Suburban Chicago man gets life in prison for drowning three young children

(CBS) -- A Round Lake Beach father was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without parole for drowning his three young children. 

On June 13, 2022, police found the children, 5-year-old Bryant, 3-year-old Cassidy, and 2-year-old Gideon, dead inside Jason Karels' home. The Lake County coroner determined the three had drowned. 

Karels, 36, pleaded "guilty but mentally ill" on Dec. 15, 2023. 

Round Lake police responded to 200 East Camden Lane after the children's mother became worried about their safety.  

The children were on a weekend visit then, and their mother had been planning to pick them up for a doctor's visit. The two parents shared custody. 

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 Karels' car on Interstate 57 near 115th Street. After 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.

One of the prosecutors in the case, Eric Kalata, on Friday, described Karels' actions as "brutal, evil, and sinister." He stated that Karels caused panic, fear, and absolute terror in those children's final moments, using them as pawns in a scheme of revenge.  

Before Judge James Booras accepted the negotiated sentencing, he described Karels' actions as "sickening" and "despicable."