Man Pleads Guilty to Drowning His 3 Kids After Leaving Note for Wife: 'If I Can't Have Them, Neither Can You'
Authorities said Jason Karels drowned Bryant, 5, Cassidy, 3 and Gideon, 2, at his Round Lake Beach, Ill., home on June 13, 2022
An Illinois man accused of drowning his three children during a custodial visit last year has pleaded guilty to their murders.
Jason Karels, 36, pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Friday to three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his three children, ages 5, 3 and 2, according to a press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Authorities said Karels drowned Bryant, 5, Cassidy, 3 and Gideon, 2, at his Round Lake Beach, Ill., home on June 13, 2022. Officers who were called to the scene by the childrens’ mother said they found a note from Karels that said, “If I can’t have them neither can you.”
Karels was arrested later that evening near Joliet, Ill., following a 17-minute pursuit by Illinois State troopers. The chase led to Karel’s vehicle crashing near Interstate 80. “While being removed from the car, Karels made statements to police officers regarding his role in the triple homicide,” the release states.
Round Lake Beach Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said during a press conference at the time that, “[Karels] also said he attempted to commit suicide several times after the deaths of the children,” PEOPLE previously reported.
The mother, identified as Debra Karels, told CBS Chicago in 2022 that she and Jason were in the middle of a divorce because he “constantly played games and neglected his family.” Debra added that she discovered the dead bodies of her children laying on a bed that day when she went to pick them up after they spent the weekend with her estranged husband, according to the outlet.
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"I thought what was right was the father should be involved. The father should see them," she said, per CBS Chicago. “I just had so much faith; so much faith, so much love that it would all work out in the end, and it didn't.”
Lake County Community Action collectively created a GoFundMe campaign to financially support Debra following her childrens’ deaths. As of Monday, it had raised upward of $100,000.
Related: Ill. Dad Allegedly Drowned 3 Young Children During Custodial Visit: 'Cannot Fathom the Pain'
“This case has devastated the Round Lake Beach community and beyond. We hope that today’s resolution provides some measure of closure, and we will continue to provide support to the family,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in the release.
As part of the plea, Karels will be sentenced to natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered for Karels and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2024.
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