Ohio

Ohio father sentenced to life without parole in execution-style killings of 3 young sons

Published

1 year ago

August 3, 2024

Ohio father sentenced to life without parole in execution-style killings of 3 young sons

An Ohio father was spared the possibility of being put to death after he admitted Friday to fatally shooting his three young sons last year in a series of killings that prosecutors described as executions.

Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Richard Ferenc sentenced Chad Doerman, 33, to three life terms without the possibility of parole for the killings of Clayton, 7; Hunter, 4; and Chase, 3.

During a hearing Friday, prosecutors said they agreed to drop the aggravating factors that made Doerman eligible for the death penalty if he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder. Ferenc said the victims approved of the plea agreement.

Doerman also pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault that included the shooting of his wife — the boys’ mother — Laura Doerman, who pressed her thumb over the barrel of her husband’s rifle in an effort to protect one of their children.

“There was really nothing — despite desperately fighting to save the lives of her boys — that Laura Doerman could have done,” Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in court.

In a statement read in court, Laura Doerman said she “will never in a million years ever forgive you for what you have done, and hope you pay for your actions like you deserve, but I will never hate you,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Defendant Chad Doerman enters the courtroom after a plea agreement has been reached at the Clermont County Courthouse in Batavia, Ohio, on Aug. 2, 2024.Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA Today Network

According to a chilling account of the killings that Tukelve read in court, Chad Doerman returned from work early on June 15, 2023, and took a nap with all three boys at their home in Monroe Township, southeast of Cincinnati.

When he got up, Doerman removed his rifle from a gun safe, loaded the magazine and shot Hunter twice. Laura Doerman began rendering aid and Clayton fled through the back door, Tukelve said.

Chad Doerman followed him and repeatedly fired, striking the boy, Tukelve said.

Laura Doerman’s daughter, then 14, had seen Hunter’s killing and followed Clayton and Chad Doerman from the house. While Clayton lay injured on the ground, she watched her stepfather approach him and fire a bullet into his head, Tukelve said.

The sister ran back to the house, grabbed Chase and tried to flee the area with the 3-year-old, Tukelve said.

As she did, Doerman pointed the rifle at her head and threatened to shoot if she didn’t drop the boy, Tukelve said.

In tears, the teen did as instructed, Tukelve said, but Doerman had run out of ammunition and had to reload. After the boy ran to his mother, there was a struggle over the gun and Laura Doerman pressed her finger into the barrel.

“She was shot in the thumb,” Tukelve said. “Ultimately she had to drop Chase.”

When she did, Tukelve said, Chad Doerman shot the boy once in the head, killing him.

Doerman later told authorities he’d been thinking about killing the boys for months. It had weighed on him so heavily he hadn’t slept in days, Tukelve said.

Wearing a pale blue button down in the courtroom, Doerman answered “yes” when Ferenc asked if the prosecutor’s statement of facts was accurate.

One of Chad Doerman’s lawyers later added that his client, who before Friday had been pursuing a not guilty by reason of insanity plea, was delusional at the time of the killings.

Source link

Ohio

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

Published

4 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.

The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.

On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.

During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.

Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?

A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.

Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.

The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.

The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.

In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.

In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.

Source link

Ohio

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

Published

16 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.

Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.

Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.

Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.

Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next

Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.

Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Source link

Ohio

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, $4.25 million in rebate settlement

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, .25 million in rebate settlement

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio is part of a multistate lawsuit settlement against home improvement store Menards.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, Ohio and nine other states reached the settlement with Menards, a Wisconsin-based home-improvement retail store, over allegations of deceptive rebate advertising.

The 10-state led investigation revealed that Menards would give shoppers the impression that they were getting an immediate discount while shopping through its advertising, when in fact, savings actually came in the form of a rebate or in-store credit.

The investigation raised concerns with Menards’ marketing strategy and sales practices, alleging the following of the company:

Advertised 11% off or 11% off everything that suggested an instant price cut, even though customers received only a rebate on future purchases.
Listed prices already at an 11% discount, reinforcing the idea that shoppers were getting an in-store discount.
Failed to clearly explain the important limits of the rebate program, burying key details in the fine print.
Tell customers that Rebates International was a separate company handling rebates, even though it is operated by Menards itself.

The settlement, announced Thursday, included an agreement by Menards that it would, in part, discontinue ads suggesting immediate discounts, clearly explaining the rules, limits, and conditions of its rebate program, and offer customers an easier path towards claiming rebates, both in person and online, among other changes.

In addition, Menards will pay participating states $4.25 million in fees, of which $365,173.05 will go toward the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund.

Source link