The Doerman brothers.Photo:Rachel Brown/Facebook
Rachel Brown/Facebook
Even at 7, 4 and 3, the three young Doerman brothers were huge baseball fans — whether watching it or playing it.
The little boys and their older sister, 14, a talented softball player, were fixtures at the New Richmond Youth Ballfields in New Richmond, Ohio.
“They were like a little pack,” Dwayne Kuhn, the 7-year-old brother’s coach, tells PEOPLE. “They were always together. And at the ball fields, if we were playing a game, then everybody was there watching. The other two boys, his sister, mom, everybody was there watching him.”
(The family has asked friends and others not to disclose the names of the boys.)
The 7-year-old had graduated from T-ball to coach-pitch baseball. The 4-year-old was still playing T-Ball and the 3-year-old came to every practice and game to cheer on his brothers.
The Doerman brothers.Facebook
The last time Kuhn saw the 7-year-old, who had just finished first grade, was on June 14.
“He was just his usual self, focused on the game,” he says. “He had two really good hits in his last game. He was just out there having fun, loving being with his friends, and just enjoying being out there playing baseball like he did every single week."
The next day, the lives of everyone who knew the little boys changed forever.
Their father, Chad Doerman, 32, allegedly lined up the boys in the yard of their home on Laurel Lindale Rd. in Monroe Township and shot them execution-style, prosecutors said.
Chad Doerman.Clermont County Sheriff’s Office
Clermont County Sheriff’s Office
Arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated murder, Doerman is being held at the Clermont County Jail on a $20 million bond. His public defender did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment and it’s not immediately clear if he has entered a plea.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” says Kuhn. “It’s heartbreaking. There’s nothing that can prepare you for that call.
“My heart breaks for that family, for their mother, for their sister, for their aunts and everyone else obviously, who’s involved in their family. Because this is not anything you’re ever prepared for.
“These little guys were such a joy to be around and so much fun, all three of them. They were just amazing children.”
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Kuhn had coached the 7-year-old for several years but also worked with his 4-year-old little brother.
“He would be at our practices too,” he says. “We’d have him come out and he’d do stuff with us on the field, do infield practice and running bases with us sometimes.”
“He was just as intense on the baseball field as his brother was,” Kuhn says of the 4-year-old. “I think he probably learned it from his older brother. But at the same time, he was quite the little jokester too.
“He would like to go up to the plate when he was batting and pretend that he was going to bat right-handed when he’s left-handed. And he would go up to the plate and then he’d act like he was going to hit the wrong way. And he’d give a little smirk, and a little smile, and then go back to the right way. They all had these little jokes and little teases and things that they loved to do.”
Kuhn remembers the 7-year-old for his generosity of spirit. “He had such a great big personality,” he says. “When I first started coaching him three years ago, I barely knew him. It was one of our probably first or second games three years ago, so he’s four years old. It’s hard to keep their attention at that time. They’re playing in the dirt. They’re throwing the dirt. If they’re not batting, they’re doing all these other things.
“I’m out there on the field next to him and he’s in the field. And he just turns to me in the middle of the game and he says, ’Hey coach, you want to come over to my house this weekend and go swimming and watch some fireworks?’
“He was everybody’s friend and he wanted everybody to be his friend. And that was just the kind of kid that he was.”
On Sunday, the New Richmond Youth Sports Association is holding a memorial for the boys at the New Richmond Youth Ballfields.
“We want the world to know what these boys were like," says Kuhn. “And that they were just amazing, wonderful, sweet children who loved each other, loved their family, that they were just amazing children.”
The event will also honor and thank the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe Township Fire Department and other first responders.
The association is collecting donations for the family andselling t-shirts dedicated to the boys’ memories. “All proceeds go to the family,” says Bennett.
Besides that, the boys’ aunt set up aGoFundMeto help defray funeral expenses.
“We want the world to know how amazing these babies were,” their mom’s sister, Rachel Brown, wrote in another post on Facebook. “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.
Kuhn is still grappling with the loss of the three brothers.
He says he loved coaching the 7-year-old and will miss seeing him out on the field.
“As long as I’m the head coach of this team, he’s always going to be a part of our team. He’s always going to be our teammate.
“He will always be a part of us.”
source: people.com
