BATAVIA — The judge presiding over the case of Chad Doerman, 32, a Clermont County father who confessed to shooting and killing his three sons, granted a gag order to prevent information about the case from releasing into the public.
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A motion was filed June 26 to have the court restrict what details prosecutors could release outside of the proceedings, records WCPO received showed. The request was made so that the integrity of the proceedings would remain. It did not, however, request to protect the defendant, Doerman, physically.
The motion was filed after Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve told media outlets, “This is a capital murder case and it is my goal to see (Doerman) executed.”
Doerman’s defense council claimed that the statement was “inflammatory and prejudicial.”
Although prosecutors argued against the gag order due to its seemingly broad overreach, Judge Richard Ferenc explained that the gag order would not “restrict the state’s obligation to release public records.”
“This is not directed at the media at all. There’s no restrictions on what the media can report and how they can report it,” Ferenc continued.
The case revolved around Doerman who confessed to killing his three sons earlier in June with a rifle in an execution-style murder. The children’s bodies were found lying in the yard when emergency responders arrived at the scene. The father was reportedly sitting out at the front following the shooting, News Center 7 previously reported.
The ensuing investigation found that Doerman chased one of his sons that attempted to flee death by running into a nearby field. The father caught the son and dragged him back to the yard where he would eventually be killed.
The three boys were aged 3, 4, and 7 years old.
The father recently appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to executing his sons. However, in a previous confession, he admitted to shooting the children stating that he “just snapped.” More information about what caused him to snapped was not disclosed in previous reporting.
Doerman’s next pre-trial court date was scheduled for September 22 at 11 a.m.
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