Father charged with drowning three children in Round Lake Beach pleads not guilty
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Round Lake Beach man who was charged with drowning his three children last month pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday.
Jason Karels, 35, was indicted by a grand jury on July 6 on nine counts of first-degree murder, according to a Lake County State's Attorney's Office news release. Prosecutors said Karels was being charged with three different counts of first-degree murder for each of the children that he killed.
Karels was arrested on June 13 near Joliet following a 17-minuted pursuit by Illinois State troopers. The chase led to Karels' vehicle to crash near Interstate 80 and Water Street in Joliet.
While being removed from the car, Karels made statements to police officers about his role in the death of his three children.
That day, police responded to a home in the 200 block of East Camden Lane in Round Lake Beach after receiving a request for a well-being check from the children's mother, who was supposed to pick them up from their estranged father, according to Round Lake Police Chief Gilbert Rivera.
When police entered the home, they found three children, Bryant, 5, Cassidy, 3, and Gideon, 2, dead inside.
The Lake County Coroner's Office later determined the cause of their deaths to be drowning.
Officers on the scene found a note from Karels that said "If I can't have them, neither can you," prosecutors said.
Rivera said the children were on a weekend visit with their father at the time and their mother had been planning to pick them up from a doctor's visit. The two parents shared custody of the children.
Karels is being held at the Lake County Jail without the possibility of cash bond.
He is set to appear back in court on Oct. 7 for a case management conference.
