Man charged with drowning his 3 children in Round Lake Beach enters guilty plea
CHICAGO (CBS) – A north suburban Chicago man charged with drowning his three children at his home last year has entered a "guilty but mentally ill" plea on Friday, according to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.
Jason Karels, 36, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder for killing his three children, ages 2, 3, and 5, in June 2022.
The plea means that his sentence will be changed to natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole.
Round Lake police responded to a 911 call on June 13, 2022, at 200 East Camden Lane after receiving a request for a well-being check from the children's mother who was supposed to pick them up from Karels.
The children were on a weekend visit at the time, and their mother had been planning to pick them up for a doctor's visit. The two parents shared custody of the children.
Officers arrived and found the children dead inside the home. The cause of their deaths was determined to be drowning by the Lake County Coroner's Office.
Police found a note left at the scene from Karels that read, "If I can't have them neither can you."
Later that evening, Illinois State Police spotted his car on Interstate 57 near 115th Street, and following a 17-minute chase across multiple highways, Karels crashed in a wooded area along Interstate 80 near Water Street in Joliet.
As police and firefighters were pulling Karels from the wreck, he admitted he'd killed his children, and made multiple suicide attempts, but failed.
Before entering into the plea agreement, the prosecutors and victim specialist consulted extensively with the family and several members of the family who were present in court for Friday's hearing, the office said.
"This case has devasted 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," Attorney Eric Rinehart said.
A pre-sentence investigation was ordered for Karels. His official sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16.