Illinois Father Arrested, Charged For Allegedly Drowning His Three Children: ‘If I Can’t Have Them Neither Can You’

A father in Illinois has been arrested in connection to the murder of his three children, whom he allegedly drowned.

“If I can’t have them neither can you,” is what a note read that was allegedly left by Jason Karels, 35, before murdering his three children, Bryant, 5, Cassidy, 3 and 2-year-old Gideon. Police found the note and the bodies of the children on Monday after going to Karel’s Chicago home, located in the suburb of Round Lake Beach, The New York Post reports. The children’s mother, Debra Karels, called authorities to have them perform a welfare check.

Karel was not home when the bodies were found.

However, hours later, cops spotted him on the interstate. He tried to take off in his car, leading police on a high-speed chase, but ended up getting in a crash and police were then able to detain him. Once police had him in custody, he reportedly told police that he’d drowned the children one at a time in a bathtub.

Karels has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and he’s being held on a $10 million bond. A family member of Karels says he suffers from mental illness but claims he never accepted psychiatric help. Debra and Karels had parted ways due to Karels allegedly being physically abusive toward Debra. However, Debra tried to keep up a healthy relationship with Karels for their children.