Sit down dining, or available carryout, Year around. When he got back inside the car, he saw that his leg was bleeding, so he got out again and proceeded to walk up the road to get help. He said Kimberlys arm blocked it. For some inexplicable reason, this report, received before the probable cause hearing, was marked draft. charged with eight counts of. Emma Reynolds I was wondering if it is making anyone who followed the trial and was firmly in the "Chris Vaughn is guilty as sin" camp think twice about their conclusion? 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. Weiss said he was haunted for a time by what he saw the day of the murders, struggling to sleep or concentrate. He said that when he was told at the hospital he had been shot, he was incredulous because there was no one else around and his wife didn't own a gun. They also pointed to FDA warnings that drugs Kimberly took Topamax and Nortriptyline could lead to suicide. I have read some of the flood of news articles following the Chris Vaughn trial. Neighbors and the press began to speculate as to what happened, with many pointing the finger at Christopher Vaughn. "There can't be a more fitting end for him than that. But he always seemed unemotional. His jacket had holes in it that suggested it was bunched around the gun when fired. 2007 the Vaughn family- Christopher, his wife Kimberly and their three children . to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Christopher Vaughn (second from left) sits with his family in his Oswego home before they were murdered in 2007. He traveled all over the U.S and Mexico downloading computer hard drives and mobile devices for some of the largest law firms, Navigant clients. 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.". Forensic evidence emerges throughout the podcast series. There was no bruising around the margins of the skin. The boy was with his mother, Meghan, and two other brothers when they were involved in a road rage. Her apartment was set on fire, and her body was burned beyond . The three children were each shot once in the head and once in the torso. He posted wistful Internet messages about building a cabin and. When the mom says one of the daughters was a lot like Kim except she was warm and loving it made me irate. 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 jury returned the verdicts Monday, a few hours after hearing from prosecutors and lawyers for the former cattle truck driver. After listening to family members semi deify him, I wanted to read the facts against the man. At the National Innocence Conference in Cincinnati in April 2011, I ran into an old friendRob Warden, Executive Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Law School. Plus, hear from the former Assistant State's Attorney who believes Chris is right where he belongs. Police then used trickery to illicit a confession. 'Whatever they did, they deserve back,' said Vaughn. In the video interview, he demonstrated raising his left arm between the gun and his head just as he noticed her pointing the gun at him. His interview began about five hours after the killings, soon after he was released from a hospital following treatment for minor gunshot wounds and taken to the state police station in Lockport. . Why would a father simply sit there after being shot and allow his wife to shoot and kill the kids and then herself without doing anything to prevent it? Their claims of being judged by her family are pure projection. The shots to the children in the back seat came from over the left shoulder of the front passenger seat, where Kimberly was found, records show. A member of Kimberlys family declined to speak to the Sun-Times. Elizabeth, another sister, and Jennifer, Kimberly's twin, were both there. I opened my door, saw the gun Kim was holding and jumped into my seat to grab it. 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. He genuinely appeared unaware that his family had been killed. Crucially, prosecutors also argued that two bullet holes in a jacket he wore had been created when someone wrapped the gun in the jacket to either silence or conceal the weapon, or to cushion a blow. At autopsy, the coroner was able to determine the orientation of the gun, based on the imprint of the guns site on Kimberlys chin. Susan Phillips, right, mother of Kimberly Vaughn, and Kimberly's twin sister, Jennifer Ledbetter, spoke at Christopher Vaughn's sentencing Tuesday at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. He looked back over his shoulder at his family before being led from the courtroom after the sentencing. In August of 2012, five years after his arrest before his family's funeral in June 2007, Christopher Vaughn's murder trail began. And in Stone, Vaughn has enlisted the same attorney who represents Marni Yang, the woman convicted of killing the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle another case being challenged. Chris Regis, the former prosecutor who gave part of the closing argument at Vaughns trial, is now corporation counsel for the City of Joliet. His defense team argued that Kimberly had killed the children and then herself. She married Christopher Vaughn in 1994. Vaughn's restraints made a clanking sound as he appeared to wipe his eye during the testimony, his only outward sign of emotion during the hearing. Then the doctor was asked what the significance would be taking both medications Nortriptyline and Topamax together. Press J to jump to the feed. Police had given him every opportunity to blame his wife, but he responded, There was no way she could have hurt the kids. In the one of the photos shown by the prosecution Monday, Kimberly was sprawled dead in the Expedition's passenger seat, bleeding out of her head, nose and mouth, and from a hole under her chin. Doesnt make him some kind of hero. Vaughn told investigators the family had been on its way to a water park in Springfield. Prosecutors said Vaughn shoved his Taurus handgun under Kimberlys chin from outside the SUV and shot her, then reached over her to shoot his children. She was athletic and played volleyball. . To keep creating I was brought on to the case by a St. Louis criminal defense attorney with whom I had worked before. 2020 UNSOLVED MAGAZINE All Rights Reserved. Kimberly Vaughn, 34, who had recently completed an online degree in criminal justice, was killed first, prosecutors said. On Saturday, Vaughn was arrested in St. Charles and charged with eight counts of. 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. 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. 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. I just started listening to the podcast, "Murder in Illinois Who Killed the Vaughn Family?". List used a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun to end the lives of his wife, Helen (46); his mother, Alma (84); and his children, Patricia (16), Frederick (13), and John Frederick (15). On Monday, Vaughn was wearing a tan jacket and white collared shirt. 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 . We hear about inconsistencies, such as when the murder weapon was transported to the morgue, covered with cloth, and then washed. "You could lock him up for 500 lifetimes and it would not compensate the victims in this case or the family members.". My hand shook badly. One bullet pierced his left wrist, while another went through his left leg. He chatted that he was testing out the fantasy of going off the grid for good. I havent formed an opinion yet, but was looking to see what you guys think. Prosecutors said blood evidence suggested Vaughn was moving over Kimberlys body after her death, and none of it pointed to a struggle. It was only after police showed him the photos of his dead family that he began to refer to them in the past tense. As investigators unravel the truth, they find that not everyone in this family was a happy camper. He was in pants, tshirt AND long sleeve flannel shirt. He described to the police how he and his family left their home at around five in the morning to go to a water park in Springfield. I am not sure how you get past this fact. Kimberly, and three kids, Abigayle, Cassandra and Blake. 15:45 GMT 29 Aug 2012. I fell back out the door preparing to make another attempt. It was around midnight when the parents of April Boss went looking for the 19 . Kimberly suffered an angle-contact gunshot wound under her chin, records show. He pulled the Expedition over, got out under the guise of checking a cargo compartment on the roof of the SUV, grabbed his wife through the open passenger window, stuck a pistol under her chin and blew her brains out, Mills said. The bag was still sitting on the table untouched about an hour later. Hargon, 45 . Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook. . There was no struggle for the weapon. The rod pointed in the direction of the passenger seat. She gets mad when I dont call her.. Christopher Vaughn and his family were driving from Oswego to Knights Action Park in Springfield in 2007, but they never made it. 10. A few years before, Chris Vaughn had started Stone Bridge Security, a licensed private detective agency in Bellevue, WA. Raw and intimate, HBO's new four-part docuseries Murder on Middle Beach follows new filmmaker Madison Hamburg as he attempts to solve the murder of his mother Barbara, who was attacked in her own front yard in Connecticut in 2010. Chriss 9mm Taurus handgun was found on the floorboard near her feet. The lawyer W.W. Vaughan, with his wife and several of their children. His insurance agent told me she had suggested they take out a life insurance policy as part of sound financial planning. seen Friday leaving a funeral home after the visitation in St. Updated 11/27/12 - 4:05 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Oswego man has been sentenced to life in prison for the horrifying murders of his wife and children . Christopher Vaughn is accused of murdering his wife and three kids in 2007. . This evidence suggested he was seated as his wife was bleeding and he leaned back, pressing the jacket against the leather seat, making contact with the secondary spatter stains. He claims he had been patching things up with her after he had confessed to cheating on her and was trying to be a better family man. Be forewarned that some of the. At another point, Vaughn pushes away a bag of food from McDonalds that detectives have brought him. Steve Weiss, the Channahon police officer who found the four slain family members, telling him "my prayers will be with you.". The nit picking of the family is BEYOND! What the actual?! As he went to check the carrier on the roof, Vaughn said, he felt pain in his leg and noticed he was bleeding as he got back in the car. He said, Every time I would come up with something that the evidence would suggest or support or you would be able to at least follow the evidence to come to a logical conclusion, basically I was just given some other crazy way that this could have occurred or they would change their theory of what happened to try to match the evidence rather than letting the evidence dictate to you the events that occurred. Later, Ledbetter spoke with Sgt. Vaughn's family did . Alex Murdaugh, 53, calls 911 and reports he found his wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, then 22, shot dead outside of their home in Islandton, a small community about an hour north of Hilton Head. Just after 5 a.m., his wife asked him to pull off the highway . need your help for this. Vaughn is accused of gunning down his wife, Kimberly, and children, Abigayle or 'Abbi', 12, Cassandra or 'Sandi', 11, and Blake, in the family in SUV in June 2007. Other side effects: acting aggressive, being angry or violent and acting on dangerous impulses.. Sadly, it took place on what should have been an exciting day at a local waterpark for the family. This led him to question the states theory that Chris had killed his family. While his family wore summer clothes befitting an excursion to a Springfield waterpark, Vaughn donned cowboy boots, blue jeans, a T-shirt with a long-sleeved shirt over it, and a fleece jacket he purchased on a secret trip to the Yukon, said Assistant State's Attorney Deborah Mills. 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. He allegedly got into the family SUV, where his wife and children were waiting, after getting harmed. 1. Autopsy photos of her left thumb show patterns of passive drops of blood in the location where it would be expected, if she had pulled the trigger. I thought to drive the truck. I've got nothing to go back to.'. Researchers reopened the Michael Francke Murder in . We proved beyond a reasonable doubt that [Vaughn] shot his children in the head and chest at point-blank range after putting a gun under the chin of his wife and pulling the trigger, Will County States Attorney James Glasgow told the Sun-Times. It didnt make sense that a guy, like Chris, an expert computer forensic investigator, would leave damaging evidence on his computer if he were contemplating killing his family. TELL DR. PHIL YOUR STORY: Are you involved in a story making headlines? Will County States Attorney James Glasgow. (CBS), Christopher Vaughn, Jeremy Webster is accused of fatally shooting 13-year-old Vaughn Bigelow on June 14, 2018. The jury in Alex Murdaugh 's high-profile murder trial will visit the scene where his wife Maggie and son Paul were brutally gunned down in the summer of 2021. Vaughn, Kimberly Ellen (nee Phillips), Oswego, IL, June 14, 2007 age 34. Camren Wynter hit a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give Penn State a 68-65 victory against Northwestern. Agent Name: CHRISTOPHER VAUGHN Address: 815 FIRST AVE #105 City: SEATTLE, WA 98104 2007 . Crime Scene Reconstruction: Bullet Trajectory. The States forensic pathologist later disagreed with this conclusion and testified in deposition that the soot pattern fanning away from the entrance wound meant that this was loose contact with no force. The new medication guide advised patients to inform their doctor right away if they experienced anxiety while taking the medication. the Vaughn family's Oswego home. After murdering his entire family . The DSM-IV gave an example that a person may suffer this condition if they are the sole survivor and witness their entire family die in an automobile crash. He replied, Well, it would increase the risk of suicidal thoughts.. Another incriminating fact was Chris visit to a strip club near OHare Airport two nights before his family was killed. Five years later, a jury found Chris guilty of murdering his family; today, he is incarcerated for four lifetimes. , Your post contains more evidence than the seven hours of this podcast so far. "It crushes my heart," she said of being separated from her sister. The bullet was recovered from the motor of the drivers door window mechanism. When I was around the back of the truck, heading back towards my door, it sounded like the inside of the truck was exploding. Homicidal and Suicidal Behavior Induced by Prescription Medications. 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