A man received a life sentence without parole for the shooting deaths of his three young sons at their Ohio residence last year.

On Friday, a Clermont County judge sentenced Chad Doerman, 33, to three consecutive life terms after he admitted to aggravated murder charges. Additionally, he received 16 more years for injuring his former wife and stepdaughter with two felonious assault charges.

When one of the boys tried to flee into a nearby field, Doerman hunted him down and dragged him back to the house in order to kill him.

Prosecutor Mark Tekulve initially aimed for the death penalty for the June 15, 2023 murders of Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, in Monroe Township, about 75 miles west of Columbus.

However, he acknowledged the ongoing trauma for the surviving family members on Friday. Tekulve expressed his intent to spare them further suffering.

“My job, as I saw it this week, was to relieve them of that additional agony,” he informed reporters.

Prosecutors indicated that Doerman, apprehended while sitting on a stoop at the home, confessed to planning the killings. He reportedly chased one of the boys into a field when the child attempted to escape. Defence attorneys claimed Doerman struggled with severe mental illness.

In court, the children’s mother, Laura Doerman, and the ex-wife of the defendant, cried as a prosecutor read her statement, describing her life as “ripped away and destroyed.”