His children, 12-year-old Abigayle . The best defense evidence was developed when we went to inspect the family vehicle stored in the old Joliet Penitentiary. While Vaughn might come off as cold-hearted or callous, Lenard asked jurors not use the accused quadruple-murderer's demeanoror eccentricitiesagainst him. A jury took less than an hour in September 2012 to convict Christopher Vaughn at the end of a five-week trial that featured more than 80 witnesses. Yeah, in the middle of episode 3 and boy, so far the narrative is the wife and mother in law were bitches and thats it. OBTAINING PUBLIC RECORDS The Peoples Right To Know. In 2004, Chris purchased a 9mm Taurus and joined the Washington Association of Legal Investigators (WALI). We asked the doctor who prescribed the Topamax about his patients email to her husband. 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. She had sex with her bf, why dont they have equal responsibility in the pregnancy? the forensics and all circumstantial evidence, including Chris own words and online conversations point to one scenario, hes a family annihilator . The ISP CSI described how the phenomenon of tunnel vision infected the Vaughn case. Family Annihilation: The Vaughn Family Murders. By Vaughn was convicted of killing (from left) Blake, 8; Cassandra, 11, Kimberly, 34, and Abigayle, 12. We hear about inconsistencies, such as when the murder weapon was transported to the morgue, covered with cloth, and then washed. 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. Caption: WICS. His . Effort underway to free Christopher Vaughn 9 years after conviction for murdering wife, kids, Gunfire kills mom, 3 kids - Wounded dad says wife pulled the trigger, police say he is not a suspect at this time after bodies found in SUV, Article on staging crime found in accused killer Chris Vaughns home, Dream roadtrip ended in nightmare for Christopher Vaughns family, Joliet farmers wrangle cows thrown from semitrailer after crash on Interstate 80, 1 killed, 3 wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago, Cook County judge refused to speak with police investigating another judge, CPD shifting cops to more violent beats as summer approaches, Woman claims self-defense in murder of rapper Johnny May Cash, says he beat her, Lightfoot is out, Vallas and Johnson are in the April runoff, Chicago police officer dies after exchanging gunfire at close range with suspect in Gage Park, Analysis: How Lightfoot went from political rock star to rock bottom, Patrick Kane leaves Chicago with clear legacy: Blackhawks greatest player of all time, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was in a fight she couldnt have won, Northwestern falls to Penn State in OT for third consecutive loss, Bulls nearly blow 21-point lead but survive against Pistons, Defensive whiz Richard Zoller, high-flying Angelo Ciaravino help Mount Carmel take down Hyde Park. 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. After getting back inside the car, he said, I looked over and thought I saw a gun, but I knew that was impossible why does Kim have a gun? The prosecution argued to the jury that nowhere in these emails was any hint of suicidal ideation. The Colorado father and oil worker was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Shanann, their unborn child, and their two children, Celeste and Bella, ages 4 and 3. He was calm and did not display any signs of panic. I forgot, his co worker said they went out on a work trip, partied, came back to the hotel at 1AM and later Chris said he went back out, returned at 5AM and chris eluded to things getting wild during that time. I've got nothing to go back to.'. ', 'They're gone,' Vaughn answers, his head bowed. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-IV), I found a condition known as Dissociative Amnesia, a form of memory loss caused when a person witnesses a traumatic event. Very little back spatter would occur with the bullet entering the soft underside of the chin. 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. Blake, 8, a kind-hearted boy who loved baseball and had an outsized vocabulary, was slain last, apparently after raising his arms in self-defense. He was leading a dual life. The case took another turn on Sept. 7, 2021, when PEOPLE reported that members of Alex's law firm had confronted him about missing money on Sept. 3 . I really couldnt believe what I was hearing. His wife, Kimberly, 34, was in the front passenger seat, slumped over the center console with a single contact gunshot wound under her chin. Each of the murders resulted in a life sentence for 46-year-old Vaughn. She had unbuckled her own seatbelt to reach back to shoot her three children. I couldnt buckle the belt. And if he married her, that was his choice. A federal court has overturned the 1991 conviction and death sentence of Von Lester Taylor, pictured here. RELATED: Jurors hear about Lakewood murder linked by DNA to 1984 killing of Bennett family Contact 9NEWS reporter Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303 . On Monday, Vaughn was wearing a tan jacket and white collared shirt. The nit picking of the family is BEYOND! On the eventful day, a family of five from Oswego, Illinois, had piled into their red Ford Expedition for a surprise trip to a water park. But not all entrance wounds produce back spatter. Christopher Vaughn was bleeding from his left thigh and hand. Vaughns family did not respond to a message seeking comment. Funding his defense reverted back to Will County. Previously running for mayor and a beloved activist. I felt like I needed some balance or to just clean my palate. Check local listings to see where you can watch. 2007-02-15 Stephen Willott, was e-mail friend who planned to live in Canadian wilderness with Chris Vaughn 08/31/12 "Friend: Christopher Vaughn wanted simple life away from government, people" He is at Menard Correctional Center, one of the most violent prisons in Illinois. Still, even a bloodstain expert called by Vaughns lawyers agreed at trial that a defense claim that Vaughn left the SUV before Kimberly was shot didnt make sense. There was no bruising around the margins of the skin. Christopher Vaughn, of Oswego, was was sentenced to four life terms on Nov. 27, 2012, for fatally shooting his wife and three children after pulling off Interstate 55 near Channahon, Ill., in Will . The 51/2 week trial included testimony from two former strippers whom Vaughn plied with cash and an FBI expert who translated 140 pages of runic writings that Vaughn, who had an interest in druidism, had scribbled in a notebook while in jail awaiting trial. We have many Chris pleaded with police to get the video so he would know what happened to his family. "When you first opened the door, it looked like they all should be sleeping," he said. Murder in Illinois is a true crime podcast that examines the 2007 case of Chris Vaughn who was arrested and convicted of the murders of his wife and three children. 'Murder in Illinois' also explores the details of Chris Vaughn's family. He testified that it was the wifes blood on the seat belt. Christopher Vaughn (second from left) sits with his family in his Oswego home before they were murdered in 2007. Plans changed when Chris landed a job with Chicago-based Navigant. Angelo Ciaravino and Richard Zoller both have a way of getting their Mount Carmel teammates and the crowd fired up. Kimberly suffered an angle-contact gunshot wound under her chin, records show. 15:45 GMT 29 Aug 2012. 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. They are lucky they were allowed to be at the funeral. In discussing his fantasy to trek into the wilderness, he suggested he could fake his own death so his stay-at-home wife could collect on his three and a half million dollar life insurance policy. James Waybern Hall: The murderer known as "Big Jim" killed 4 people, including his wife, in Arkansas between 1944 and 1945. Theres also a low key misogynistic vibe throughout their entire monologue. Blake had been shot in the forehead and near his left underarm indicating he had raised his arm defensively. Our expert called me and said he was convinced by watching the 20 hours of video that Chris may be innocent. 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. Its drivers-side window was broken. Try to get any leverage doing that, every mom knows you have to square up to do anything difficut from the passenger seat, they were mortgaged to the eyeballs, he was going to strip joints spending thousands, he was telling people he didnt have a wife or family, he was planning on going to live in the woods somewhere and was looking for a female companion to go with him, why would she have to have him pull over to shoot? Kimberly Vaughn, 34, who had recently completed an online degree in criminal justice, was killed first, prosecutors said. 07-CF-1308 Prepared by Bill Clutter, Private Investigator GSR AND BLOOD ON BOTH HANDS CONSISTENT WITH SUICIDE At 9:00 a.m. 6/14/07 CSI Robert Deel administers Gunshot Residue Analysis on the His wife passed a certification course and practiced shooting at a Seattle range. His lawyers argued Kimberly shot him and the kids and then killed herself. His case seems to be that the ballistics did not 100% line up with the state's theory. None of this makes any logical sense. . Police detectives found at the Vaughn home a copy of PI Magazine with a cover story called Crime Scene Staging and Alterations: The CSI Effect on Criminal Investigations. She had no idea. I am in the middle of the 9 part podcast about the Vaughn family murders. They also pointed to FDA warnings that drugs Kimberly took Topamax and Nortriptyline could lead to suicide. 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. 'They're gone. He told a nurse, You should call my wife. After she enrolled in her online class, Kimberly began to experience migraine headaches that her doctor attributed to stress. His family sounds narcissistic AF. It seems like the family was dead set on focusing on the negative with Kim and her family. Initially, it was believed that he had unbuckled his wifes seat belt after he shot her. Clutter has previously written that a transfer blood stain on Kimberlys right thumb all comes together to prove it was the wife who unbuckled her own seatbelt, after her husband had been shot., That was my working theory at the time, Clutter said Thursday. After the killings, Vaughn staggered off and flagged down a motorist who called the police. 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 . A camera near the ceiling captures Vaughn fidgeting with the hospital gown he is wearing and sipping water from a blue paper cup as he calmly recalls awaking the children at 4am and telling them to get in the SUV for a surprise trip to a water park in Springfield. I thought to drive the truck. One bullet pierced his left wrist, while another went through his left leg. 'Abigayle, Blake,' the detective adds. Have the Vaughns considered that the reason their in laws didn't want to visit them is because they are jerks? 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. Thankful to unload this and release some aggravation! whose wife and three children were found fatally shot in the [1] All four members of the family were shot in their SUV while on the way to a Springfield, IL waterpark. Chriss 9mm Taurus handgun was found on the floorboard near her feet. Elizabeth, another sister, and Jennifer, Kimberlys twin, were both there. Convicted of murder after a two-day trial in May 1945, Hall was sentenced to death. Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? charged with eight counts of . Only a driver trying to surprise passengers would have to pull over, how could she fire multiple shots into three kids without him trying to stop her? A documentary murder mystery about the filmmaker's family, set in lower Alabama. A piece of his flesh was recovered around the margins of the exit hole of the back of the jacket. FORENSIC EVIDENCE OF MURDER-SUICIDE People v. Christopher Vaughn, Will County, IL No. Kim fired at me. His insurance agent told me she had suggested they take out a life insurance policy as part of sound financial planning. Now, its clearly wrong.. .In this bonus episode I look at a letter written by Chris Vaughn; a man convicted and sentenced to four consecutive life terms for the murders of his wife, Kimberly, and children, Abigayle, Cassandra, 00:14:34. She gets mad when I dont call her.. 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? 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 I have read some of the flood of news articles following the Chris Vaughn trial. Christopher Vaughn and his family Christopher Vaughn's letter to his parents Murder in Illinois: The crime scene reconstruction: . But on the day in June 2007 that his entire family was gunned down in a Ford Expedition, he did have on relatively strange attire. He wore the same outfit to shoot at the range the night before, that gave him the gunshot residue, she was not a good shot, could not handle the recoil, yet she turns half way and fires off great shots? Because this podcast made me want to scream. The first entrance hole was the front right pocket; the second an exit hole near the back bottom left side of the jacket. Kim looked at me and said, You will not take my kids. Steve Weiss, the Channahon police officer who found the four slain family members, telling him "my prayers will be with you.". Hall was sentenced to death by electrocution in May 1945 and executed on January 4, 1946. yesmagazine.org. There is a swipe mark on the latch, which corresponds with the transfer stain on his wifes right thumb. 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. ", Steve Schmadeke and Chicago Tribune reporter. They lived briefly in an Aurora apartment . On November 9, 1971, 46-year-old accountant John List killed his entire family in their Westfield, NJ, mansion. Kimberly Phillips was born on December 12, 1972, to Del and Susan Phillips of Saint Charles, Missouri. 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