CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO — Newly released interrogation footage is providing the clearest look yet at what Chad Doerman told investigators after killing his three young sons in a horrific 2023 attack that shocked Ohio and the nation.

More than three years after the killings, the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office has released additional videos and interviews showing Doerman describing his state of mind on the day he shot his children.

According to the newly released material, Doerman told detectives that he believed he was carrying out a divine command and said he killed his sons “for God.”

The victims were Clayton, 7, Hunter, 4, and Chase, 3.

The new footage does not change the legal outcome of the case. Doerman pleaded guilty in August 2024 to three aggravated-murder counts and two counts of felonious assault. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, along with additional prison time for the assaults.

What Doerman Told Detectives
The newly released interview footage was recorded after police responded to the Doerman family’s Monroe Township home on June 15, 2023.

Investigators said Doerman had come home from work earlier than usual that day. According to FOX19’s reporting, he picked up a Bible and wandered through the house while repeating words to himself about knowing what was right.

He later retrieved a rifle from a gun safe.

Police ultimately found the three boys dead outside the home. Doerman was taken into custody and questioned by detectives.

During that interrogation, Doerman described a deeply distorted belief system involving God, punishment, Hell and the end of the world.

At one point, he questioned whether he was already in Hell and told investigators that he believed the world was approaching its end.

He also said he had been frightened by recurring thoughts and claimed he had previously sought help because of what was going through his mind.

He Connected the Killings to a Bible Story
One of the most striking portions of the interview involved a story from the Bible that Doerman said he remembered from his father.

He told investigators that his father had previously read him a story about making a sacrifice to God.

Doerman said the story came back to him after he attended a church service in Amelia sometime before the killings.

He did not identify the biblical passage by name, but investigators and reporters noted similarities to the story 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 detectives that he believed God was testing him.

According to the interview, he said he thought obedience required him to carry out the act and that he could not refuse.

When a detective asked whether he had actually followed through, Doerman answered that he had done it for God.

The statement has now become one of the central pieces of newly revealed information surrounding a case whose motive remained unclear after his guilty plea.

He Believed the World Was Coming to an End
The footage also shows Doerman describing a series of frightening beliefs.

He told investigators that he thought the family was in Hell and that Jesus was coming.

He described seeing what he believed were signs everywhere and claimed people around him were behaving like zombies.

He also spoke about the possibility that the world would become chaotic and said he did not want his family to be caught in what he believed was coming.

Those statements provide investigators’ first detailed public look at the thinking Doerman described immediately after the killings.

However, his statements should not be confused with an official medical diagnosis or a court finding regarding his mental state.

He Described an Order for the Killings
Another disturbing revelation came when Doerman discussed what he called an order in which members of the family were supposed to be killed.

According to the newly released interview, he said he believed there was a specific sequence and later expressed regret over the order in which events occurred.

He also said he would not kill himself because he believed suicide would send him to Hell.

The interview suggests that the killings were not simply an instantaneous act of rage but something Doerman described as an event shaped by increasingly bizarre religious and apocalyptic beliefs.

Toxicology Found Alcohol, But No Drugs
A toxicology report released as part of the investigation also provided additional context.

According to FOX19, investigators found no drugs in Doerman’s system on the day of the killings, although he did test positive for alcohol.

That information is significant because it provides one more piece of evidence about Doerman’s condition at the time, even though the available reporting does not establish that alcohol caused his behavior.

The Boys Were Killed in June 2023
The killings took place on June 15, 2023, at the family’s home in Monroe Township in Clermont County.

Prosecutors said Doerman killed his three sons and also wounded two other family members.

The three boys were:

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

Their deaths triggered an enormous law-enforcement response and shocked the surrounding community.

The case initially headed toward a death-penalty trial.

But after extensive pretrial litigation, Doerman ultimately accepted a plea agreement.

He Avoided the Death Penalty
On August 2, 2024, Doerman pleaded guilty to three aggravated-murder counts and two felonious-assault counts.

Under the agreement, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty.

Instead, Judge Richard Ferenc sentenced him to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He also received consecutive prison terms for the two felonious-assault convictions.

Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said at the time that Doerman would die in prison.

That remains his legal status today.

His Confession Was Once a Major Legal Issue
Before Doerman pleaded guilty, his alleged confession had become a major issue in the case.

A judge ruled that police had violated Doerman’s constitutional rights during portions of the interrogation, creating uncertainty over whether prosecutors could use certain statements at trial.

That ruling was one of several major developments that complicated what had originally been expected to be a death-penalty prosecution.

Ultimately, the guilty plea eliminated the need for a full trial over the killings.

But the newly released sheriff’s footage now offers the public a much fuller picture of what Doerman told detectives during questioning.

Where Chad Doerman Is Now
There is no mystery about Doerman’s current legal status.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s current offender record lists Chad Doerman as incarcerated and records three aggravated-murder convictions with consecutive life sentences. The record also lists two felony-assault convictions with additional consecutive terms.

He is therefore not awaiting trial, and there is no scheduled release date tied to the murder convictions.

His three life sentences without parole mean he is not eligible for release based on those convictions.

The New Video Changes the Focus of the Case
When Doerman pleaded guilty in 2024, the legal questions surrounding guilt and punishment were effectively resolved.

What remained unanswered was why.

The newly released interview does not erase the tragedy or provide a conventional explanation. Instead, it shows Doerman describing a highly disturbing belief system involving God, sacrifice, Hell and an approaching apocalypse.

His own statements indicate that he believed he was carrying out a religious test and that he viewed the killings through that distorted framework.

Whether that explanation fully accounts for his actions is a question that can never undo what happened.

Three young boys are dead, a family has been permanently shattered, and Doerman will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Latest confirmed status — September 12, 2026
As of September 12, 2026, Chad Doerman remains incarcerated in Ohio, serving three consecutive life sentences without parole for the aggravated murders of Clayton, Hunter and Chase Doerman. He also received additional consecutive sentences for two felonious-assault convictions.

The newly released Clermont County Sheriff’s Office interviews have provided the latest major development in the case, revealing that Doerman told detectives he believed he killed his sons “for God” and connected his thinking to a biblical story about sacrifice.

The footage adds new insight into his claimed motive, but it does not alter his convictions or sentence.

Chad Doerman is a convicted murderer and remains imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.

Sources
FOX19 WXIX: Newly released sheriff’s videos and interviews detailing Doerman’s statements about God, Hell and the killings.