He allegedly shoved his handgun under Kimberly's chin and shot her, then turned the gun on his sleeping children, the last of whom apparently raised his arms in an attempt to fend off the fatal bullets. Season 1 explored a different case. "When you first opened the door, it looked like they all should be sleeping," he said. He allegedly murdered his family so he could move to a . Murder of the wife and children in the suburbs, Kimberly. February 15, 2007 (Thursday) . Very little back spatter would occur with the bullet entering the soft underside of the chin. He testified that it was the wifes blood on the seat belt. The Oswego family was reportedly taking a day trip to a water park in Springfield when Christopher Vaughn left Interstate 55 and drove onto a frontage road when his wife became ill. Evidence will show that Vaughn planned to take off and live in the Yukon wilderness, Mills said, and that before going "he wanted to be without any obligations.". Gov. His case seems to be that the ballistics did not 100% line up with the state's theory. Murder in Illinois has taken heavy criticism for its generally negative portrayal of Kimberly and her family. The Vaughn family moved from Washington state to the Chicago area about a year ago, bringing their two dogs with them, according to the May 27 article. During a case review with investigators and the crime lab, the States Attorney stated that a womans hand would be unable to squeeze the trigger of the 9mm Taurus. Have the Vaughns considered that the reason their in laws didn't want to visit them is because they are jerks? Later, under pressure, Vaughn is asked to guess what happened. Pacheco, a former Dr. Oz producer, has said Kimberlys family declined her requests for comment. He then decided to adjust a loose luggage rack on top of the SUV at which time he reportedly said he was shot. Out of all the True Crime ive seen and read about, somehow this one has slipped me. This is the first time I've heard about the Vaughn family. The woman is struggling with migraines and in online school. Without a good explanation, the appointed local attorney left a voice message to cancel the meeting and declined the assistance of the Center. She set up a total financial package, but when she suggested insuring the lives of his children, Chris declined. Her eyes later flashed in anger and she seemed to look at Christopher Vaughn as she spoke of "the betrayal by a man we welcomed into our lives and loved as family.". why cant the family feel pride in academic achievements? Why not ask how they are, why are you not upset that you cant remember? seen Friday leaving a funeral home after the visitation in St. Police investigators used this in their affidavit for probable cause, concluding that his statement of having looked down at his leg and then exiting the vehicle to summon help was inconsistent with the evidence of his wifes blood on the back of his jacket. During his second inspection of the vehicle, Haag attached a laser to the end of the dowel rod and was able, with the tip of his finger, to demonstrate that the shot that struck Cassandra had been fired from the passenger seat, Kimberly was seated. Will the strippers get two episodes to tell their story? Hargon, 45 . On Tuesday, Kimberly's identical twin sister, Jennifer Ledbetter, explained that she feared her looks and personality traits were a painful reminder for the rest of her family of Kimberly's absence and violent death. Brad Pitt and Daughter Shiloh Share the Same Passions: They Have an Unbreakable Bond, What Caused Jackie Reeds Death? That spring he went on a vacation alone to explore the Yukon. Another showed the three children, who were settled under blankets and on pillows for the long, early-morning ride to Springfield, dead together in the backseat of the SUV. As investigators unravel the truth, they find that not everyone in this family was a happy camper. That stripped away resources to defend Vaughn. There was no bruising around the margins of the skin. family's sports utility vehicle June 14, in Channahon, Ill., is The program is hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco who examines the complicated . The boy was with his mother, Meghan, and two other brothers when they were involved in a road rage. The sergeant tells him: 'Say their names. On Saturday, Vaughn was arrested in St. Charles and By seen Friday leaving a funeral home after the visitation in St. In 2007, Chris Vaughn was arrested during a funeral for his wife and three children. On November 9, 1971, 46-year-old accountant John List killed his entire family in their Westfield, NJ, mansion. Earnest was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. Most likely from when he placed the gun at her feet. Ok. Steve Weiss, the Channahon police officer who found the four slain family members, telling him "my prayers will be with you.". SHARE Judge overturns Utah death row inmate Von Lester Taylor's double murder conviction. . Tuesday, June 9, 2020 The Christopher Vaughn Murder Case Christopher Vaughn, a 32-year-old former private investigator who specialized in cyber-crime detection and computer security, lived with his wife and their three children in Oswego, Illinois, a suburban community of 30,000 west of Chicago. The Will County State's Attorney's office originally sought the death penalty, which has since been abolished in Illinois. I've got nothing to go back to.'. 15:45 GMT 29 Aug 2012. Vaughn's parents are asking for a new trial. the forensics and all circumstantial evidence, including Chris own words and online conversations point to one scenario, hes a family annihilator . There was a life insurance policy on his wife worth a million dollars, but if Chris was motivated by money, why would he leave a job that paid him $200,000 a year to hike into the wilderness to live off nature? Husband and father Chris Vaughn was found limping away from his SUV along a highway with two non-fatal gunshot wounds during the early morning of June 14, 2007. After killing his family, she said, Vaughn intentionally grazed his wrist with a bullet and shot himself in the leg, Mills said then "planted the gun between" Kimberly's feet. Lenard objected to the death scene photos being left on the television screen for long periods of time. plans and enthusiasm Zach LaVine finished with a game-high 41 points, DeMar DeRozan added 21 and Patrick Beverley had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Forensic evidence emerges throughout the podcast series. its sad to me that before her death Kim was telling other people about her husbands good traits and she was looking into marriage counseling. It was only after I read the transcripts and watched the 20 hours of video interrogation by police that I realized Chris might be innocent. Like other Chicagoans, we have ideas about what the next mayor should do. Five years later, Chris was convicted of murdering his family and is now serving four life sentences. At first blush, it looked like Chris was guilty. Chris revolver was lying on the floorboard near her feet. Chris is wounded but survives. The night before the killings, Vaughn also visited a shooting range, according to trial testimony. Like does that make her a bad person? There were two holes in his jacket. Judge Clifton Newman agreed on . Sadly, it took place on what should have been an exciting day at a local waterpark for the family. "Mr. Vaughn does not show his feelings or emotions to anyone under any circumstances," said attorney George Lenard. Patrick Quinn signed the bill abolishing the death penalty in Illinois on March 9, 2011. Channahon Firefighter-Paramedic Ryan Jandura said he found a Harry Potter book and a stuffed animal by 12-year-old Abigayle's body. "There can't be a more fitting end for him than that. The Illinois State Police declined this month to refer questions to the FBI about the case of Christopher Vaughn, the Oswego man convicted of the murders of his wife and three children who has become the subject of a high-profile exoneration effort. On Thursday, she told the Sun-Times that rifts in the family contributed heavily to the public perception of Vaughns guilt.. Chris parents, Gail and Pierre, and private investigator Bill Clutter, all claim Chris is innocent and Clutter claims he has evidence to prove it. He was calm and did not display any signs of panic. I left a scathing review and I never do that. Prosecutors said Vaughn had hoped to disappear into the Canadian wilderness, pointing to emails hed exchanged with a Canadian man hed met online. Five years later, a jury found Chris guilty of murdering his family; today, he is incarcerated for four lifetimes. His family, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8, were found dead, seated together in the rear passenger seat, each shot twice. He, along with Edward Deli, were convicted of killing two people and critically injuring a third in . He had two survivable gunshot wounds. Prosecutors said that in the 14 hours he spent there, Vaughn stuck to the story that he had only a vague recollection of what happened in the SUV. I am interested in reading up on the case. She said the results will be aired during the weekly podcasts 11th episode. The interpretation of blood stains on Kimberlys lap and upper legs indicate she was leaning over the gun when it was fired, which further supports a suicide. Vaughn told him, I believe my wife just shot me. The man called 911, police were dispatched around 5:15 a.m., and they found the bodies of Vaughns family in a Ford Expedition parked in a gravel path beside a cellphone tower. When they extended the passenger seatbelt there was a heavy concentration of blood that had soaked through the fabric of the belt which had been concealed within the frame of the vehicle. Early in June 2007, Chris Vaughn, 32, was discovered hobbling from his SUV after suffering two non-fatal gunshot wounds. Created after PI Paul Ciolino obtained a confession that freed Anthony Porter from death row in 1999, the fund was intended to provide resources for proving innocence before trial rather than after conviction. The rod pointed in the direction of the passenger seat. NL VFW Friday Fish Fry. He turned his pistol, the same one he had used the night before to practice shooting at a gun range, and shot Blake, 8, Cassandra, 11, and Abigayle, 12, all in the head and the chest. And after Vaughn was taken to the hospital with minor gunshot wounds to his wrist and leg, Mills said, Vaughn expressed more concern for his special jacket and the possibility that emergency workers "were ruining his cowboy boots" than for his dead wife and children. Shelli Wiley was killed on a cold October morning in 1985 in Laramie, Wyo., just before the sun rose. .I froze and I looked down and my leg was bleeding. To have that memory in his mind of what happened next would be too painful to bear. Weiss said the life sentences were a proper end for a man who killed those closest to him so he could live out his wilderness fantasy. Vaughn got out of the family SUV to look at the luggage rack on the roof. In August of 2012, five years after his arrest before his family's funeral in June 2007, Christopher Vaughn's murder trail began. See for yourself in the gallery of colorized vintage crime scene photos -- whether New York or elsewhere, whether gangland or other -- above. Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? In 1991, she received her high school diploma from St. Charles West. Christopher Vaughn was convicted of killing his wife and three young children after their bodies were found in the family's SUV just off I-55 in Channahon. 10:18 GMT 29 Aug 2012 He said Kimberlys arm blocked it. Authorities said no one motive had been established but. I dont know the family, but Kimberly baby-sat my husband and his brother when they were little. But what we see on the left thumb is seepage of blood from the wound, creating large patterns of passive blood drops. Vaughn is being held in Pinckneyville Correctional Center, records show. The manual said a person would remember everything up until the trauma producing event, but would have no memory of the events that produced the trauma. Neighbor kids not being allowed in the house? One of the members suggested he get a gun for serving process. Kimberly planned to get her degree in criminal justice and join him as a PI. It was a sickening feeling, as the architect of our defense experts and strategy, watching the case swirling around the toilet bowl. first-degree murder in the deaths. Doesnt make him some kind of hero. The defense experts we recruited for trial were flushed down the drain. Vaughn was convicted of killing (from left) Blake, 8; Cassandra, 11, Kimberly, 34, and Abigayle, 12. The podcasts host, Lauren Bright Pacheco, said the theory offered in Thursdays episode, its ninth, has already been tested in a crime-scene reconstruction July 15 in Kentucky. I went down a Google rabbit hole in trying to figure out what case this guy had for his innocence, and it's a really tough one to figure. Vaughn told investigators the family had been on its way to a water park in Springfield. James Waybern Hall: The murderer known as "Big Jim" killed 4 people, including his wife, in Arkansas between 1944 and 1945. Kimberlys doctor began to prescribe a cocktail of medications to relieve her migraine headaches, including the prescription medications Nortriptyline and Topamax. She was stabbed. No longer alive, Chris.'. Eight months later, a jury deliberated 30 minutes before finding Chris guilty. The police questioned Vaughn in hospital. I was brought on to the case by a St. Louis criminal defense attorney with whom I had worked before. They lived briefly in an Aurora apartment . I felt like I needed some balance or to just clean my palate. Traces of his flesh and blood, and denim and polyester fibers consistent with the jacket and jeans were found on the bullet. I havent formed an opinion yet, but was looking to see what you guys think. If he isnt guilty why wasnt he looking for who did it? Murder in Illinois follows the complicated circumstances that led to Vaughn's conviction, as well as the forensic evidence his supporters believe proves his innocence- in . . Flipboard. November 27, 2012 / 10:33 AM / CBS Chicago. charged with eight counts of A federal court has overturned the 1991 conviction and death sentence of Von Lester Taylor, pictured here. He recommended we retain ballistics expert Lucien Haag. Courtesy Melville Vaughan When the FBI took up the case, in 1923, agents badly bungled the probe. When they latched the seat belt, the large bloodstain was located right at the point where the latch came together. Then, with clinical "precision," he put two bullets each in Abigayle, Cassandra and Blake, in that order, she said. Ugh, just had to turn it off mid way through episode 2. TOPAMAX may cause depression or mood problems, tiredness, and sleepiness. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 'Whatever they did, they deserve back,' said Vaughn. Also this past weekend on 07/25/21, the afternoon radio host (WGN Radio) was discussing the horrific "crime of the century" when Richard Speck brutally murdered 8 nurses in Chicago (07/14/1966). .. Joliet Drug Dealer Arrested On Briggs Street: Police, Walgreens Pharmacist Attacked After Man Visits Wrong Store: JPD. His blood is on her side of the car. Jurors found Vaughn guilty of the June 14, 2007, murders of his wife Kimberly, 34, and their children: 12-year-old Abigayle, 11-year-old Cassandra, and 8-year-old Blake. Play outside, Jesus, big whoop. ", After the sentencing, Kimberly's family hugged and shook hands with investigators. Prosecutors will continue playing portions of interviews with Vaughn today. Christopher only sustained minor wounds to his wrist and leg, compared to the other four who all suffered fatal bullet wounds. @iheartradio needs to pull this disgrace of a podcast and issue an apology to the Phillips. whose wife and three children were found fatally shot in the UPDATED: 8/20/2011 - 4:46 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) -- Jurors in Christopher Vaughn's family murder trial were shown graphic photos of the defendant's dead wife and three children, and prosecutors . 2007 the Vaughn family- Christopher, his wife Kimberly and their three children . That would be significant, he said. His lawyers claim his wife was distraught over troubles in her marriage and killed the children, wounded Vaughn and then committed suicide. It was clear that there were key events that he was unable to remember. Crime Scene Reconstruction and Blood Stain Pattern Analysis: The Case of Christopher Vaughn By Bill Clutter Director of Investigations, "Investigating Innocence" The Scene of the Crime Around 5:20 a.m. on June 14, 2007, a man driving to work along the frontage road of Interstate 55 south of Joliet, Illinois encountered Christopher Vaughn, 32, limping Back spatter is defined as a fine mist of blood that travels away from the entrance wound and creates a conical shaped pattern of blood stains usually measuring less than a millimeter in diameter. He also objectedwhile the jury was out of the courtroomto photos taken of Kimberly and the children when they were still alive being shown on the screen. A group that supports unjust convictions, Investigating Innocence, is looking into the matter. While Vaughn might come off as cold-hearted or callous, Lenard asked jurors not use the accused quadruple-murderer's demeanoror eccentricitiesagainst him. I thought to drive the truck. 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