đ¨ âI DID IT FOR GODâ: NEWLY RELEASED INTERROGATION VIDEO REVEALS THE DISTURBING BELIEFS CHAD DOERMAN DESCRIBED AFTER HIS SONSâ DEATHS
More than three years after the deaths of three young Ohio brothers, newly released interrogation footage is providing a chilling look at what Chad Doerman told investigators about his state of mind on the day his children died.
In the newly released interviews, Doerman described a disturbing belief system involving God, sacrifice, punishment, Hell and the end of the world.
At one point, when detectives questioned him about why he carried out the killings, Doerman said he believed he had done it âfor God.â
The footage offers new insight into the motive he described to investigators â but it does not change the legal outcome.
Doerman is already serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the aggravated murders of his three sons.
THREE CHILDREN â ONE FAMILY FOREVER CHANGED
The tragedy unfolded on June 15, 2023, at the familyâs home in Monroe Township, Clermont County, Ohio.
The victims were:
Clayton Doerman, 7
Hunter Doerman, 4
Chase Doerman, 3
Authorities responded to the home and found the three boys deceased.
Investigators also determined that two other family members had been injured during the incident.
What followed became one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the region.
WHAT DID DOERMAN TELL DETECTIVES?
According to the newly released interrogation footage, Doerman described an increasingly disturbing series of beliefs that he said had occupied his mind.
He spoke about God, Hell and what he believed was an approaching end of the world.
He also described believing that his family was somehow connected to what he considered a coming catastrophe.
At various points during the interview, he questioned whether he was already in Hell and described seeing what he believed were signs around him.
He also told investigators that he had experienced frightening thoughts before the killings and had previously sought help because of what was happening in his mind.
These statements are his own descriptions of his thinking and should not be treated as an independent medical diagnosis.
THE BIBLE STORY HE SAID STAYED WITH HIM
One of the most striking portions of the interrogation involved a biblical story Doerman said he remembered from his childhood.
He told detectives that his father had previously read him a story involving a father being commanded to sacrifice his son.
He later connected that memory to a church service he had attended before the killings.
The account has been compared to the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, in which Abraham is tested by being commanded to sacrifice his son before the act is stopped.
According to the interview, Doerman said he believed he was being tested by God.
He described the killings as an act of obedience within that belief system.
When detectives questioned him about what he had done, he said he had done it for God.
HE ALSO DESCRIBED AN APOCALYPTIC WORLD
The interrogation footage revealed other unusual beliefs Doerman said he held.
He spoke about the world coming to an end and described fears that society was approaching a period of chaos.
He also told investigators that he believed people around him were behaving strangely and used descriptions suggesting he viewed the world through an increasingly distorted lens.
He said he did not want his family to experience what he believed was coming.
He also discussed Hell and expressed a belief that suicide would lead to punishment.
Together, the statements provide investigators and the public with a more detailed picture of the explanation Doerman gave for his actions.
But again, the footage documents what he told detectives, not an official determination that those beliefs accurately described his mental condition.
A CLAIMED âORDERâ TO THE EVENTS
Doerman also described what he characterized as a specific order or sequence involving members of his family.
During the interview, he reportedly discussed the sequence in which events occurred and expressed regret about aspects of what happened.
Those statements became another disturbing element of the interrogation as investigators attempted to understand what had happened inside the family home.
WHAT DID TOXICOLOGY SHOW?
Toxicology testing provided another piece of evidence.
According to reporting on the investigation, Doerman tested positive for alcohol, but investigators did not find drugs in his system at the time.
The finding does not establish that alcohol caused his actions.
Instead, it represents one additional piece of evidence investigators considered when reconstructing the circumstances surrounding the killings.
THE CASE ONCE FACED THE DEATH PENALTY
The legal consequences were initially expected to be even more severe.
Prosecutors originally pursued a death-penalty case against Doerman.
However, after extensive pretrial proceedings, the case ultimately took a different path.
On August 2, 2024, Doerman pleaded guilty to three aggravated-murder counts and two felonious-assault counts.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty.
Judge Richard Ferenc sentenced Doerman to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, along with additional consecutive prison terms for the assault convictions.
HIS CONFESSION HAD ALSO BECOME A LEGAL BATTLE
Before the guilty plea, Doermanâs statements to investigators became an important legal issue.
A judge ruled that police had violated his constitutional rights during portions of the interrogation, creating questions about whether certain statements could be used against him in court.
The ruling became one of several major developments in a case that had initially been headed toward a death-penalty trial.
Ultimately, Doermanâs guilty plea meant that a full trial over the killings was no longer necessary.
WHAT THE NEW VIDEO REVEALS â AND WHAT IT DOESNâT
The newly released footage does not change Doermanâs convictions.
It does, however, provide a much more detailed look at the explanation he gave detectives immediately after the tragedy.
His account centered on religious imagery, sacrifice, Hell and apocalyptic fears.
He described believing that he was carrying out what he viewed as a divine command.
But the video should not be interpreted as proof of a particular psychiatric diagnosis unless supported by qualified medical evidence and a formal legal or clinical determination.
WHERE IS CHAD DOERMAN NOW?
As of September 12, 2026, Doerman remains incarcerated in Ohio.
His official legal status is clear:
He is serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the aggravated murders of Clayton, Hunter and Chase Doerman.
He is also serving additional consecutive sentences connected to the two felonious-assault convictions.
There is no scheduled release associated with those life sentences.
THE QUESTION OF âWHYâ REMAINS
The guilty plea resolved the central legal question of whether Doerman would be held responsible for the deaths.
But it did not erase the question that has continued to haunt the case:
Why did this happen?
The newly released interrogation footage provides part of the answer â through Doermanâs own words.
He described a world shaped by religious fears, sacrifice, punishment and an approaching apocalypse.
Whether those beliefs fully explain his actions is a far more complicated question.
What cannot be changed is the outcome.
Three young boys â Clayton, Hunter and Chase â lost their lives, and their family was permanently changed.
Today, Chad Doerman remains in prison for life without the possibility of parole.
The newly released footage may provide a deeper look into the story he told investigators, but it also leaves behind a painful reminder of the three children whose lives were cut tragically short.
