Family Remembers 'Beautiful, Innocent' Kids Killed In 'Revenge' Plot

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL — The family of three young children who were drowned in a bathtub shared their memories of the kids during a sentencing hearing Friday for 36-year-old Jason Karels. Karels, 36, of Round Lake Beach, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the murders in December and was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

Victim impact statements were read during the hearing form the mother, maternal grandmother and aunt of Bryan Karels, 5; Cassidy Karels, 3; and Gideon Karels, 2. The three children were found dead inside Karels' home in the 200 block of East Camden Avenue in June 2022.

The children's mother dropped the children off at their father's house over the weekend and returned Monday to pick them up. Karels left a note that read, "if I can't have them you can't either," according to court documents. The couple was separated at the time of the killings, authorities said.

In the victim impact statements read in court, the family described the young children as beautiful, innocent children and referred to Karels as a "monster" who destroyed many lives.

The family added that Karels was the one person who was supposed to love and protect them at all costs, but instead did the complete opposite, according to a news release from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.

The statements also expressed how the deaths of the three children was like a “light lost,” leaving an eternal darkness. One of the statements explained how even using the term “murder” makes the loss more difficult and how the loss would be a wound that remained unhealed forever, according to the news release.

During the sentencing hearing, Lake County State's Attorney prosecutor Eric Kalata said a life sentence was absolutely necessary and appropriate. He described Karels' actions as "brutal, evil and sinister."

He said Karels caused panic, fear and absolute terror in those children’s final moments, using them as pawns in a scheme of revenge.

Karels will not have the possibility for parole.

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