- Chad Dorman, 33, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting and killing his three young sons in Ohio last year.
- He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to aggravated murder, plus an additional 16 years for assault charges related to injuries he inflicted on his ex-wife and stepdaughter.
- Prosecutor Mark Tekulbe initially sought the death penalty but decided not to do so to ease the emotional trauma for the victim’s family.
A man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting and killing his three young sons at his Ohio home last year.
A Clermont County judge on Friday sentenced Chad Dorman, 33, to three consecutive life sentences for pleading guilty to murder. He also received an additional 16 years for two assault counts for injuring his ex-wife and stepdaughter.
Prosecutor Mark Tekalb had initially vowed to seek the death penalty in the June 15, 2023, murders of 7-year-old Clayton Dorman, 4-year-old Hunter Dorman and 3-year-old Chase Dorman in Monroe Township, about 75 miles west of Columbus.
Judge says Ohio father’s confession to killing three young sons cannot be used in court
But on Friday, he cited the trauma that surviving family members “experienced that day and continue to experience every day.”
Chad Dorman, seen in the body camera footage and arrest warrant photo, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting and killing his three young sons at his Ohio home last year. (Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, Associated Press)
“As I’ve seen this week, my job has been to spare them further suffering,” he told reporters Friday.
Prosecutors have previously said Dorman, who was found sitting on the front porch of his home and detained, admitted to planning the murders and chasing one of the boys through a field when he tried to escape. The defence had argued Dorman suffered from severe mental illness.
Ohio father charged with ‘cold-blooded’ execution of sons, indicted on 21 counts of triple murder
Laura Dorman, the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of his children, broke down in tears in court as the prosecutor read a statement saying her life had been “stolen and destroyed.”
“I would do anything to put them on the swing again, to cover them with a blanket, to hear those little voices say, ‘I love you,'” she said. “I feel anger, frustration and deep sadness. The sadness will never go away because there is love left with nowhere to go.”
In a separate statement issued through the prosecutor’s office after the verdict, she said she “fully consented” to the resolution of the case.
“No punishment will bring my sons back,” she wrote. “It is best for our family to ensure that he spends the rest of his life in prison.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Prosecutors said they plan to release more details about the incident at a news conference on Monday. Laura Dorman thanked prosecutors and emergency personnel and asked for privacy. She said she and the family “grieve every day” for the boys, but she also asked people to remember the boys before the events of that day.
“Remember the three boys who loved fishing, go-karting and swimming,” she said. “Remember the boys who were always at the ball field or running around outside. Remember the fun-loving boys who couldn’t stay away from each other.”
