Chicago Man Drowns His Children Over Divorce Proceedings

“If I can’t have them, neither can you,” wrote 35-year-old Jason Karels to his estranged wife Debra in a haunting note found by officers in his Chicago home. CBS News reports the police had arrived too late to save Karels’ three children, whom he drowned in the bathtub on June 13th. They are listed as “5-year-old Bryant Karels, 3-year-old Cassidy Karels and 2-year-old Gideon Karels” by CBS News.

ABC7 New York adds that the children had been staying with Jason on the terms of his shared custody agreement with Debra, as the couple had been in the midst of divorce proceedings. Upon discovering the scene, the Round Lake Beach police began to search for Jason, who had fled in his red Nissan Maxima. He was apprehended in Joliet after crashing at the end of a high-speed chase, and confessed to the murders as well as claiming he had tried to commit suicide afterward.

Karels was hospitalized, but CBS News states his bond hearing was held on Wednesday, resulting in a $10 million bond for his three counts of murder. It is not currently known if he will retain a lawyer.

A GoFundMe has been launched on behalf of Debra, intended to cover the family’s funeral costs and financial recovery.