Dad who said ‘If I can’t have them neither can you’ pleads guilty to killing 3 kids

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago man who told his estranged wife “If I can’t have them neither can you” has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts of first-degree murder for killing their three young children. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart says 36-year-old Jason Karels of Round Lake Beach will be sentenced to natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole. Karels with his plea Friday 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. Police found a note at his home for his estranged wife saying, “If I can’t have them neither can you.”