According to investigators, an Illinois dad drowned his 3 kids before attempting suicide and taking detectives on a pursuit.
The Chicago Tribune stated that Jason Karels, 35, was accused with the murders of his children, Bryant, 5, Cassidy, 3, and Gideon, 2, at his suburban Chicago house on East Camden Lane in Round Lake Beach.
Debra Karels, his estranged wife, was meant to pick up the kids after they had spent the weekend with their father, but she was unable to contact him, so she requested that cops do a wellness check at the house at 1:40 p.m.
Officers came and found the innocent children in the bedroom. Preliminary autopsies revealed that the kids drowned, according to officials.
Jason drove away from the scene in his red Nissan Maxima, which state authorities subsequently discovered on Interstate 57. They pursued the automobile until it wrecked along Interstate 80 in Joliet, where the dad was apprehended.
Round Lake Beach Police Chief Gilbert Rivera stated that after the collision, Karels made remarks to cops participating in the chase and wearing body-worn cameras implying he was responsible for the murder of the kids at the Round Lake Beach residence.
He claimed that the dad also stated that he tried suicide multiple times following the deaths of the kids but was unsuccessful each time.
According to officials, the pair was split and may have shared custody of their kids. The motivation for the killing is still being investigated.
The police chief remarked that he is sure what could have prevented it or if there were any early warning signs. As they previously stated, they were unfamiliar with this family or the residence.
Jason was taken to the Lake County Jail after being momentarily hospitalized. He was charged with three charges of first-degree murder.
Rivera said that detectives were not immediately aware of any incidents of abuse concerning the kids, nor were they aware of Jason’s history of mental illness or criminal past.
Jason, according to Debra’s sister-in-law, “had major mental difficulties and declined to receive therapy.”
Christina Neuman Berg, Debra’s brother’s wife, expressed that Sadly, there was domestic abuse in their relationship, and Debbie was finally gaining the fortitude to leave him and file for divorce.
But Debbie wishes to retain a relationship with her children’s dad and allow him to meet them, which they now realize was a bad decision, she explained.
The distressed mom said that the last time she spoke with her children, they were “happy.”
Debra explained that they were quite happy to hear from her. They were ecstatic to talk. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary; they simply appeared happy that she was going to pick them up the next morning.
She concluded that she is completely in amazement. You never expect something like this to occur to you. she never imagined he’d do this to his children.
Debra added that now she understands, if you have any hint of concern, don’t dismiss it and stick to your guns, adding that she had recently filed for divorce after leaving Jason.
She said she consented to his visitation requests despite a small voice in her brain telling her he would “never harm the children.”
Debra explained that he stated “all my gripe is with you,”, adding that he even broached the prospect of accompanying the family to a doctor’s appointment on Monday.
She burst into sobs as she recounted her deceased kids.
Bryant was a “very, very clever” child and ardent video gamer who was excited to attend kindergarten this year, according to her mother.
Debra stated that he used to tell her, ‘Don’t worry, mama, he’ll always take care of her.’
Cassidy was a “beautiful little momma’s boy” who adored dinosaurs and Mickey Mouse, according to Debra, and Gideon was a “lovely little middle kid” who Debra hoped would safeguard her brothers.
Lake County Board member Dick Barr assisted in the creation of a GoFundMe campaign for the mom, which had garnered nearly $54,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
He wrote that this tragedy occurred in his own neighbourhood, and he needs to ensure that this mom has all she has to not have to worry about money at this awful time.
He previously stated that tragedy penetrated the wall between television news and our own hometowns and back yards. Unimaginable evil took three naive and innocent souls from this world.
Barr wrote that unfathomable wickedness resided in the heart and soul of the father who so horrifyingly took three of his own kid’s lives.
He continued, this was not a criminal crime symptomatic of who we are or where we live, but instead a selfish soul, devoid of empathy, love, and mental well-being, who cared more about himself than his own kids.
May the beautiful souls rest in peace.
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