Father accused of killing 3 sons says his rights were violated
Attorneys for a man accused of killing his three sons have filed a motion claiming his rights were violated.
Officials with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office announced, not long after Doerman’s arrest, that he’d confessed to shooting 4-year-old Hunter, 7-year-old Clayton, and 3-year-old Chase execution-style, according to our news partners at WCPO.
Despite this, Doerman pleaded not guilty in court on June 23.
Doerman’s attorney filed a motion to suppress evidence, including his alleged confession, claiming deputies in the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office ignored his request for a lawyer and interrogated him for three hours anyway.
During a Wednesday morning hearing that stretched over four hours, Doerman’s attorneys and prosecutors questioned officers, deputies, and medical professionals who came into contact with Doerman in the moments before and after his arrest.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘The most heinous, monstrous crime;’ Clermont Co. father executed 3 sons, prosecutors say
Doerman’s attorneys alleged that a detective leading Doerman’s interrogation did not completely read him his Miranda rights.
Doerman did not sign a printed waiver of his Miranda rights; the detective instead delivered the Miranda reading verbally, reading from a card, he said in court.
The defense said that while the detective informed Doerman he would be provided an attorney if he could not afford one, he failed to read a portion of the card that said if Doerman could not afford one, one would be appointed before any questioning.
The detective said he already believed Doerman was willing to speak with him because earlier, before the Miranda rights were read, Doerman had already verbally and nonverbally said yes when asked if officers could speak with him.
Around five minutes later in the interview with the detective, Doerman brought up wanting to wait for a lawyer.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 3 boys dead, father charged with murder following Clermont County shooting
But the detective said Doerman could not give the name of the lawyer he wanted to call.
Ultimately, Doerman’s attorneys claim officers violated his right to privacy by “inserting themselves into what should have been private, confidential discussions and recording them.”
Defense attorneys allege those recordings were a violation of HIPAA rights.
In total, Doerman faces 21 separate charges connected to his alleged actions on June 15, 2023. He is charged with nine counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and four counts of felonious assault.
Doerman has been held in the Clermont County jail on a $20 million bond since his arrest.
