A Round Lake Beach man who drowned his three children in a bathtub was sentenced to life in prison Friday after listening to his former wife call him a monster and a judge describe his actions as despicable.
“In 33 years as a judge and 44 years in my legal career, I’ve never seen anything as despicable as this,” Lake County Judge James Booras said at the sentencing hearing for Jason Karels.
Karels pleaded guilty but mentally ill in December to the June 13, 2022, first-degree murders of his children, Bryant, 5, Cassidy 3, and Gideon 2. Karels drowned his children in a bathtub because he was angry that his wife had left him, authorities said.
At the time of the killings, the couple had separated but Debra Berg had allowed the children to spend the night with their father. The following day, she went to their Camden Lane home and found their bodies.
Karels left a note for his wife that read in part, “If I can’t have them, neither can you,” authorities said. He was arrested later that day after he led police on a car chase through the south suburbs.
Berg gave a victim statement in court, repeatedly referring to her former husband as a “monster.” She said her eldest son, “was more of a man than his father will ever be.”
“My three angels are putting their mother back together slowly but surely,” Berg added.
Karels gave a brief statement, apologizing for the pain he caused, but said he would be forgiven.
“God understands what was in my heart and what my intentions were,” he said. “That will save me in the next life.”
Karels did not elaborate on his intentions. The judge called Karels statement a “sickening recitation of what he did.”
“There’s no God that anyone prays to that would be this merciful,” Booras said.
“I always finish my pleas by wishing the defendant good luck,” the judge said. “I’m not going to do that in this case.”
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Kalata called Karels’ actions “unspeakable.”
“His acts so defy the mores of society, it really is beyond words,” he said.
Assistant Public Defender Molly Leimback said she believed Karels was mentally ill at the time of the murders. His plea of guilty but mentally ill means he will serve his sentence in a regular prison, but could be eligible to receive psychological services.
Under state law, a natural life sentence is mandatory for the commission of more than one first-degree murder.
