Dad Who Said ‘If I Can’t Have Them Neither Can You’ Pleads Guilty to Killing 3 Kids

Published on December 16, 2023

WAUKEGAN, Ill.—A suburban Chicago man who told his estranged wife “If I can’t have them neither can you” pleaded guilty but mentally ill Friday to three counts of first-degree murder for killing their three young children, a prosecutor said. Jason Karels, 36, of Round Lake Beach will be sentenced to life in the Illinois Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Mr. Karels admitted to killing by drowning 5-year-old Bryant Karels, 3-year-old Cassidy Karels, and 2-year-old Gideon Karels on June 13, 2022. Officers sent to his home to check on the welfare of the children found a note for his estranged wife saying, “If I can’t have them neither can you,” prosecutors have said....