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

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kind of okay i don't know but my babies are dead what are you doing man hey everybody welcome back to an all-new episode of tend 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 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 clayton hunter and chase now when news of this case first broke back in 2023 it had everybody reeling rightfully 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 at 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 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 to 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 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 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 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 stitch together some of my old coverage as well just to give you a little bit of an overview of the case 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 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 and i think 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 case now anytime i reopen a case 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 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 and his sons chase clayton and hunter join him in the primary bedroom of the room 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 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 9-1-1 doing anything 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 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 ever shared on these episodes. So please, just trigger warning. 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? Come on, God. What? This is. Help! Help! Help! Help! My baby's dead! My baby's dead! Ma'am, what is happening? Help! Help! Help! Help! Oh, my God! Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Where the fuck is 911? I need you! Come on now! Help me! My baby's dying! Get the fuck out of here! Ma'am, can you hear me? I need you! Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? Can anybody hear me? 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 um I saw it was like a gray did you see that car whip around it's one of the fire department guys I I okay I think maybe a fire department guy it was a regular kind of focused looking gray car okay we have help on the way thank you dark gray okay all right call us back okay and steer clear of the area at this time meanwhile the doorman's neighbor across the street also saw what was going on and they called 9-1-1 are you inside where you're safe I'm standing outside where I can see the lady okay I'm at I'm across the street at Lindale automotive can you tell how many people have been shot I think two children I think two children I think two children I think two children I think two children okay all right I need what was I've seen my name is what's your last name all right we've got help on the way if you could just try to stay inside so that you're safe 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 to I'm sure was absolutely terrified ran to his mother Laura Chad and Laura began fighting over him Chad was trying to pull 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 Laura who had been bitten and now shot dropped 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 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 boy's 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 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 9-1-1 there were also the other calls that he had been calling to 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 9-1-1 again and I want to warn you again this audio is incredibly difficult to hear Okay what's your name I have help on the way Lauren did you say Lauren They're driving there they're on their way They're on their way Who is it here What's his name It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter I don't know what's all of them all of those kids who have been killed to save them all of those kids. It's Carter I don't know what's all of those kids who have been killed to save them all of those kids. It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter It's Carter They're hurrying. Okay, they had to get the shooter down first. And they're going to help you. I hate him. I hate this man. My life. Laura, I am so, so sorry. This is not going to be okay. Hurry up. My children are down and they're so little. It's just absolutely heartbreaking and truly. Unbearable. There are no words when you hear that just distress and heartbreak and 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. Where's he at? Get him right here. You got him on the porch. That's the last place we've been told. You tell me where he is now. He doesn't want to know. Walk towards us. Stand up now. Walk towards us. Stand up with your hands up. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. We've got a visual on the veil. I'm not showing his hands. I'm not following his hands. Stand up now. Laura, you're following his hands. You've got to go. His name is Chad Stormin. Chad Stormin. I know, but we've got to go. I know, but we can't. We're on his first page and we're not complying. You know, he's listening. We've got to find cover first. We ain't no good if we ain't. safe or so. Hey, hey, no. We need to come from this side where we can see them. Don't take cover behind her. We see them. We're gonna approach from this side. We got cover. - Right here. - Thanks, Robert. - We gotta go. - Twenty-nine and sixty-three to type out. Show us your fucking hands, now! - Stand up! - Stand up! - Stand up! - Stand up, now! - It's a lot. - Stand up! - Stand up! - Stand up! - Get the fuck up! Get your hands out of here. It's over twenty-one. It's in the air. Hey, Ben, I'm trying to hook up on you now. I'm completely sober. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-one. - I'm trying to hook up on you. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. I'm trying to hook up on you. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. - Twenty-three. 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. 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. The psychiatrist wanted me to talk to him. And I wouldn't talk to him. And then the captain came and seen me and was all pissed off because I wouldn't talk to the psychiatrist. Well, you should have. Yeah, because I already talked to her and she made me down to a level one. I was about to get crazy. She said he's not a threat to himself. He made me down to a level one and told all the cops I was supposed to have clothes on. Well, guess what? I didn't get my clothes on. The next couple of days, they were like, do you want to go talk to the psychiatrist? I was like, no. What was that going to do? I'm going to be sitting in this dress tomorrow. It ain't doing me no good. Why am I going to go talk to her? She looked at me and she goes, do you feel bad for what you did? No. Okay. And then I was like, 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. But if it's big and fresh, then, you know what I mean? He's in New Zealand. That's fucking awesome. Hey, they thought Hitler was big, dude. Fuck yeah. I'm matching him. 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, nonchalance 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. And the facts I have for you at this point are as follows. The trauma that this man has inflicted on his family, his 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 of the stand before you lined up his three young boys and he executed them in his own home with a rifle. They were ages three, four and seven, judge. In an act of desperation to save her children, the mother at some point grabbed the gun the father was wielding to attempt to protect him. We know that one of the boys was able to flee and he was yielding to the home. And again, we know from his admission, father hunted that boy down, drove him back to the property. And executed him in front of the witnesses. The mother was shot through the hand in her attempt to protect her children. Judge, I ask the court setting this bond to just begin to imagine their fear. This was the man that every day they woke up looking to for protection, love, guidance in all things. Man, they trust more than any other person on earth. The person they rely upon to keep them safe from harm. He was their world. He was their guardian. And he executed them in full blood. We know that from his admission. By that same admission, judge, he has committed one of the most monstrous, craven, cowardly acts that will ever be our misfortune soon. To make things even more disturbing, judge, this was no haphazard act. Again, by his own admission, he planned the events of this day. This did not happen on a whim. He's confessed what I believe is the worst crime, at least I hope, that I'll see in my lifetime. The worst fact pattern that ever comes before this court. Judge, it's important for the court to know in the bond we're gonna request today, for the court to understand Herma County deputies Monroe Township Fire and EMS and other first responders gravely respond to this scene where they don't know what's going on. They did not know what they're facing, and they come into 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. They were required to do something. They were required to give CPR to gunshot children, three, four, and seven-year-old children. They held these boys in their arms knowing there was nothing they could do to save them. How long do those scars last? What day do you wake up from that and you're healed? How do you unsee such an abomination? Bond factors this court needs to consider. Today are set forth in Criminal Rule 46, 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. It's the most serious offense that we have on the books, Judge. This is it. You can't commit a more serious offense. So the nature of the crime charged 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. Next, the court is to consider the likelihood this person would return to court if a bond were issued. Again, this is the most heinous crime with the most severe penalty under the law that we present to the grand jury. That alone would be a, a major factor in discouraging a person from availing himself to this court or any other. And the thought to flee and the likelihood of flight is great in the state's opinion. The danger he poses 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 the prior record goes, Judge is fairly minimal. He was charged with domestic violence in 2010. He is not to my knowledge on probation committee computer. Judge, the facts in this case are hopefully like no other we will ever see. 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 before. I'm going to ask for a bond of $20 million. I hope I never need to request such a bond again. - Thank you. Date for preliminary hearing. - The date for the preliminary hearing, Judge, is 6/26. - No objection, Your Honor. - The preliminary hearing will be set for June 26th at 1:00 p.m. Subtitles by the Amara.org community At this point in time, Bob's going to be set in the amount of $20 million cash or surety. Anything else at this time, Mr. Gast? No, Joe. Mr. Hale? I'll go to the CCA with you. Mr. Hale, anything further? Nothing at this time. Thank you. 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. This episode is brought to you by SoFi, the all-in-one finance app where you can bank, borrow, and invest. 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Chad has a lot of motor vehicle offenses, but more seriously, he was arrested in 2010 after allegedly choking his father-in-law Keith Dorman. The case was later dropped when Keith did not show up for court as the prosecution's witness. On Saturday, June 17th, 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. 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 hates him than he is. So, I'm not sure how true that is. He simultaneously 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. I don't know if it was work related. I don't know. I can't talk to him. Keith also called Chad a super father 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 super father. Super fathers don't hurt their kids in any sort of way, let alone kill them in such a cold, brutal, calculated way. 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. 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. And that just says testament of how much she loved them. 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. I, we heard gunshots and I didn't know what it was. So I went to the store and come back and I, you know, found out really what happened. And unfortunately, I did see the kids laying in the yard. I mean, the 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 he would do that. 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. He felt like he was, he was just angry, generally speaking. He was every day. There wasn't a day he didn't yell at his wife to get it out there. What would he yell? All kinds of s**t. He was just angry. He knew what he was doing. He planned it. It was premeditated. He shouldn't have a bomb. He should never see daylight again. Ever in his life. I think they should execute him the same way they did his son. The same way he did his son. That's the way he needs to go out. 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. 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. What we have here is the plant slaughter of three little boys. They just, seven, four, and three. The first one shot was a 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 a 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 said, he was injured and incapacitated, alive, shot in the head twice from close distance. There were powder burns on the boy's head. And then he went after the three-year-old. And there was a startle of the mother. He ripped the child from the mother's arms and put a bullet in his head. Close range. Powder burns on the three-year-old boy's head. There are those facts are important for the court to know in terms of this being a capital case. We find, Your Honor, my conclusion is that proof is evident and the presumption is great. He'd be held without bail. Thank you. All right. Thank you. The defense has nothing to add. Yeah, you're right. All right. The court's going to order based upon Article 1 of the Ohio Act. The Constitution Section 9 has been amended on November 8th, 2022. Um. the bond in this case be no 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 2024, 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. Actions that remember months earlier, 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 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. One's talking about advice before you question, and the other's talking about how a lawyer present during questioning, isn't it? Yes. I'm not a robot. I probably should have read the entire card, but I'm not a robot. And then you read, if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed that you left out for you before any questioning if you wish, right? Again, yes, I must have left that out. 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. 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 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, and I'll hold one sentence. He says, I'll just wait for a lawyer. I really don't know. Like, give me a couple days. I'll talk to a lawyer and get nice, good answers. He says that all in basically one breath. 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 2024, 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 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 that he was 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. One of the things that all of the experts considered here is that prior to June 15th of 2023, the defendant was never diagnosed, treated, or prescribed any medication for any mental health condition. Both doctors, 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. 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 symptoms. 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. At this same press conference, the prosecutors then revealed even more details about the days and hours leading up to the murders. And altogether, they painted an even more haunting picture, if you can even believe that. The day before the murders, Wednesday, June 14, 2023, 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. 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 14, 2023. It was normal. He went as he did and coached his boys, or actually coached Clayton. He coached third base that evening. The entire family went to the ballgame. 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 onto to gauge in any fashion what was about to occur. Again, later to law enforcement, he gave multiple reports that he couldn't sleep at all the night before he killed his kids. The day of the murders, June 15, 2023. The defendant gets up, goes to work, arrives at about 7 a.m. 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. 9.42 a.m. And again, some of this is known from the Kroger's parking lot video and the interior video of Kroger. 9.42, he arrives at the Kroger parking lot. 9.44, he enters Kroger. He's in the aisle. By the vitamins and supplements, he walks over to the little clinic. 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. 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. You may feel you're having psychological. Anyway, he walks to the little clinic. 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. 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 911 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. He plays with the boys while Laura makes lunch, while eating lunch. Oddly, the defendant says to Laura that this will be my last good meal. That's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. Having no information, no idea what Chad was contemplating, Laura begins to worry that this is a statement that he may be contemplating suicide. Shortly before he kills his kids, Dorman calls his father and makes the statement that Clayton is going to be the hardest one. He doesn't want to talk about it. of his phone records that show the telephone call that was made. Between around 1 p.m. and 3.30, the defendant spends the afternoon doing yard work, playing with the kids. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to alert Laura that she needed to do something to protect the family. There's no information available to him. 3.30 to 3.45, he begins to read the Bible to Hunter. He's walking around the house with the Bible mumbling, Chad knows what's right. Chad knows what's right. Shortly before 4 p.m., he gets into the gun safe, leaving it unlocked. 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, allay 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. 4 p.m., 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, the defendant jumps up, grabs the.22 rifle from the safe, and terror fills the room. Laura is screaming. The boys are screaming. Laura is frightened that he's about to kill himself. They're all trying to encourage him, telling him that they love him and beg him not to kill himself. To kill himself. 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. 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 argument. But that caused a whole bunch of issues on its own. 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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 these things. But then, oh no, the death penalty. 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, 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 gonna face the chair? Gimme 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 read. ever covered in any of my episodes. On June 15th, 2023, my life was changed forever. My life was ripped away from me and destroyed. Since that day, I have spent every day grieving the loss of my three sweet, so very little sons. I grieve the loss of Clayton, Hunter, and Chase every single day, and I grieve the life that they did not get to live. 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. Where there used to be so much laughter, happiness, noise of rowdy little boys, there is now silence. 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. All of it gone when I should have had so much more life left to live with them. I ask myself how a mother is supposed to carry on a life as a mom with one child left. And I ask myself how a mother is supposed to carry on a life as a mother with one child left here on Earth and three gone forever. I struggle every day with the will to get up or give up. 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. 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. Seeing children and seeing siblings together as I watch Alexis be without her brothers. i replay the events of that day over and over i get sick at the thought every day i have to learn how to cope and live with the trauma i now have 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 my husband i trusted with everything made a decision that has left my life forever changed i lost my husband and my children to this horrible crime the law will never replace my life and give me back what i have lost i will hold the life i had and lived 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 mr as count one i'll impose a prison sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole no fine will be imposed as account two it'll be a life prison term without the chance of uh parole and count three it'll be life in prison without the possibility of parole these three uh counts and these three sentences will be served uh consecutively with one another as to count uh 18 uh it'll be an eight-year minimum sentence as account 20 it'll be an eight-year minimum sentence they will be served consecutively with one another for a total of 16 years as a minimum sentence the maximum sentence would be 20 years so the total sentence on those two are 16 to 20 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 uh be dismissed you will forfeit uh the firearm that was used in this case it will be forfeited to the sheriff's office for uh destruction and it must be destroyed there is no appeal for this sentence so you will serve uh the rest of your life in prison will order a judgment for court costs you have been held in the county jail since june 15th so there's 415 days that you've served in jail up to this point in time that will be credited towards the uh the life without uh parole 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 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 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 shuts down if 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 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 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 and i'm not going to go into too much detail about that in this episode but i'm 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 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 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 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 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 non-stop giggling they loved unconditionally sharing their big hearts with anyone who they could make laugh and give them love 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. 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 to 8 p.m., followed by a celebration of life service at 8 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. 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. 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. 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, share memories and stories and things that made them so lovely, then we are. 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 in to another episode with me. And until the next one, stay safe. Bye. Missouri, Missouri, it's the getaway that gets you. You may win up to 10,000 sweeps, coins, crowncoins.com. No purchase needed. Void were prohibited by law. Drew McIntyre here from WWE. Wielding the claymore can be a life of chaos. When I'm not dominating in the ring, Chumba Casino is how this warrior takes a wee break. 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