‘It’s always how or why.' Community struggles after killing of three boys
There's a baseball team in Clermont County that won’t finish its season this year.
Why?
That's not a question with an easy answer. Not in New Richmond. Not now.
“The kids are too young to comprehend,” said Kristin Bennett, president of the New Richmond Youth Sports Association.
Previous charges: Chad Doerman, charged in sons' triple murder, previously accused of choking his father
It's an impossible thing for anyone to comprehend. How brothers, ages 3, 4 and 7, end up shot to death at their own home. How, according to prosecutors, it was planned by their father and carried out as an execution as the boys' mother tried to save them.
Those boys, all baseball players, won't return to their teams. Canceling the season seemed best.
Monroe Township grapples with tragedy after three boys killed in horrific execution
Clermont County father Chad Doerman appeared in court Friday in a suicide-prevention vest on three charges of aggravated murder. His bond was set at $20 million. His arrest came within hours of the triple killing but provided few answers.
The tragedy is rippling through a community still coming to terms with another horrific killing this February. Police said Theresa Cain killed her husband, son, and another relative and tried to kill her daughter before turning the gun on herself.
The community is heartbroken, Bennett said, and there are always the same questions.
What We Know: Chad Doerman planned execution of sons in Clermont County shooting, prosecutor says
“It’s always 'how' or 'why?'” she said.
Bennett said the Monroe Township and New Richmond area is a place where you know your neighbors. Crime isn’t a big concern. People are together a lot, especially for kids’ sports.
While the boys killed Thursday played baseball, their sister played softball, Bennett said.
But she said her neighbors know how to come together and rally for each other.
Two prayer meetings have been scheduled. A GoFundMe campaign is already raising funds for the boy’s mother and their sister, Bennett said. The mother was shot in the hand during the ordeal at the family home on Laurel Lindale Road.
New Richmond Exempt School District Superintendent Tracey Miller posted grief counselors at Monroe Elementary, just down the street from Doerman’s home, all day Friday.
“To have two within four months, it’s horrific,” Miller said. The surviving sister from Thursday's shooting is a rising freshman at New Richmond High School. The boy killed in February was in 8th grade in the district.
He said there was still a hole from his death, and now there’s a crater.
'You don't have to be a voice crying in the wilderness'
Miller said his job right now is supporting the students and their parents. He said he doesn’t know any parents, himself included, equipped to discuss murder with a 7- or 8-year-old. Everyone needs help, he said, especially in his community.
“There’s something special about living and working in a small town,” he said. ”There’s a connective tissue. I think the impact is greater.”
He spent much of Friday at Monroe Elementary. He said there wasn’t a huge turnout, but students and parents did come by.
One person was reliving the murder-suicide in March, but others had those same questions.
“How does a father plan this and execute his children?” Miller asked. ”How in the world does this happen?”
He said he believes it comes down to mental health for both students and parents and he wants his community to keep that conversation going.
“You don’t have to be a voice crying in the wilderness,” he said. ”Keep talking.”
He said his district is taking is using the app Stay Safe, Speak Up to allow students and parents to make reports, including anonymous ones, that the administration can immediately look into. If someone thinks a student is struggling, about eight administrators will be alerted, including Miller.
He said the pandemic and school lockdowns put a lot of stress on students and caused them to miss out on developmental milestones. To address this, mental wellness has become one of his top priorities.
“It’s different,” he said. ”Things are different.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Clermont County communities come together in wake shooting of young brothers
