Father charged with drowning his three young children

A father has been charged with three counts of murder after, police say, he confessed to drowning his three young children early on Monday, CBS Chicago's Shardaa Gray reports.

Officers responded to a home in the northern Chicago suburb of Round Lake Beach at around 1:40 a.m. 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 the bodies of three children inside – 5-year-old Bryant, 3-year-old Cassidy, and 2-year-old Gideon.

"I cannot fathom the pain this family is going through right now," Rivera 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 for a doctor's visit. The two parents shared custody.

Neighbors said the family stayed to themselves and didn't really engage with others on the block, but they did see the kids walking to and from the school bus stop.

One neighbor said he saw them playing in the back yard this weekend.

Their father, Jason Karels, 35, wasn't home when the bodies were found, but a few hours later, Illinois State Police spotted his car on Interstate 57 and, following a chase across multiple highways, Karels crashed in a wooded area along Interstate 80, authorities said.

As police and firefighters were pulling Karels from the wreck, he admitted he'd killed his children and added that he'd made multiple suicide attempts.

Autopsies found the preliminary cause of death for all three children was consistent with drowning, according to Lake County Coroner's Office chief deputy Steve Newton.

Karels was taken to a hospital, and police said he could face charges in addition to the murder counts. He's expected to appear in Lake County Court after he's released from the hospital Wednesday.

Police wouldn't say if Karels provided a motive for killing his children.

Rivera said investigators aren't aware of any history of abuse of the children or if he has any history of mental illness, or a criminal record.

"I don't know if anything could have stopped this, or if there were any early indications of it. As I mentioned, we were not familiar with this family nor with the house, but I can tell you we're all deeply affected," Rivera said.

A mother and two daughters who used to live in the neighborhood dropped off a teddy bear on Tuesday outside the house after hearing what had happened in their former neighborhood.

"It's a shame to hear such a tragic situation that occurred here. It's very sad," Mary Santana said.

Newton said investigators are awaiting the results of toxicological tests to determine if the children were drugged before they were drowned, but he said there were no signs of other physical harm on the children.