50: Father Murders 3 Sons | New Chad Doerman Audio, New Details, Final Justice

In June 2023, a quiet Ohio neighborhood was forever changed when police responded to a horrifying scene inside the Doerman family home. Three young brothers, Clayton, Hunter, and Chase, had been killed, and the person responsible was the very person they trusted most: their father, Chad Doerman. When we first covered this case, there were still so many unanswered questions. What led up to that devastating day? What was Chad’s motive? Was there more to the story that investigators had yet to uncover? Now, with the case officially closed, new footage, courtroom developments, and shocking details that emerged over the last two years paint an even clearer picture of what happened. Revisit the timeline, the evidence, Chad’s own words, and the final moments of a case that left everyone asking one haunting question: how could a father do this?. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.⭐SponsorsHers WL: Visit http://forhers.com/10tolife to get a personalized, affordable care that gets you. Mood: Find your perfect mood at http://Mood.com and save 20% on your first order with code 10TOLIFE. SoFi: Head to http://SoFi.com/10tolife to learn more..👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources Court TV | FOX19 | GoFundMe | Guilty of Crime | KBTX | Law & Crime Trials | LOCAL 12 | NBC News | Reddit | WCPO | WLWT••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:32Speaker 02

  We have yours planned slaughter of three of our boys.

• 1:40Speaker 03

  I lied to me. I lied.

• 1:47Speaker 03

  Stand up and walk towards us.

• 1:53Speaker 03

  Stand up. Stand up now. Stand up.

• 1:58Speaker 02

  My hope and wish and prayer is that someday we will be able to find peace.

• 2:05Speaker 04

  What's his name?

• 2:07Speaker 03

  His name is Chad Dorman.

• 2:09Speaker 04

  Chad Dorman is the shooter. Okay.

• 2:11Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 2:14Speaker 04

  Do you know what kind of... Okay.

• 2:16Speaker 03

  I don't know, but my babies are dead. My babies are dead. All three of my three innocent children are dead. I lied to me. I lied.

• 2:33Speaker 03

  What are you doing, man?

• 2:34Annie Elise?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome back to an all-new episode of 10 to Life with me, Annie Elise. Obviously, as you can see, I am not in my normal setup. If you are watching the video version of this, I'm traveling, so trying to do my best with the equipment that I've got. But, you know, wanted to still give you guys your weekly episode. And this case is incredibly important to talk about. However, before we get into today's episode, I do want to warn you. It is not an easy case to hear. Not that any of them are, but this one is especially difficult because it involves the deaths of not just one child, but three. And unfortunately, their lives were taken by someone they trusted the most. It wasn't some stranger.

• 3:19Annie Elise?

  It wasn't somebody outside of the family. It was their own father. And the devastation that he caused, it didn't just affect his three sons, but also his wife and his stepdaughter. And the events that transpired, honestly, they are too difficult to even comprehend. I'm going to do my best to explain them, but it's incredibly difficult to not only reconcile, but try to wrap your mind around how a father, how a person who is supposed to protect, love, and just be there for his children could do something this horrific. And if you follow true crime, then you already may know who we're talking about today. And that is Chad Dorman. More importantly, though, we will be talking about his three sons,

• 4:03Annie Elise?

  Clayton, Hunter, and Chase. Now, when news of this case first broke back in 2023, it had everybody reeling, rightfully so. Not just because people were trying to understand why, or how, I should say, this father could do this to his own children, but of course, the biggest question being why? Why would he do this? What would motivate a man, a father, to do something so callous, so horrific to his own sons? Was this a mental health crisis? What happened to the surviving child? What really transpired here? What's the truth? Because at the time, again, this was years ago, we didn't have a lot of answers to many of those questions. But now we do.

• 4:48Annie Elise?

  Not only do we have answers, but more importantly, those sweet three little boys have finally received justice. Now, as a reminder, these cases, especially ones involving children, are incredibly difficult to hear, especially the details. And the reason and the mission as to why we share these stories is to not only generate awareness, but to hopefully get accountability and get justice. And something I say in many of my videos is that if these children and these victims had to experience these horrific acts, the least we can do is listen and hear their story. And I know that sometimes seeing the images or the footage or hearing the 911 calls can be extremely triggering.

• 5:32Annie Elise?

  However, it's important that all of those details be shared because that is what will evoke the emotion in the viewers, in all of us, to have outrage, to have heartbreak so that we can get the change, get the accountability, seek the justice, and actually be thoughtful in what we do with these cases. If we simply hear a lot of these stories, and it's just verbal, and we don't see some of the imagery or audio or video accompanied with it, it unfortunately doesn't hit as hard all of the time. And hitting hard is what is so crucial to make change and generate that awareness. Now, in addition to the updates that we have received, I have also received more media. And I think that all of this together, it just really helps illustrate a full picture

• 6:17Annie Elise?

  of not only the events leading up to this fateful day, but the events that transpired after, and more insight into just who Chad was. Or maybe I should say, wasn't. As a reminder, in these reopened episodes, my goal is to give you the whole comprehensive overview of the case. So with that, I stitched together some of my old coverage as well, just so that you have the full story, the complete picture, and all of the information. However, with this case particularly, because I was covering it as it was breaking news, there were a lot of things redacted originally, primarily the boys' names. And so in that coverage,

• 7:00Annie Elise?

  you will hear me censoring their names or bleeping them out because at that point in time, since the investigation was still ongoing, we wanted to preserve the privacy of the boys. Things hadn't been made public. Now, of course, we can use their names, and we will be using their names, but intermittently, there might be moments throughout where you hear their names censored, but we would be referring to the three boys, Clayton, Hunter, or Chase. So just wanted to give you that little caveat ahead of time. Also, in case you notice any sort of changes in the audio, it's because my equipment has changed over time, but hopefully, it will be a seamless listen. So given that, today, we are going to reopen the Dorman case. Now, anytime I reopen a case,

• 7:44Annie Elise?

  I pull a lot of information from my original deep dive and then couple it with the new updates, the new media, just so that you have everything all in one place. My equipment has changed over the years, so you might notice slight little tweaks in the video, in the audio, but we're going to do our best in the post-edit to make it sound as seamless as possible. But the goal really is to give you one full, comprehensive overview of the case so that you can understand everything from start to finish. I'm going to walk you through the case history, the new updates, the new footage, and everything that has happened along the way. So with that, hey, guys. I'm Annie Elise. Today, we are reopening the case of Chase, Hunter, and Clayton Dorman. Let's jump right in.

• 8:39Annie Elise?

  As a general recap, Chad Dorman is a 32-year-old man from New Richmond, Ohio, which is a city within Clermont County. The city is a small one, and there's not a ton of crime that happens there. Chad lived with his wife Laura, his stepdaughter Alexis, and their three sons, seven-year-old Clayton, four-year-old Hunter, and three-year-old Chase. They all lived in a beautiful, modest home in the community. On June 15th, everything changed for that little town of New Richmond, and everything changed in the Dorman family. That day started off fairly normally, with Chad waking up pretty early and heading off to work. Chad returned early home from work on June 15th. He then had his wife Laura

• 9:23Annie Elise?

  and his sons Chase, Clayton, and Hunter join him in the primary bedroom for a nap. They all laid down together, and then Chad got up at some point. That is when he opened the gun safe that was positioned next to their bed. He grabbed the Marlin Model HC22 rifle, and then he inserted a loaded magazine into the gun. He then shot four-year-old [BLEEP] twice. Alexis, who was watching TV in the family room while they were all napping, had walked into the primary bedroom just before. She witnessed her brother be shot, and then she immediately started running. Laura was, of course, absolutely horrified, and she immediately called 911, doing anything

• 10:04Annie Elise?

  that she possibly could do to save Hunter. And what is so eerie is, in that call, you can actually hear Laura tell little three-year-old Chase to run for his life. Which, can you imagine that? And I'm just putting myself in that position for a moment, because I have a four-year-old daughter. Trying to get them to understand the severity of the issue, I'm sure they understand fear, and, you know, they do grasp it, but to say, "Run for your life, run for your life," as though it's not some sort of game, and just being so scared for the lives of your children, and hoping that they can survive this and run away as fast as they possibly can, it's devastating and heartbreaking to think about. And I just want to warn you, this is some of the most heartbreaking audio that I have

• 10:47Annie Elise?

  ever shared on these episodes, so please, just trigger warning.

• 10:52Speaker 03

  My baby! My baby! 1965, world went down! What, what? I can't tell what's happening, ma'am. I need you to calm down and tell me what's happening. Help me, God, help me! Ma'am. He's hurt! He's hurt, God! He's hurt! My baby! What is happening? Help, God, help! What?

• 11:36Speaker 03

  Ma'am, what is happening? Hello?

• 12:14Speaker 03

  Hello? Can anybody hear me? Hello? Can anybody hear me?

• 12:56Speaker 03

  My baby, help! My baby, help! Where the [BLEEP] 911? I can't hear you! Ma'am, can you hear me? God!

• 13:19Speaker 03

  Ma'am, can you hear me? Hello?

• 13:44Speaker 03

  Someone help me! Oh my God! Help me! Somebody help me! Somebody help me! Ma'am, can you hear me?

• 14:13Annie Elise?

  After that, the call disconnected. And I have to say, this next part is infuriating and very difficult to hear, but after hearing such a distressing 911 call, that operator did not send anyone to the scene. Not EMS, not an ambulance, not even a single police officer. Which, look, I can imagine that being a 911 operator is difficult, it's draining, it's emotional, but I cannot imagine a world in which this is how the situation should have been handled, and that it was just, in my opinion, so reckless. To just ignore this woman after she says the words, "He just shot my baby," how do you not send every

• 14:56Annie Elise?

  possible resource to the scene in a moment like that? Because truly, at the end of the day, his refusal to send any help or resources, it left Laura and Alexis on their own. Their own to fight for these children, to try to protect them, to try to protect themselves, and try to save Hunter's life.

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• 15:42Annie Elise?

  The Bill of Particulars states that Laura, the mother, immediately began to try and help her young son while yelling at her other kids to run. Alexis seemed to indicate that [BLEEP], the oldest boy, ran out of the wrong door in the house. He ran out the back door, toward a field. Alexis was yelling at him to keep running. Chad then chased after [BLEEP] and shot him while he was running. Once he fell to the ground, Chad went and stood right by him. The way this seems to have happened is literally worse than any horror movie, and as a mother, my absolute worst nightmare as a parent, and just so incredibly haunting

• 16:23Annie Elise?

  and heartbreaking. So in that moment, Alexis ran back to the house and grabbed [BLEEP], the youngest little boy. She then tried running with him to get them both to safety. However, it seems like Chad had already made up his mind about his sick and twisted plan, and he wasn't going to let that happen. He ran after Alexis and caught up to her. He raised his gun and demanded that she put little [BLEEP] down. Alexis begged Chad not to shoot her and to put [BLEEP] down. Chad tried to shoot [BLEEP] in the head, but it seemed as if he was out of ammunition in that moment. By this point, Alexis was already running to the fire station and pleading to a passerby. Alexis said that her stepdad was shooting

• 17:07Annie Elise?

  their entire family. And thankfully, a passerby saw what was going on and called 911 immediately. This all as Alexis continued to run away.

• 17:17Speaker 04

  911, where's your emergency?

• 17:19Speaker 03

  Um, I am, I'm, uh, there's a girl running down the stairs, and her stepfather is killing everyone in her family. Um, it's on the corner of, uh, where there's a body shop in the fire department. Do you know what road this is?

• 17:34Speaker 04

  Okay, what's your name?

• 17:35Speaker 03

  They're going to the fire department.

• 17:36Speaker 04

  What's your name?

• 17:38Speaker 03

  My, do you know what road this is? Laura Lindell Road.

• 17:43Speaker 04

  What?

• 17:44Speaker 03

  It's Laura Lindell Road.

• 17:47Speaker 04

  Okay, and what did the female say to you?

• 17:49Speaker 03

  Uh, she says that her stepfather is killing everybody in her house. I did, I'm call, I'm on the phone with them right now.

• 17:58Speaker 04

  She say how, or what was happening?

• 18:00Speaker 03

  I asked, I asked her to get in the car with me, and she said she couldn't leave her family. But she, I think she ran to the fire department.

• 18:07Speaker 04

  So she went to the fire station? What did she look like?

• 18:10Speaker 03

  She's a, uh, she's probably a young teenager, probably like fif- uh, six, 16 maybe, with long blond hair. Um, and they say she has a black dog.

• 18:23Speaker 04

  Did she say?

• 18:27Speaker 04

  Anything about a baby?

• 18:30Speaker 04

  I, I don't know about no baby. She said she just couldn't leave her family. But I see a car running around. I'm sorry? Do you see anything from the house? Oh, I, I, well, so I go down the road a little bit, so I was afraid that I was gonna get shot myself since I interacted with her face to face. Um, so I, I'm just about like, uh, maybe three houses down. Um, but she's like waiting at the corner. I don't know what she's doing, but I kinda still see her in the corner. But I saw a car kinda came around and whipped around. So I'm not exactly sure if that's him or, or, or if he's chasing her or not. I'm sorry? What kind of vehicle was it?

• 19:14Speaker 04

  Um, I, I saw it. It was like a gray. Did you see that car whip around?

• 19:22Speaker 04

  It's one of the fire department guys. I, I, I- Okay. I think maybe a fire department guy. It was a regular kinda focused looking gray car. Okay, we have help on the way. Thank you. Dark gray. Okay, alright, thanks. Call a staff, okay, and steer clear of the area at this time.

• 19:39Annie Elise?

  Meanwhile, the doorman's neighbor across the street also saw what was going on, and they called 911.

• 19:45Speaker 07

  Oh, are you inside where you're safe?

• 19:48Speaker 02

  I'm standing outside where I can see the [BLEEP] lady.

• 19:51Speaker 07

  Okay.

• 19:52Speaker 02

  I'm at, I'm, I'm across the street at Lyndale Automotive.

• 19:54Speaker 07

  Can you tell how many people have been shot?

• 19:57Speaker 02

  I think two children.

• 19:58Speaker 07

  Okay. Alright, I need, what was your name?

• 20:01Speaker 02

  My name is-

• 20:02Speaker 07

  What's your last name? Alright, we've got help on the way. If you could, just try to stay inside so that you're safe.

• 20:09Annie Elise?

  Now, as all of those calls were coming in from the neighbors and passerbyers going into the station, Chad actually dragged little Chase back to the house. All while Laura was still trying to save Hunter. He dragged his little boy back to the house, almost as if he was some kind of hunter, collecting his prey and bringing him back to where he wanted to finish it off. Who I'm sure was absolutely terrified, ran to his mother Laura. Chad and Laura began fighting over him. Chad was trying to pull [BLEEP] out of Laura's arms, but she was clearly fighting for the life of her innocent three-year-old son. Chad bit Laura and then placed her thumb over his gun and shot her in the thumb.

• 20:53Annie Elise?

  Laura, who had been bitten and now shot, dropped [BLEEP] in that moment. And I can't imagine the anguish, the adrenaline, and both physical and mental pain that she was possibly feeling during all of this. This is seriously, again, any mother's worst nightmare. Chad then shot [BLEEP] in the head before going to casually sit on his front porch as if he had done nothing. Laura was desperately trying to save her boys' lives. Now during all of this, Chad then made the very bizarre decision to go and collect the now lifeless bodies of Hunter and Clayton and bring them outside alongside Chase. Almost as if he was now done with his handiwork

• 21:37Annie Elise?

  and he was trying to create some twisted graveyard of his three boys. Because at this point, all three of her boys, all three boys had been shot, and Laura was beside herself trying to save all of them, trying to even just figure out what to do. Now by this point, it had been a little while since Laura's first call to 911. There were also the other calls that came in from the passerby or and the neighbor. However, Laura didn't know that those calls had been made, and help, if you can believe it or not, still had not arrived. So Laura called 911 again, and I wanna warn you, again, this audio is incredibly difficult to hear.

• 22:15Speaker 04

  My, I called, my children are dead! My children are dead! My children are dead! Can you hear me? My children are shot! My children are not breathing! Okay, what is your name? No one's helping me! How many people are shot? I think three. My three children! Three children? Yes! Okay, what's your name? My name's Lauren. I need help! Lauren, I have help on the way. Lauren, did you say Lauren? Lauren, I called and nobody came! They're driving there. They're on their way. They're on their way. Okay, who is the shooter? What's his name? The father. The father. The father! What's his name?

• 22:59Speaker 04

  My children are dead! Take a deep breath. My children are dead! What's his name? He killed my children! Are you with your children now? I'm right here. They're all over the yard. I need help. Somebody's gotta save them! They killed my children! Ma'am? Help me! I'm trying. Let me help you. Take a deep breath so that I can help you. What? What? What? What? Okay, do you wanna do CPR? My children are dead! My children are not breathing! I can't do CPR! I'm three children! Do you want to do CPR? Do you want to do CPR? I can help- I think you've seen somebody that's out there. Help me! They're on their way. They're driving. We can help them while they're on the way.

• 23:43Speaker 04

  They're still running. They're dead! Somebody help me! They're, they're driving there, Laura. They're driving there. They're right across the street! I think they're dead! No, they're not. They're police officers. My children are dead! Police have to respond in first. If you wanna do CPR, I can give you instructions. I don't even think they're breathing. They're not even on the floor! We can fuck, stab them in the head! We can tech, ma'am. Okay, let's do it. Please, hurry. I have three of them. Okay, tech, pick one and go over there. Okay. Where is the son? Pick the closest kid to you. Check their breathing. Let me know. We'll start CPR.

• 24:26Speaker 04

  They're not breathing, ma'am. They have no pulse. My children are dead!

• 24:34Speaker 04

  Okay, where is the shooter? Somebody is here to help me! They're on their way. My children are dead! They're not breathing! I understand. Okay, I understand. I'm- Oh, you don't understand! I have to fucking get them, baby! You don't understand! I understand that you need help, and I have help on the way. Okay, they're driving there, ma'am. They're getting there as quickly as they can. I'm trying to- Where is the son? Where is the son?

• 25:06Speaker 04

  Why is it dead? Where is the shooter? They're scared. They're scared of dying! Where is the shooter? Is he still next to you? He's in the house. I don't know! What's his name? His name is Chad Doerman. Chad Doerman is the shooter. Okay. Yes! Do you know what kind of- Okay. I don't know, but my babies are dead! My babies are dead! All three of my three innocent children are dead! Okay. Is there anyone that can help you do CPR on your children? Somebody help me do CPR! Someone come and help me! I can help you give instructions.

• 25:53Speaker 04

  I don't even know. I can't feel their pulses! They're not moving. They're not breathing. They are dead! Do you feel any air? Do you feel any air coming out of their mouths or noses?

• 26:07Speaker 04

  We are standing outside. None of your mouth is helping out. There's blood in their ears. They're dead! Okay. I don't know. My life is in danger for my babies! They killed all of them! They killed all of my sweet children!

• 26:28Speaker 04

  Laura, I, I, I can give CPR if you wanna try to do it. Okay, fine, but I don't think I'm alive! What do I gotta do? Okay, get, next gonna feel and see if you feel any breathing.

• 26:41Annie Elise?

  As Laura was on the phone with 911 and trying to save her boys' lives, the police finally arrived.

• 26:49Speaker 04

  What do I do? They're gonna help you, Laura, okay? They're gonna help you. Oh, they're helping. Hurry up, people! They're hurrying. Okay, they had to get the shooter down first, and they're gonna help you. I'm sorry. I hate this land. My life!

• 27:10Speaker 04

  Laura, I am so, so sorry. I can feel, guys.

• 27:18Speaker 04

  Hurry up!

• 27:21Speaker 04

  My children are down! They're so hurtful!

• 27:25Annie Elise?

  It's just absolutely heartbreaking and truly unbearable. There are no words when you hear that, just distress and heartbreak in Laura's voice, knowing that her three boys are gone and knowing that she couldn't have done anything to stop it, and just the immense loss that she experienced in those moments. Once the police arrived on the scene, they quickly arrested Chad. Now, if you're watching the video version of this episode, you'll be seeing that I'm playing some body cam footage. However, there are black boxes and some blurs on the screen that is done in an effort to protect not only the boys and their privacy, but also protect yourselves from having to see that kind of visual.

• 28:14Speaker 04

  Where's your hat?

• 28:17Speaker 04

  Hey, sir, I'm sure it's all the birds. Get him right, right here. You got him on the porch. We asked. That's the last place we've been told. You tell me your hands now! Stand up and walk! Walk towards us! Stand up now! Walk towards us! Stand up with your hands up!

• 28:38Speaker 04

  Right now, we gotta be doing the veil. Not showing his hands. Not following the fans. Stand up now! Show your hands, Laura. Following them. We gotta go. His name is Chad Doerman. Chad Doerman.

• 28:53Speaker 04

  I know, but we gotta go. I know, but we can't. 21st page, and we're not gonna find him. Do you know he's a shooter, shoot him.

• 29:01Speaker 04

  We gotta find cover first. We ain't no good if we ain't safe or so.

• 29:15Speaker 04

  Hey, hey, no.

• 29:18Speaker 04

  We need to come from this side where we can see him. Don't take cover behind her.

• 29:25Speaker 02

  We see him.

• 29:28Speaker 02

  We're going to approach from this side. We got cover.

• 29:34Speaker 02

  Right here.

• 29:35Speaker 04

  Sixty-five and sixty degrees, check out.

• 29:50Speaker 02

  Show us your fucking hands, now! Stand up, stand up!

• 29:58Speaker 02

  Stand up! Stand up, now! Stand up! Stand the fuck up!

• 30:05Speaker 04

  He must have stayed and Eric's just going to go ahead and fly whenever any of his guys.

• 30:10Speaker 02

  Get your hands up here.

• 30:14Speaker 02

  Tell him we're twenty-one. Send the air.

• 30:18Speaker 03

  There's just confirmed that there's people that need first aid and that's the shooter. He's not going to fly and he's going to get shot. I got, there's a shot and then shoot it out.

• 30:27Speaker 02

  Man, I'm trying to hurt my body and I'm completely sober.

• 30:33Speaker 02

  Get the EMS over here. Well, I've been drinking a lot, but I don't do drugs now. I'm sober. I'm not trying to fuck you.

• 30:43Speaker 02

  Sixty-three. Get your butt inside. Yalan, get your butt inside. We on primary?

• 30:49Speaker 03

  Twenty-nine, we got three.

• 30:52Speaker 04

  How you doing today on six?

• 30:54Speaker 02

  Yalan! Sixty-three, we're twenty-one. Have EMS respond over here.

• 31:00Speaker 04

  You're clear, they're being advised.

• 31:04Speaker 03

  Rob, we're starting to start a mask house, be respond.

• 31:09Speaker 04

  Sixty-three, do you want them to respond to the Laurel and Dale address where exactly you need them?

• 31:13Speaker 02

  We're right in the front yard.

• 31:24Speaker 02

  What are you doing, man?

• 31:28Speaker 02

  Can I roll over? I ain't gonna hurt you. I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna hurt nobody. You got anything on you? No, I ain't got nothing, man. Phone, that's it.

• 31:36Speaker 02

  I ain't mad, I ain't, I ain't nothing.

• 31:40Speaker 02

  Just make sure that dog don't come out. I don't think he'll bite you. Just don't reach for him or try to grab him and pet him. Alright. He won't bite you. What's going on, man? Nothing. Uh, can I stand up? It's kind of uncomfortable. I'm gonna get you here. I ain't running away. You can do whatever you want with me.

• 32:09Speaker 02

  Here. You the only one else inside the house? What? You the only one else inside the house? Yeah, yeah. Sit down right here. My, my daughter, she ran her to the fire department. Sit down. Uh, it's my stepdaughter. Put him in that cage.

• 32:24Speaker 02

  Listen, go, listen, go.

• 32:29Speaker 04

  Yeah, I'll be divided, Tom, they're trying to do the medics and they're also air fans flying, but they need an help. He's in my company, yeah.

• 32:46Speaker 02

  Can you get the wallet out of my back pocket? You shut up, dude.

• 32:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, they're right in the main side with the fucking.

• 32:56Speaker 02

  What's that?

• 32:59Speaker 03

  Six, call, I don't know how it's going now.

• 33:06Speaker 03

  I'm on my foot.

• 33:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, five, two, one. Three, we're getting door.

• 33:35Annie Elise?

  Now, to me, the craziest part of this body cam footage is how calm Chad truly is. He just shot three of his own children, literally went on a chase after them, dragged them around, and he's just so calm, so cool, so collected. It sends like a chill down my spine. I noticed that he mentioned that he was not drunk, as if that would be the concern with three murdered children in the front yard. I can't imagine the strength that it took law enforcement to stay calm with him when they were witnessing such a traumatic event that had been caused by this ever so calm man, their own father.

• 34:15Annie Elise?

  During all of that, Laura was quickly rushed away to University of Cincinnati Hospital since her hand had also been shot. She wasn't made aware until later that evening that her boys were officially pronounced deceased. As Laura was in the hospital, Chad was brought into the station, he was strip searched, and he was booked.

• 34:35Speaker 06

  We're gonna go down to the end of the counter down here and we're gonna hang a left.

• 34:39Speaker 07

  We got the dress and out now?

• 34:40Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 34:44Speaker 06

  You're fine, you put your hands down to your side.

• 34:48Speaker 06

  Be a gown. What size shoe you wear?

• 34:53Speaker 06

  We're going here. Ten? Size ten shoe.

• 34:57Speaker 06

  Go ahead and take your shirt off and hand it to me. Can I get a phone call? Phone call. Once we get done with the process and they're finished with you, yes, we'll let you make the phone call.

• 35:15Speaker 06

  Hold on a second.

• 35:23Speaker 06

  Those jeans in there.

• 35:28Speaker 06

  And take your boxes off.

• 35:36Speaker 06

  Hold your hands up in the air. You see in the mouth? Lift your tongue, take one finger, go around your dumb line, top and bottom, please.

• 35:45Speaker 06

  Alright, let me see behind your ears. Alright, oh. Alright, lift your penis.

• 35:51Speaker 06

  Lift the testicles. Alright, turn around. See the bottom of your left foot? Wiggle your toes. Alright, your left foot now. Alright, face this wall. Squat down like a baseball catcher and cough hard three times.

• 36:15Speaker 03

  No, I'm four forty-eight.

• 36:26Annie Elise?

  But once again, he just remained so calm after just killing three of his children. I don't know if it's because he was completely disassociated at that point and detached, or if his mission was complete and so he felt calm now and reassured, but just very stoic, very just even keeled. A few hours later, investigators began interrogating Chad, really trying to get to the bottom of how something this heinous could have happened in the first place.

• 36:54Speaker 02

  How old's Creighton? Creighton? Oh, I'm sorry. I, I was worried that I was saying that wrong.

• 37:05Speaker 02

  How old's Clayton?

• 37:10Speaker 02

  Seven. How old's Chase?

• 37:16Speaker 02

  Three. And how old's Alexis? Is she? Fourteen. And you know this is heavy on you and it's something that you couldn't sleep because you knew that day was coming and it was building.

• 37:34Speaker 02

  And, and that's why you couldn't work today. You knew it had to be done and you came home. Do you remember your wife trying to stop you from shooting your? Yeah. Children? That's why you, you gotta do her first.

• 37:50Annie Elise?

  So in that interview, Chad seemed to have a memory of what happened. He remembered Laura trying to stop him. He remembered certain moments of that afternoon. However, in the next interrogation, he did a full one-eighty, basically trying to play dumb, saying he had absolutely no idea who killed the boys.

• 38:09Speaker 02

  Did you shoot your son? Yeah.

• 38:13Speaker 02

  Who did?

• 38:17Speaker 02

  I'm a good rookie.

• 38:18Annie Elise?

  Now, I know that that was difficult to hear, but basically, the investigator point-blank asks him, "Did you shoot your son?" Chad responds, "No." So then the detective says, "Okay, well then who did?" And Chad says, "I don't remember." Yet, he couldn't keep that story up either, because as we know, jailhouse calls are recorded. And just a few days later, he was talking to his mom, the call was recorded, and in that call, he admitted to remembering everything.

• 38:50Annie Elise?

  He, he took away, he took away everything.

• 38:55Speaker 03

  You don't remember it.

• 38:58Speaker 03

  And you know only what they tell you. But she remembers.

• 39:02Speaker 02

  I remember everything.

• 39:04Speaker 03

  Do?

• 39:05Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 39:07Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 39:07Speaker 03

  I don't. I'm not talking about nothing. Cause you said you did it. I know you don't. You're lying.

• 39:14Speaker 02

  No, I swear to God I do.

• 39:22Speaker 02

  Yep. All the way to the point, uh, in, in, uh, all the way to, to all the reasons why and everything.

• 39:29Annie Elise?

  Then in his next interrogation, Chad's story changed again. This time, not only did he remember everything, but he actually admitted to the murders, even going as far as saying that they were premeditated. He told them that he had been thinking about shooting his sons since October. Yes, you heard that right. That was eight months prior. Eight months that he had time to maybe say, you know what? Having these thoughts isn't normal. Maybe I should get some help. Or eight months to say, I'm going to walk away and let them live a good, healthy life with their mother. But that didn't happen. And instead, his three young, innocent boys were all brutally murdered for no justifiable reason.

• 40:12Annie Elise?

  Chad also admittedly told law enforcement that he hadn't slept for three to four days prior, because in his words, the thoughts of having to kill his sons was so heavy on him. Then on June 27th, Chad's parents and brother came to visit him. And honestly, guys, I don't know if Chad was just, you know, stupid and didn't realize that those visits would be recorded, or if he thought that he had some sort of privacy, or if he just didn't care and didn't care what was caught on, you know, on the record. But some of the comments that he made during these visits, they are nothing short of repulsive.

• 40:49Speaker 02

  The psychiatrist just wanted me to talk to him. And I wouldn't talk to him. And then the captain came and seen me and was off, pissed off because I wouldn't talk to the psychiatrist.

• 40:56Speaker 03

  Well, you should have.

• 40:57Speaker 02

  No, because I already talked to her and she moved me down to a level one. I was supposed to get clothes on. She said, he is not a threat to himself. Moved me down to the level one, told all the cops I was supposed to have clothes on. Well, guess what? I didn't get my clothes on. Next couple of days, they was like, you want to go talk to the psychiatrist? No. What was that why then? I'm gonna be sitting in this dress tomorrow. It ain't doing me no good. Why am I going to get talked to? She looked at me and she goes, do you feel bad for what you did? No. Okay.

• 41:26Speaker 02

  And that was, that was it. That was the end of the conversation. And then she looked at everybody and said, he's not a threat to himself.

• 41:34Speaker 02

  But if it's big and fresh, then.

• 41:37Speaker 02

  You know what I mean? He said, in New Zealand. That's fucking awful.

• 41:44Speaker 02

  Hey, they thought Hitler was big, dude. Fuck yeah, I'm matching him.

• 41:49Annie Elise?

  This man really had the audacity to not only murder his kids in cold blood, but also to say that he doesn't feel bad about it, even comparing himself to Hitler and laughing about it. I mean, despicable does not even begin to cover it. Given the details of these crimes, and I say crimes because there are three different people whose lives were taken, and Chad's very, you know, nonchalant about the entire thing. When it was time for his bond hearing, the Ohio prosecutor asked the judge for the highest bond in the state's history.

• 42:22Speaker 04

  And the facts I have for you at this point are as follows. The trauma that this man has inflicted on his family,

• 42:33Speaker 04

  the community, law enforcement, first responders, and all of the rest of us who have any idea what's going on here is unspeakable. There's been a full admission in this case, Judge. The case is still new. We're still discovering facts. But the evil horror of what we know is impossible to process. In an act of just incomprehensible cruelty, the father was standing before you lined up his three young boys. And he executed them in his own home with a rifle.

• 43:04Speaker 04

  They were ages three, four, and seven, Judge.

• 43:08Speaker 04

  In an act of desperation to save our children, the mother, at some point, grabbed the gun that father was wielding, to attempt to protect them.

• 43:20Speaker 04

  We know that one of the boys was able to flee and was healed and moved home. And again, we know from his admission, father hunted that boy down, drug him back to the property, and executed him from the witnesses.

• 43:39Speaker 04

  Mother was

• 43:43Speaker 04

  shot through the hand in her attempt to protect her children.

• 43:48Speaker 04

  Judge, I ask the court setting this bond

• 43:52Speaker 04

  to just begin to imagine next year.

• 43:57Speaker 04

  This was the man that every day they woke up looking to for protection, love,

• 44:06Speaker 04

  guidance in all things.

• 44:09Speaker 04

  Man, they trust more than any other person on earth.

• 44:13Speaker 04

  Person they rely upon to keep them safe from harm.

• 44:17Speaker 04

  He was their world. He was their guardian. And he executed them in full blood. We know that from his admission.

• 44:27Speaker 04

  By that same admission, Judge, he has committed

• 44:31Speaker 04

  one of the most monstrous, craven, cowardly acts he will ever be on misfortune soon.

• 44:38Speaker 04

  To make things even more disturbing, Judge, this was no haphazard act. Again, by his own admission, he planned the events of this day.

• 44:50Speaker 04

  This did not happen on a whim.

• 44:54Speaker 04

  He's confessed to what I believe is the worst crime, at least I hope, that I'll see in my lifetime.

• 45:02Speaker 04

  I hope it's the worst fact pattern that ever comes before this world.

• 45:09Speaker 04

  Judge, it's important

• 45:14Speaker 04

  for the court to know in the bond we're going to request today, for the court to understand, permanent county deputies, unreal township fire EMS, and other first responders bravely respond to the scene where they don't know what's going on.

• 45:31Speaker 04

  They did not know what they're facing and they come into a

• 45:38Speaker 04

  a scene that no one can ever be prepared for. No law enforcement training, no training of any kind prepares you for this. It's easy to forget that these are men and women with families, children, feelings, emotions. They're not some automaton performing a delegated function. They're people.

• 46:02Speaker 04

  They were required to give CPR to gunshot children, three, four, and seven-year-old children. They held these boys in their arms, knowing, knowing there was nothing they could do to save them.

• 46:19Speaker 04

  How long do those scars last? What day do you wake up from that and you're healed? How do you only see such an avocation?

• 46:31Speaker 04

  Bond factors this court needs to consider today are set forth in criminal law 546, nature and circumstance of the crime charged, and specifically whether the defendant used or had access to a weapon, including the seriousness of the offense.

• 46:48Speaker 04

  It's the most serious offense that we have on the books, Judge. This is, this is it. You can't commit a more serious offense. So the nature of the crime charge is the worst crime that can be charged. Did he have access to a weapon? Yes, obviously he did. The weight of the evidence against the defendant at this point, Judge, we stand here with a full admission of the defendant. That also goes to the confirmation of the defendant's identity and witnesses on scene did see at least part of what happened.

• 47:18Speaker 04

  Next, the court is to consider the likelihood this person would return the court if a bond were issued. Again, this is the most heinous crime with the most severe penalty under the law that we presented to grand jury. That alone will be a, a major factor in discouraging a person from availing themselves to this.

• 47:36Speaker 02

  Court or any other and the thought to flee and the likelihood of flight is great in the state's opinion. The danger posed to the community is a fact that this court can consider and I think with the facts in front of you, Judge, we can't name a person that poses a greater threat to the community. As his prior record goes, Judge, it is fairly minimal. He was charged with domestic violence in 2010. He is not, to my knowledge, on probation committee control. Judge, the facts in this case are hopefully like no other we will ever see.

• 48:21Speaker 02

  When this case gets indicted in the court of common pleas, I am certain that a no bond hearing will be held and I would hope that would be granted. But at this point, this juncture, we're going to ask this court to issue a bond. We've never asked for it before. I'm going to ask for a bond of $20 million. I hope I never need to request such a bond again.

• 48:42Speaker 04

  Thank you. A date for preliminary hearing?

• 48:46Speaker 02

  The date for the preliminary hearing, Judge, is 6/26.

• 48:50Speaker 04

  No objection here, Judge. The preliminary hearing will be set for June 26 at 1:00 P.M. At this point in time, bond is going to be set in the amount of $20 million cash or surety. Anything else at this time, Mr. Gast?

• 49:15Speaker 06

  No, Judge.

• 49:16Speaker 04

  Mr. Allen?

• 49:17Speaker 02

  Mr. Calm, anything further?

• 49:20Speaker 06

  Nothing at this time.

• 49:22Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 49:28Annie Elise?

  Chad showed absolutely zero emotion in the front yard after brutally murdering the three children that he should have been protecting, but then decided to put on a show for the judge, which I am just disgusted by him.

• 49:42Speaker 00

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• 50:12Annie Elise?

  Now, right around that time of the bond hearing, our team went in and started doing a deeper dive into Chad, into his history, his past criminal history, just trying to get a sense of who this guy was and what could have possibly been going on in his sicko head. Chad has a lot of motor vehicle offenses, but more seriously, he was arrested in 2010 after allegedly choking his father, Keith Dorman. The case was later dropped when Keith did not show up for court as the prosecution's witness. On Saturday, June 17, Keith did an interview in which he explained that the 2010 charge was a misunderstanding and had been dropped. I'm not sure how true that is.

• 50:55Annie Elise?

  However, I can understand if it wasn't a misunderstanding, that he was possibly just trying to paint his kid in a better light. Although, there is really no better light for someone who heinously just took the lives of three innocent children and in such a brutal execution manner. Keith described Chad as fun, as a loving dad. He said that he could tell Chad just snapped and that his eyes were now hollow inside. He followed that by saying, "That wasn't Chad standing at the arraignment. That was not him." Keith also said that he hasn't been allowed to speak to Chad despite his wishes to, and when he asked about a motive, he said, "I don't know if it was financial. I don't know if it was mental.

• 51:40Annie Elise?

  I don't know if it was work-related. I don't know. I can't talk to him." Keith also called Chad a superfather, and he said that he was not the type of person that would do something like this and that overall, he was a good kid. He ended up saying that he couldn't handle it anymore before hanging up the call. I can imagine that Keith and his wife Gloria are completely shocked at what has come of Chad and what his actions have been, and I can only imagine their heartbreak and grief in this situation. However, I would still never refer to Chad as a superfather. Superfathers don't hurt their kids in any sort of way, let alone kill them in such a cold, brutal, calculated way.

• 52:25Annie Elise?

  Also, if he was planning this for months, per his own admission, I don't believe that he just snapped out of nowhere. In addition to the information from Chad's parents, we also learned more about the crime from the people in the neighborhood. In fact, the witness who saw Alexis running away and then called 911, she came forward and she shared what she saw.

• 52:46Speaker 03

  She was running with a little black lab and she was screaming, "Call 911, call 911." She says, "My stepfather is shooting everyone in my household." I wanted to get her in the car, but she just refused to leave her family, and that just says testament of how much she loved them.

• 53:08Annie Elise?

  Another neighbor also came forward, saying that this neighborhood is very quiet and that almost everyone is friendly. The "almost" in that referring to Chad.

• 53:18Speaker 02

  I, we heard gunshots and I didn't know what it was. So I went to the store and come back and then, you know, found out really what happened. And unfortunately, I did see the kids laying in the yard. Guy was very unstable. Just, he was an unstable person. He was just very mean. He was very angry. Every day yelling at his wife, dogging her, downgrading her, downgrading the kids, just very angry. And if they didn't do what he said, and I've seen it firsthand, but I never thought that

• 54:02Speaker 02

  he would do that.

• 54:04Annie Elise?

  That same neighbor spoke out again, this time in a different interview. But honestly, I think he sums up what most of us are probably thinking.

• 54:12Speaker 00

  You felt like he was just angry, generally speaking.

• 54:15Speaker 02

  He was, every day. I heard him, there wasn't a day he didn't yell at his wife, kids out there.

• 54:22Speaker 00

  What would he yell?

• 54:24Speaker 02

  He was just angry. He knew what he was doing. He planned it. It was premeditated. He shouldn't have a bond. He should never see daylight again, ever in his life. I think they should execute him the same way they did his, the same way he did his sons. That's the way he needs to go out.

• 54:50Annie Elise?

  And the neighbor wasn't the only one who was thinking that Chad should be headed to death row, because the state prosecutors also announced their intentions to seek the death penalty. And in late June, Chad was indicted by a grand jury for more than 21 charges. Nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of felonious assault. The murder charges were obviously for the murders of the three boys. The kidnapping charges stemmed from holding everyone against their will. According to Ohio law, you can be convicted of kidnapping if you restrain someone's liberty, such as ordering them not to move when at the same time you are brandishing or possessing a knife or a gun.

• 55:33Annie Elise?

  The day after that grand jury indictment, Chad was back in court, this time to enter his plea, which he entered a plea of not guilty. Now, by this point, the prosecution thought that that $20 million bond still was not quite good enough. Even though the likelihood of him ever posting that amount was like nil, they still thought, given the severity of all of this, that it wasn't enough. So they really pushed for him to be held without any chance of making bail at all.

• 55:59Speaker 02

  What we have here is a planned slaughter of three of the boys. They just, seven, four, and three. The first one shot was the four-year-old shot in the house two times, then sustained two bullet wounds to the head, causing his death. The second child shot was the seven-year-old who fled the residence, ran some 300 feet from the residence, and was gunned down from behind by the defendant. He then approached this little boy who's injured, incapacitated, alive, shot in the head twice.

• 56:42Speaker 02

  From close distance, there were power burns on the boy's head. And then he went after the three-year-old. And there was a struggle with the mother. He ripped the child from the mother's arms and put a bullet in his head. Close range, power burns on the three-year-old boy's head.

• 57:06Speaker 02

  Your Honor, those facts are important for the court to know, and to prove this being a capital case.

• 57:14Speaker 02

  We find, Your Honor, my conclusion is that

• 57:20Speaker 02

  proof is evident and the presumption is great. He may be held without bail. All right. Thank you. The defense has nothing to add. Yeah, Your Honor. All right. The court's going to order based upon article one of the Ohio Constitution, section nine.

• 57:37Speaker 07

  It's been amended on November eighth, two thousand twenty-two.

• 57:44Annie Elise?

  The bond in this case, the bail. So that meant that Chad was going to have to sit his sorry ass in jail until the trial. The trial date was originally set for July, two thousand twenty-four, just a year after the murders. And as that day got closer and closer and closer, the defense really started throwing everything that they possibly could to increase the chances of the trial going their way. They even asked the judge to allow convicted felons on the jury. They also wanted to stop the prosecution from showing absolutely any photos of the boys' bodies after they passed away, which to me, I understand that the defense, that's their job, that's what they have to do, they have to, you know, put on a defense for their client. But it almost read to me like Chad wasn't willing to own up to the actions that he did.

• 58:29Annie Elise?

  Actions that, remember, months earlier, a year earlier, he was so proud of, that he laughed about, that he seemed so callous about. But now trying to mask everything, which maybe that was more at the direction of the defense rather than Chad himself, but still, the whole thing feels very, very gross. The defense's biggest claim, though, was that Chad's interrogations should be thrown out, saying that the detective didn't handle his Miranda rights properly. And the defense was so serious about this that they called the detective to the stand in front of this judge to prove their point. Now, one part of the issue was that the detective had a card with all of the rights printed on it, and it is considered best practice to read directly from the card, word for

• 59:10Annie Elise?

  word, so that there's absolutely no mistaking what was read, what wasn't read, what was left out. But the detective admitted that he didn't read it word for word. He just summarized the card. And in doing that, he missed some incredibly important parts.

• 59:25Speaker 06

  One's talking about advice before you question, and the other's talking about having a lawyer present during questioning, isn't it?

• 59:33Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 59:35Speaker 02

  I'm not a robot. I probably should have read the entire card, but I'm not a robot.

• 59:42Speaker 06

  And then you read, if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed. But you left that for you before any questioning if you wish, right?

• 59:50Speaker 02

  Again, yes, I must have left that out.

• 59:52Annie Elise?

  Not only that, but the detective also admitted that even after Chad asked for a lawyer, he continued asking him questions, which is a huge, huge, huge no-no. It infuriates me every time I hear about something like this involving a case because it is the quickest way to, you know, put the case in jeopardy, the whole entire justice system for these boys, all of that. So this was incredibly frustrating to learn about.

• 1:00:18Speaker 02

  He had made a comment that the Bible says that you kill your firstborn, you kill your secondborn, you kill your thirdborn, but first you're supposed to kill your wife. I didn't kill my wife. So I really thought that was a very important comment that he had just made. And I was, I wanted him to repeat to me some of the things that he had said. And I was asking him about that, and he cut me off. He stopped me from talking and said, I'll just, in a whole one sentence, he says, I'll just wait for a lawyer. I really don't know. Like, give me a couple of days, I'll talk to a lawyer and get nice, good answers. He says that all in basically one breath.

• 1:01:01Annie Elise?

  So all to say, those things were enough for the judge to agree with the defense and throw out all of Chad's police confessions. Now, I have to say, I do totally understand where the judge was coming from and that our rights in police custody are incredibly important. But it was also, like I said, incredibly frustrating to hear that this monster got some sort of win in all of this. I guess that that ruling had the defense kind of feeling like they were on a roll and on cloud nine, too, because in March of two thousand twenty-four, they then filed a motion to change Chad's plea from a regular not guilty plea to a not guilty by reason of insanity. So in other words, they were now saying that Chad was mentally ill when he took the lives

• 1:01:46Annie Elise?

  of his three sons, saying he didn't even know right from wrong at the point in which he made that decision. However, that directly goes against what Chad had admitted to the police on his own, that he had been planning these murders for eight months. So how is it that he was mentally ill when he decided to carry out these murders, yet he wasn't mentally ill in the eight months of planning leading up to it? I don't know. Make it make sense. So the state held a press conference, and there they explained that experts from both the defense and from the prosecution met with Chad so that they could evaluate these mental health claims.

• 1:02:23Speaker 03

  One of the things that all of the experts considered here is that prior to June fifteenth of two thousand twenty-three, the defendant was never diagnosed, treated, or prescribed any medication for any mental health condition. Both doctors, both Dr. Davis and Dr. Stenson, indicated that it was likely, at the time of the offenses, the defendant did suffer from a mood disorder. Could have been depression, could have been anxiety, could have been anything or nothing. They really weren't sure.

• 1:02:54Speaker 03

  But where the two experts differed was that Dr. Davis opined that the defendant did not meet the criteria for NGRI because he did know the wrongfulness of his actions.

• 1:03:09Speaker 03

  Dr. Davis specifically opined that with all of the information considered and reviewed, it was her opinion that despite the defendant experienced some symptoms of severe mental disease, that it was her opinion that he continued to know the wrongfulness of his behaviors in the offenses charged.

• 1:03:25Annie Elise?

  At this same press conference, the prosecutors then revealed even more details about the days and hours leading up to the murders. And all together, they painted an even more haunting picture, if you can even believe that.

• 1:03:38Speaker 04

  The day before the murders, Wednesday, June fourteenth, two thousand twenty-three. The defendant wakes his stepdaughter up before he leaves for work, which is a highly unusual thing to do. He typically left for work at four or five in the morning.

• 1:03:53Speaker 04

  He wakes her up and tells her and apologizes for whatever I have done to you and for anything I've ever done to hurt you. The night before, Chad Dorman murdered his children, June fourteenth, two thousand twenty-three.

• 1:04:08Speaker 04

  It was normal. He went as he did and coached his boys, or actually coached Chad, Coach Clayton. He coached third base that evening. The entire family went to the ballgame.

• 1:04:25Speaker 04

  There were no indicators that anything this horrible was about to occur. Later, some folks did notice that perhaps while coaching third base, he seemed a little distracted, but nothing concrete, nothing you could latch on to, to gauge in any fashion what was about to occur.

• 1:04:49Speaker 04

  Again, later to law enforcement, he gave multiple reports that he couldn't sleep at all the night before he killed his kids.

• 1:04:59Speaker 04

  The day of the murders, June fifteenth, two thousand twenty-three. The defendant gets up, goes to work, arrives at about seven AM. On his way to work, and we know this because we have his phone and we got all his phone records and all his search history. On his way to work, he searches on YouTube for a song titled "Happy in Hell." Nine forty-two AM. And again, some of this is known from the Kroger parking lot video and the interior video of Kroger. Nine forty-two, he arrives at the Kroger parking lot. Nine forty-four, he enters Kroger.

• 1:05:37Speaker 04

  He's in the aisle with vitamins and supplements. He walks over to the little clinic. And the reason he went to the little clinic is because his mother suggested he go there. He expressed to her, not to Laura, that he was having some confusing feelings. And we're going to tell you and emphasize that the little clinic, as good as it is, cannot, as we understand it, it is not the right place to go for serious problems that you may feel you're having psychologically.

• 1:06:14Speaker 04

  Anyway, he walks to the little clinic, it, less than two minutes pass, and he leaves without speaking to anyone at the little clinic. So why he went there and why he immediately left after a minute and a half, we can't answer that. We don't know. And it is noteworthy while we're going through this, that despite the fact that his mother suggested he go to the little clinic, she never alerted Laura, never called nine-one-one on his behalf, never called a crisis hotline, did nothing. Just a normal afternoon or a normal morning, other than he came home a little bit early that day. Plays with the boys while Laura makes lunch.

• 1:06:57Speaker 04

  While eating lunch, oddly, the defendant says to Laura that this will be my last good meal.

• 1:07:14Speaker 04

  Having no information, no idea what Chad was contemplating, Laura begins to worry that this is a statement, he may be contemplating suicide. Shortly before he kills his kids, Dorman calls his father and makes a statement that Clayton is going to be the hardest one.

• 1:07:38Speaker 04

  Down below, these are, this is an excerpt from Dorman's phone records that show the telephone call that was made.

• 1:07:55Speaker 04

  Between around one PM and three-thirty, the defendant spends the afternoon doing yard work, playing with the kids.

• 1:08:01Annie Elise?

  Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

• 1:08:05Annie Elise?

  Nothing to alert Laura that some she needed to do something to protect the family. There was no information available to her.

• 1:08:16Annie Elise?

  3:30 to 3:45. He begins to read the Bible to Hunter.

• 1:08:23Annie Elise?

  He's walking around the house with the Bible mumbling Chad knows what's right. Chad knows what's right.

• 1:08:32Annie Elise?

  Shortly before 4:00 PM, he gets into the gun safe.

• 1:08:37Annie Elise?

  Leaving it unlocked.

• 1:08:40Annie Elise?

  Laura says, you are scaring me again, highly unusual behavior. And Chad says, I'm just playing around. Our position is he did this to again, to lay any fears or concerns that may build up in her about her safety, his safety, or the safety of the boys or Alexis. So he actively deceived her.

• 1:09:05Annie Elise?

  4:00 PM.

• 1:09:08Annie Elise?

  He's telling Clayton, Hunter, and Chase that he loves them and they did nothing wrong and that they are the best boys ever. And suddenly after lying down, defendant jumps up,

• 1:09:22Annie Elise?

  grabs the rifle, 22 rifle from the safe.

• 1:09:28Annie Elise?

  And terror, it fills the room. As Laura is screaming, the boys are screaming. Laura is frightened that he is about to kill himself.

• 1:09:43Annie Elise?

  They're all trying to encourage him, telling him that they love him and beg him not to kill himself, to kill himself.

• 1:09:52Annie Elise?

  Laura takes the phone out to call 911 to get some help there for Chad, who she believes is about to kill himself. He grabs her phone, throws it across the room and tells her it's too late.

• 1:10:07Annie Elise?

  He's not going to kill himself. It is too late to save those boys. But even with all those new details that confirmed that the murders were premeditated and with the experts saying that Chad's insanity plea was basically bogus, he still decided to go forward with his mental health claims. And that had huge implications for the case as a whole. For one, in Ohio, a defendant with serious mental health concerns cannot be put to death. It also meant that the trial would have to be delayed at least a couple of months while both sides prepared for the new mental health arguments. But that caused a whole bunch of issues on its own because the judge assigned to the case, he was set to retire by the end of 2024.

• 1:10:48Annie Elise?

  And there wasn't another judge that was qualified to handle a death penalty case who was ready to take over.

• 1:10:53Speaker 00

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• 1:11:23Annie Elise?

  So the whole thing, I mean, between the confessions getting thrown out, the delays, the judge about to retire, this really had people wondering if there would ever be true justice for Clayton, Hunter, or Chase. Now, as everybody was internally asking themselves those questions, myself included, we got the biggest twist ever in this case. Because on August 2nd, 2024, Chad changed his plea once again, this time to guilty. He admitted to three counts of aggravated murder, one for each of his slaughtered sons. He also pled guilty to two counts of felonious assault, one for threatening Alexis at gunpoint and one for shooting off Laura's thumb.

• 1:12:07Annie Elise?

  Chad agreed to this plea deal, all so that the death penalty would be taken off the table. And I have to say, it's giving Brian Koberger vibes. Again, you're so callous, you're so proud, you did what you planned to do, all of these things. But then, oh no, the death penalty is on the table and now you're cowering like a weak little bitch and you're scared, so you're changing your tune. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am glad in this case, not so much Brian's. I am glad in this case that it forewent a trial, that Laura didn't have to relive those sick and horrific moments and details and all the things that come with it. But still, it just puts everything into perspective, at least for me a little bit,

• 1:12:47Annie Elise?

  of how whiny and bitchy these cowards truly are, who thought that they were so mighty, so big, that they had the right and they were entitled to pick and choose and play God of who lives, who dies. But now you're scared because you're going to face the chair? Give me a break. So like I said, that meant that the trial was not going to happen. And the only thing left was to sentence this monster. And at sentencing, Laura's victim impact statement was read. And I have to say, this is one of the most moving, haunting, and just devastating victim impact statements that I think that I have ever covered in any of my episodes.

• 1:13:25Speaker 03

  On June 15th, 2023, my life was changed forever. My life was ripped away from me and destroyed.

• 1:13:36Speaker 03

  Since that day, I have spent every day grieving the loss of my three sweet, so very little sons.

• 1:13:45Speaker 03

  I grieve the loss of Clayton, Hunter, and Chase every single day. And I grieve the life that they did not get to live.

• 1:13:56Speaker 03

  I no longer get to raise them and watch them grow. I miss each one of them so very much. I miss their laughter, silliness, love, and joy for life.

• 1:14:12Speaker 03

  Where there used to be so much laughter, happiness, noise of rowdy little boys, there is now silence and emptiness. I would do anything to push them on the swing. Cover them up one more time. And hear their little ways of saying, I love you.

• 1:14:35Speaker 03

  All of it gone, when I should have had so much more life left to live with them.

• 1:14:43Speaker 03

  I ask myself how a mother is supposed to carry on a life as a mom with one child left here on earth and three gone forever.

• 1:14:53Speaker 03

  I struggle every day with the will to get up or give up.

• 1:15:01Speaker 03

  Life for me is the true pain and suffering. I will never agree to think that any form of punishment could amount to the form of torture and suffering I have to endure each day.

• 1:15:17Speaker 03

  Such as seeing children and seeing siblings together as I watch Alexis be without her brothers. And seeing families together as I no longer have mine.

• 1:15:31Speaker 03

  Having to live a life where I'm visiting the same places I once was with Clayton, Hunter, and Chase all together.

• 1:15:42Speaker 03

  Traveling in the car and no longer seeing them in the rearview mirror.

• 1:15:48Speaker 03

  This also includes our family home that holds so many memories that I cannot let go of.

• 1:15:56Speaker 03

  But now it's just a devastating defeat, again, so empty and quiet. I was injured that day, fighting with every ounce of my body to just make it stop.

• 1:16:12Speaker 03

  I struggle every day, knowing I was not successful in doing so. And now I have to live with this and wonder what more I could have done to save them. This tragedy has affected me mentally and physically.

• 1:16:29Speaker 03

  I replay the events of that day over and over. I get sick at the thought.

• 1:16:36Speaker 03

  Every day I have to learn how to cope and live with the trauma I now have.

• 1:16:42Speaker 03

  I have anger, frustration, and so much sadness. I had plans and dreams to watch my small boys grow up and become young men and to always be there for them as their mom and to be the best grandma I could be.

• 1:17:02Speaker 03

  My husband, I trusted with everything, made a decision that has left my life forever changed.

• 1:17:10Speaker 03

  I lost my husband and my children to this horrible crime.

• 1:17:16Speaker 03

  The law will never replace my life and give me back what I have lost.

• 1:17:22Speaker 03

  I will hold the life I had and lived.

• 1:17:26Annie Elise?

  So close to my heart forever. Grief will never go away as it is all the love that is left with no place to go. And my love for Clayton, Hunter, and Chase will never go away. And I will never let them be forgotten. Then Chad was finally sentenced.

• 1:17:50Speaker 06

  At Mr. Dorman, as to count one, I'll impose a prison sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, no fine will be imposed. As to count two, it'll be a life prison term without the chance of parole. And count three, it'll be life in prison without the possibility of parole. These three counts and these three sentences will be served consecutively with one another. As to count eighteen, it'll be an eight-year minimum sentence. As to count twenty, it'll be an eight-year minimum sentence. They will be served consecutively with one another for a total of sixteen years as a minimum sentence.

• 1:18:31Speaker 06

  The maximum sentence would be twenty years, so the total sentence on those two is bar sixteen to twenty years. They're served consecutively with the sentences in counts one, two, and three. All aggravated circumstances have already been dismissed. The firearm specifications will be dismissed. You will forfeit the firearm that was used in this case. It will be forfeited to the sheriff's office for destruction, and it must be destroyed. There is no appeal for this sentence, so you will serve the rest of your life in prison. We'll order judgment for court costs.

• 1:19:13Speaker 06

  You have been held in the county jail since June fifteenth, so there's four hundred and fifteen days that you've served in jail up to this point in time. That will be credited towards the life without parole.

• 1:19:27Annie Elise?

  Now, I will say, the fact that this decision to give Chad a plea deal was made just a couple of months after the defense got the confessions thrown out, it really made people wonder if the prosecution had kind of given up, and then they offered this plea deal as some sort of consolation prize. But Laura released a statement a couple of days after the plea, where she said that this had nothing to do with giving up and everything to do with protecting her daughter from having to face the man who murdered her brothers in court. She said, quote, "I am in full agreement with how the criminal case was resolved, and the decision to end this criminal case with a plea and multiple life sentences does bring some finality to the court case for my daughter and me. No punishment will ever bring my boys back. Having a guarantee that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars is what's best

• 1:20:12Annie Elise?

  for my family." And I will say, as much as many of us thought that this was a crime that definitely deserved the death penalty, I am the first one to admit that I certainly believe that, there is a silver lining here. Since Chad pleaded guilty, there is no way that he can appeal in the future. Yes, there are always loopholes here and there, but really, the actual good argument to stand on for an appeal goes out the window with this guilty plea. So that I am happy about, because it doesn't pose the risk of putting Laura, or her daughter, or anyone else involved in this case, friends, family, neighbors, like everyone, it doesn't put them at risk of being drawn back into this and having to go into trial and relive these horrible moments all over again.

• 1:20:56Annie Elise?

  I just hope that it will hopefully give Laura and Alexis some peace of mind and let them begin healing. Which, speaking of Laura, I do have to say, there are still some people out there who have the nerve to blame her, continue blaming her, I should say. And saying that if they were the mom, that they would have done this, they would have done that, they would have done anything to protect their babies, that they would have put up a fight, even if they were hurt and were shot in the arm. People may think that they know exactly what they would do and the steps that they would take in a situation like that, but the truth is, they don't. Unless you have faced it yourself, until someone is in that position, you don't know exactly how you would react. You don't know if you would freeze. You don't know what emotional and mental state you may be in to where your body physically

• 1:21:41Annie Elise?

  shuts down, even if you're fighting inside to get out of it. And I want to also add that based on the prosecution's statement, it's clear that Laura was fighting for her children. And let's not forget that she was also injured in this tragedy when Chad decided to shoot her in the hand, which took away her ability to protect her children in that moment. When her first child was shot, she was trying to render aid to him while yelling at her other children to run. Horrifically, at some point, she had to make the decision to leave him, so she could go and try to save her other children. The fact of the matter is, there is one of her and four children, three of which Chad seemed to be targeting.

• 1:22:23Annie Elise?

  There really is no right or wrong to how she handled the situation, and I still have come across lots of backlash about her on social media. None of us know what it's like to be in her shoes. She clearly fought hard and did the absolute best that she could in that moment. Even after being bitten and shot, she still was there rendering aid to her three sons, who she undoubtedly loved more than anything. Now, I want to quickly circle back to that question that I asked at the beginning of this episode. Why? What would motivate a man to kill his children, to kill his three sons? We know from the neighbor that Chad was a typical angry guy, that he would berate his family, that he was angry, that he was just unpleasant to be around.

• 1:23:07Annie Elise?

  We also know that there was a prior case from him choking his own father. But still, jumping from all of that to cold-blooded murder, to murdering your own children? That's a huge leap. The truth is, we don't have a clear answer about why. Many people speculate that there was some sort of ongoing strife between Chad and Laura, maybe even talks of divorce. Whatever it was, some speculate that it made Chad so angry that he decided to kill the boys as some sort of sick revenge against Laura. Kind of like a Susan Powell situation, although I believe he also killed Susan Powell, even though she has not been found. But basically, the thought is that he was trying to make Laura suffer in the worst

• 1:23:48Annie Elise?

  possible way by not having her children and having to witness the murder of her sons, and that that was some sort of punishment toward her. And because he was so blinded by his rage and so set in on hurting Laura, he was willing to sacrifice his own children to get that revenge against her and also traumatize a teenage girl in the process. And again, I want to reiterate that no official motive has ever been stated, publicly released, nothing like that, but if true, this means that Chad hated Laura more than he loved his own children, and that is a very dark thing to think about. Through the heartbreak, the community is standing strong for Laura and her precious children. Outside her home, there is a memorial set up.

• 1:24:33Annie Elise?

  Tons of things have been left in remembrance of three sweet little boys who lost their lives far too soon. At a nearby baseball field, a memorial was set up on the field, and players had a moment of silence and prayer for the family. Rachel Brown, Laura's sister and the kid's aunt, posted about her nephews. In this tribute, it reads, "We want the world to know how amazing these babies were. They are not only this tragedy. They were happy and funny, so very funny, goofy, kind, loving boys. They're beautiful and deserve to be proudly displayed. They fished and played ball. They loved fiercely and with their entire hearts. They played together just as hard.

• 1:25:15Annie Elise?

  Nothing will ever be right without them, but they need to be seen for the blessings they were, the happy lives they lived, the mom who loves them more than herself. They are perfect babies." We also got to learn more about the boys individually through their obituaries. Clayton Dorman, seven years old, Hunter Dorman, four years old, and Chase Dorman, three years old. Three brothers bonded together in life and now for eternity, as God has reeled them into heaven for unending days of fishing, playing outside way past bedtime, laughing loudly, and nonstop giggling. They loved unconditionally, sharing their big hearts with anyone who they could make laugh and give them love.

• 1:25:58Annie Elise?

  Clayton, fondly known as Clayton Man, loved making Lego creations, riding his go-kart, telling jokes, singing and laughing, while loving his best dog pal, Gatlin. His love language was giving gifts, whether it be finding, creating, or sharing treasures. He loved his family and often looked out for his brothers. Hunter, fondly known as Hunter Dog, loved going to the creek and catching frogs, and his love of baseball extended beyond the ball field to his bed, an attachment like an extra arm to connect him to his ball and his glove as he slept. He loved calling his mom and sister pretty girls and telling them that he loved them every day.

• 1:26:40Annie Elise?

  Chase, fondly known as Chasers, loved swinging on swings and couldn't wait to be a baseball player like his brothers. He loved playing with dinos and pretending to be a superhero. He was the best cuddler, wanting his mama to stay close by to give her many hugs. He will forever be known as Mama's Baby. They are survived by their loving family. Please wear bright colors and join the family for the visitation on Monday, June 26th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., followed by a celebration of life service at 8:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the organization that provided so many happy memories for the Dorman family.

• 1:27:23Annie Elise?

  Donations will be used to make improvements to Field 4 in their honor. And we learned more about the boys and about Alexis through an interview with their coaches. In another interview, Clayton's coach, Dwayne, discussed how kind Clayton was, saying that he was with him less than a day prior. And recently, when another seven-year-old struck out, Clayton took it upon himself to encourage that boy, telling him that it's okay and that he has struck out too. Memories and stories like that of the boys, their kindness, their silliness, and just who they were as little people, continue to be shared amongst the community. The community has held multiple vigils, including one at the elementary school and a more recent one at the baseball fields where the children played.

• 1:28:08Annie Elise?

  The boys' Aunt Rachel also started a fundraiser to help cover medical costs, funeral costs, and therapy for both Laura and Alexis. She originally asked for $20,000, but the outpouring from the community had been so great that she raised more than 10 times that amount. Clayton, Hunter, and Chase continue to be remembered all across Monroe Township and beyond. And I am so glad that we are able to end this episode with stories and memories about the boys, because they are what really matter in all of this. With Chad locked away for life with no chance of appeal, it's time for the boys to shine through in all of this. I also hope that Laura and Alexis are getting all of the help that they possibly can to begin to heal both physically and emotionally from such a devastating loss.

• 1:28:52Annie Elise?

  This was a very difficult episode, not only to research, but to record and to bring back to the surface again and reopen. But the lives of these three boys matter. The life of Alexis matters. The life of Laura matters. And making sure that the boys' legacy, their voices, the victims in all of this, all who are affected, their voice needs to be louder than any sort of spotlight on Chad, on this monster. Lock him up, throw away the key, rot with the scum universe in prison, let prison justice take its course, like, just get out of my face, you know? This guy is the worst. And if he wasn't going to at least advocate for his three boys and, you know, to share memories and stories and things that made them so lovely, then we are.

• 1:29:36Annie Elise?

  Then we collectively are going to do that. We are going to do what he refused to do. So, thank you so much for tuning into today's episode despite how difficult it was. I know it was a tough one. It was tough for me as well. But thank you for hearing their story. Thank you for listening to what Laura and Alexis went through. And just continue to protect your loved ones. All right, guys. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode with me. And until the next one, stay safe. Bye.