Vaughan murder case -- Dad did it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

How sad.

Murder charges filed against father in SUV deaths

By John Keilman
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 23, 2007, 1:34 PM CDT
Murder charges were filed today against Christopher Vaughn, whose wife and three children were found shot to death in their SUV nine days ago along Interstate Highway 55 in the southwest suburbs, the Will County state's attorney's office said.

Vaughn was arrested without incident in St. Charles, Mo., where the funerals of his wife Kimberly and three young children are being held today. The Oswego man was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and authorities are preparing to bring him back to Illinois, the office said.

"The crime scene was horrific," said Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow. "Every law enforcement official and every prosecutor involved in this case was profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of these innocent children and their mother."

He said prosecutors were prepared for a legal fight should Vaughn challenge his extradition back to Illinois.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070623suv-update-story,0,3057439.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. I had a feeling about this the day it happened.

It just seemed to "pat" to me. The husband walks away with minor wounds and the wife and the three kids are shot dead.

What a bastard....

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Me too....

It especially stinks since the news report above said the scene in the car was so horrendous. The article I read in the print version of the Tribune this morning said the murder had been done by someone in the vehicle, so it was pretty obvious even then.

I am guessing there is lots of physical evidence against him.

[City Lights]

3. When WGN News (morning show) reported on these murders, they

mentioned that an episode of Law and Order had similarities to this case. The speculation was that this was a copycat from that episode.

I can't understand how anyone could do something so horrendous. :cry:

It also reminded me of Charles Stuart in Boston, who shot his pregnant wife and tried to pin it on a black guy.

Fecking assholes. :mad: :grr:

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. I don't watch Law and Order....

But I do remember the Charles Stuart case. What a jerk.

Like you, I don't understand how anyone could do something so horrendous. I cannot imagine the triplets' father doing anything like that to my niece and their kids, nor my nephew doing it to his wife and her three kids. Vaughan must either be sick or an evil jerk.

[City Lights]

5. When I lived in AZ, there was a mom and two kids killed when their

Scottsdale home caught fire after a gas explosion. Further inspection revealed that the mom had been shot, and the kids' throats had been slashed prior to the explosion and fire. The husband and father, Robert Fisher, is still on the FBI's most wanted list.

My husband and I were separated for about 5 months during a rough patch in our marriage. Even when emotions were running high, no way would my husband have raised a hand on me or our kids.

I'm disgusted by what these men did to their wives and children. At least some of them have been caught.

Sick cowards.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. How awful....

I don't know why men like that bother to get married and have kids.

[truebrit71]

7. Wow...it just never made any sense how he only get a 'flesh wound'...

...and everyone else was killed...

How terribly sad....

[ProfessorGAC]

8. One Nagging Question

How did the ER doctor not know right away that Vaughan's wound was self-inflicted? If he did it, it should have been obvious from the beginning and they should have arrested him right then and there.
GAC

[Kingshakabobo]

9. Maybe they knew and kept it on the down-low till the investigation was further along.

There's no reason to rush something like this and have the suspect lawyer up.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. He Was Already Lawyered Up

I'm just questioning the competency of the doctor. I don't know how they could let this guy go if they knew he shot himself and then claimed someone shot him.

GAC

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. Maybe they had to wait for DNA evidence to be processed.

Glasgow had been playing this case very close to his chest. Not that I blame him, four murders in rural Will County are rare.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. It's Not That Rural Auntie

It's an industrial area, and it's only about 4 miles from the west side of Joliet. There's 120,000 people within 10 miles of that spot.

Still, it seems to me that a self-inflicted wound would be obvious. Geez, they train army medics to spot those and they only get 6 weeks training. An ER doc should be able to detect that with eyes closed.

GAC

[dogfacedboy]

13. The ER doctor probably did spot it.

The Doc probably did spot it and told police, but the police kept that under their hats when the husband was first questioned. Police always want as many pieces of evidence as possible, and in this case they surely didn't want to screw up. That is probably why there was such a quick, and loud, announcement that the husband was not yet considered a suspect. The Will Co. prosecutor surely wants a solid case, as there have been so many screw ups in cases like this in Du Page Co in the past decade or so.

My ex-brother in law is a homicide detective in Chicago. I go to him for his opinion on stuff like this that appears in the news. He tells me that his unit would have considered the husband a suspect right away, just based on his proximity to the crime scene, and the relative harmlessness of his wounds vs. the wounds of the others. If, as the husband claims, the wife went off in a murder- suicide rage because he told her of an "affair" he had, as this man has told police, she most likely would not have just shot him in the leg.

This asshole just wanted to get rid of his family, and didn't have the balls to just get divorced and handle his responsibilities.

Can anyone say Scott Peterson?

[Norquist Nemesis]

14. Don't know about Scott Peterson, but it was obvious from the get go

that he did it. Who pulls off onto a frontage road like that to check their luggage rack vs. a gas station? Your wife pulls a gun while your kids are in the car and you run leaving her in the car with the gun and the kids??? Even if you do run...timeframe--you're not immediately on your cellphone calling 911 while peeking from the bushes or something to make sure your kids are ok?

I agree that if she was going to shoot him for admitting an affair, it's simply unreasonable to think she'd pull a gun and shoot under those circumstances. It would be planned and she had no way of knowing that he was going to be pulling off like that, first of all. Second, she wouldn't be aiming for his leg...closer to the range of where his ass met the car seat and forward a few inches.

[JoDog]

15. What first gave me pause

was the entire "waterpark" story. Vaughn said that the family was going on a day trip to a waterpark near Springfield. The family lived in Oswego. There are several large waterparks that are closer, and would make much more sense for a day trip. Six Flags in Gurnee and the park near Rockford come to mind. However, to get to those parks, they would have driven through far more populated areas. On the road to Springfield, there's a lot of lonely, wide open roads. Perfect if want to do something and have no witnesses.