family as brothers who enjoyed spending time together and taking part in ordinary childhood activities.

At Doerman’s sentencing, their mother spoke about the boys and urged people to remember them for who they were rather than allowing the circumstances surrounding their deaths to define their entire lives.

Their family has continued to live with the consequences of what happened on June 15, 2023.

WHAT THE NEW RECORDS REVEAL
The newly released material does not provide a simple explanation for why Doerman decided to harm his children.

Instead, the interview shows a man describing a series of religious beliefs, fears and thoughts that investigators were trying to understand in real time.

He spoke about being in Hell.

He spoke about the end of the world.

He described what he believed was a test from God.

And when detectives asked him why he had carried out the act, he said:

“For God.”

Those statements are part of the evidence documenting his state of mind at the time. They should not be confused with an independent determination that the religious beliefs he described were factual.

Doerman has already accepted criminal responsibility for the deaths through his guilty plea and remains incarcerated under three life sentences without parole.

The release of the interview now gives the public a new look at one of the most significant unanswered questions from the original investigation: what was going through his mind before and immediately after the events of June 15, 2023?

SOURCES
Clermont County Sheriff’s Office — newly released interview and investigative footage.
FOX19 NOW / WXIX — reporting and review of the newly released interrogation video.