A MAN accused of drowning his three children allegedly left a note with a chilling message for his estranged wife before the heinous crime.
Jason Karels, 35, reportedly left the note on Monday night reading: “If I can’t have them, neither can you.”
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After the drownings, Jason reportedly attempted to kill himself.
The children’s mother, Debra Karels, called the police to perform a welfare check as she attempted to pick her children up from their dad’s Chicago home.
Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said officers arrived and they discovered the children’s bodies in a bedroom.
Jason was then arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase before crashing.
He reportedly told first responders at the crash he was responsible for the deaths of 5-year-old Bryant, 3-year-old Cassidy, and 2-year-old Gideon, according to Daily Beast.
The dad was hospitalized and subsequently released.
A preliminary autopsy later revealed the children drowned, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Further details on how they were drowned is not yet available.
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Debra told CBS Chicago that she left Jason a month ago due to his “neglect of his family.”
However, she had taken her children to their father’s house for the weekend, she said.
“He knew that nothing mattered but those children, and he took them away from me because he knew that would hurt me the most,” she said.
Christina Neuman Berg, Debra’s sister-in-law told the Daily Mail that Jason was abusive, and suffered from severe mental health issues.
‘Debbie wanted to maintain a relationship with her kids’ father and let him visit them, and now we know that was a horrible mistake,” she said.
Debra was convinced Jason would not harm her children.
“He said ‘all my beef is with you,’” she told the Daily Mail.
Jason Karel is facing three counts of first-degree murder.
Another hearing, slated for July 13, will seek to hold Karels without bond, prosecutors said.
He is being held on a $10 million bond.
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