Ohio dad Chad Doerman appeared in court Friday after a grand jury indicted him on 21 counts, including murder and kidnapping in the shooting deaths of his three young sons. "My goal is to have this man executed," the prosecutor said.
Ohio father Chad Doerman pleaded not guilty Friday to the "execution-style" murders of his three young sons, who were lined up and shot as their screaming mother tried to intervene, authorities said.
Doerman, 32, appeared before Clermont County Judge Victor Haddad Friday morning, shackled at his waist and feet, to answer a 21-count indictment issued Thursday. He was charged with nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping and four counts of felonious assault.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
"My goal is to have this man executed for slaughtering these three young boys. It is an incomprehensible act of horror that he perpetuated on this family," said Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve.
Doerman was ordered held without bail pending a pre-trial hearing scheduled for July 5.
Tekulve also revealed new details about last week's horrific killings during Friday's court hearing.
Four-year-old Hunter Doerman was the first to die, after being shot twice in the head inside the family's home, Tekulve said.
Seven-year-old Clayton was next, the prosecutor said. The child was shot in the back as he ran for his life through a field and fell in the grass, Tekulve said. His father followed him and shot him in the head, the prosecutor alleged.
Next, the dad ripped 3-year-old Chase from the arms of his mother and "put a bullet in his head," Tekulve told the court.
Authorities said last week that Doerman acknowledged killing his sons and had planned the shootings for months, they said. A possible motive was not released.
The father was arrested June 15 after Clermont County Sheriff's deputies responded to frantic 911 calls, including one from the children's distraught mother who screamed her "babies had been shot," authorities said.
An upset neighbor also called for help, saying a teenage girl was running down a street shouting for help
“She said that her stepfather is killing everybody in her house. I asked her to get in the car with me, but she said she couldn’t leave her family, I think she ran to the fire department,” the female caller told 911, according to audio released of the call.
The girl was not injured, authorities said. The mother was shot in the hand trying to protect her sons, according to investigators.
