More than three years after three young brothers were killed at their Ohio home, newly released interview footage is offering a disturbing look at what their father told investigators in the hours after the tragedy.

Chad Doerman, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to killing his three sons, described his actions to detectives in religious terms, repeatedly talking about God, the Bible, Heaven and Hell.

In the newly released footage, Doerman told investigators that he believed he had to carry out the killings as an act of obedience to God.

The comments provide new insight into a case whose motive remained unclear for years.

But the footage comes with an important legal distinction: a judge had previously ruled that statements Doerman made during the interrogation could not be used against him at trial because investigators violated his constitutional rights during questioning.

THE JUNE 2023 TRAGEDY
The killings occurred on June 15, 2023, at the family’s home in Monroe Township, Clermont County, Ohio.

Doerman had three young sons: Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3.

According to authorities and later court proceedings, Doerman returned home earlier than expected from work that afternoon.

Investigators said he then retrieved a rifle from a gun safe and killed the three boys outside the home.

The children’s mother was also wounded while trying to intervene, while the boys’ teenage half-sister escaped and sought help.

When deputies arrived, Doerman was taken into custody outside the residence.

The three children were pronounced dead at the scene.

WHAT DOERMAN TOLD DETECTIVES
The newly released footage shows Doerman being questioned after his arrest.

Initially, he was largely uncooperative and repeatedly told detectives that he did not know the answers to their questions.

As the interview continued, however, he began talking about his beliefs and what he said had been going through his mind.

Doerman told investigators that he had remembered a Bible story involving sacrifice after attending a church service in Amelia.

He never specifically identified the passage by name, but investigators and news reports noted similarities between his description and the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac.

In Genesis 22, Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of obedience, although an angel ultimately stops him.

During the interrogation, Doerman described the story as a test in which a person had to obey.

When a detective asked him about what he had done, Doerman responded that he had done it “for God.”

HE SPOKE REPEATEDLY ABOUT HELL
Another striking part of the interview involved Doerman’s statements about Hell and the end of the world.

At one point, he asked investigators whether he was in Hell.

He described himself as believing that the world was coming to an end and spoke about Jesus returning.

Investigators continued questioning him about what he had been thinking before the killings.

Doerman said he had been looking for help because he was experiencing troubling thoughts.

He also described believing that his family needed to be protected from what he perceived as an impending catastrophe.

The newly released footage therefore provides investigators’ account of what Doerman said his thoughts were at the time.

It does not, however, establish that the religious beliefs he described were objectively responsible for his actions beyond his own statements.

A DISTURBING DETAIL ABOUT HIS PLAN
During the questioning, Doerman also discussed what he described as an intended order for carrying out the killings.

According to reporting on the newly released footage, he said he believed there was a sequence he was supposed to follow.

He later expressed regret about the order in which events unfolded, saying he believed one of the children suffered.

The comments were among the most disturbing portions of the interview because they suggested investigators that the killings were not simply an impulsive act.

Prosecutors had previously alleged that Doerman planned the killings for months.

THE CONFESSION COULD NOT BE USED AT TRIAL
There is an unusual legal background to the release of the interview.

Soon after Doerman’s arrest, authorities publicly said he had confessed to killing his sons.

But his defense challenged the interrogation, arguing that investigators continued questioning him after he had requested an attorney.

A judge later ruled that Doerman’s Miranda rights had been violated.

As a result, the statements from that interrogation, including his alleged confession, were suppressed and could not be used against him at trial.

That ruling became an important development in the case.

However, Doerman’s eventual guilty plea meant there was no jury trial in which prosecutors would have had to rely on the suppressed interrogation.

DOERMAN EVENTUALLY PLEADED GUILTY
In August 2024, Doerman entered a guilty plea to three counts of aggravated murder involving his sons and two counts of felonious assault involving other family members.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty.

He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, along with additional time related to the assault convictions.

The plea brought the criminal proceedings to an end without a full trial.

For years, however, the public had been left with unanswered questions about what motivated Doerman to attack his own children.

The newly released footage has now provided a much clearer picture of what he told investigators.

THE BOYS’ AGES MADE THE CASE PARTICULARLY SHOCKING
Clayton was 7.

Hunter was 4.

Chase was only 3.

Their deaths devastated the Clermont County community and drew national attention.

Family members and community members have repeatedly remembered the boys as active children who enjoyed spending time outdoors and with one another.

Their deaths also prompted widespread discussion about how warning signs and mental-health concerns should be addressed before a family reaches a crisis point.

THE VIDEO DOES NOT CHANGE THE CONVICTION
Although the newly released interview contains previously unseen details, it does not change Doerman’s current legal status.

He is already serving three life sentences without parole after pleading guilty.

The video also does not create a new criminal case against him.

Instead, it gives the public a closer look at what he told investigators shortly after the June 2023 killings.

And because the judge had ruled that the interrogation violated his Miranda rights, the footage should be understood primarily as a record of what Doerman said during the investigation, not as evidence that was admitted against him at a trial.

A MOTIVE THAT REMAINED HIDDEN FOR YEARS
For more than three years, one question continued to surround the case:

Why did Chad Doerman kill his three sons?

The newly released interview does not provide a simple explanation.

Instead, it reveals a man describing religious ideas, fear of Hell, the end of the world and a perceived obligation to obey what he believed was a divine command.

Those statements represent Doerman’s own account of his thinking and should not be confused with an independent finding about his mental state.

What is legally established is that Doerman pleaded guilty to killing Clayton, Hunter and Chase and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The newly released footage now gives the public another piece of the timeline — and a disturbing look at what Doerman told detectives immediately after the killings.

SOURCES
FOX19 NOW — Newly released Clermont County Sheriff’s video