OBTAINING PUBLIC RECORDS The Peoples Right To Know. Wont listen to any other podcasts by this host. The podcast is currently on the second episode and has shown the case from the view of Chris Vaughn's supporters. Wtf would you blame the deceaseds mother! Vaughn's wife and children were never mentioned in the writings, but there was a reference to one of the exotic dancers. But not all entrance wounds produce back spatter. After visiting a new doctor who specialized in osteopathic medicine, Kim wrote that her new doctor told her, stopping the migraine medication will also help stop my anxiety . .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. The Will County State's Attorney's office originally sought the death penalty, which has since been abolished in Illinois. His family sounds narcissistic AF. 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. Doesnt make him some kind of hero. Flipboard. . Charles, Mo. Police had given him every opportunity to blame his wife, but he responded, There was no way she could have hurt the kids. This could be due to my lack of search skills. Out of all the True Crime ive seen and read about, somehow this one has slipped me. Plans changed when Chris landed a job with Chicago-based Navigant. Pacheco, a former Dr. Oz producer, has said Kimberlys family declined her requests for comment. On the case for four years, Chriss defense team, now preparing for trial, was yanked from the game. Murder in Illinois: With Lauren Bright Pacheco. On Thursday, she told the Sun-Times that rifts in the family contributed heavily to the public perception of Vaughns guilt.. I am interested in reading up on the case. . Initially, it was believed that he had unbuckled his wifes seat belt after he shot her. Hargon, 45 . Interviewed by detectives, the only memory Chris had was that Kimberly wanted him to pull off the highway because she was feeling nauseous, a symptom of her stress-induced migraine headaches. The parents of family annihilators have taken this tactic more times than I can count, but theyre rarely given a supportive, one-sided platform to air their grievances against their dead daughter-in-law (who is also the mother of their presumably beloved grandchildren). Dead. Like does that make her a bad person? (CBS), Christopher Vaughn, One symptom of experiencing a traumatic event is the freeze-response. His statement to police I froze is exactly what may have happened. No longer alive, Chris.'. 'Today I lost everything,' Vaughn says on the video, later referring to how tired he is. 1. What the actual?! Then the doctor was asked what the significance would be taking both medications Nortriptyline and Topamax together. Their claims of being judged by her family are pure projection. Elizabeth, another sister, and Jennifer, Kimberlys twin, were both there. Christopher Vaughn was convicted nine years ago for the murder of his wife and three kids, who were found shot to death inside the family's SUV, parked near Channahon in 2007. A Drug Hit. I felt like I needed some balance or to just clean my palate. Kim was slumped so I tried to buckle her. 'I'm really confused,' Vaughn says early in the interview with detectives. . His wife passed a certification course and practiced shooting at a Seattle range. 'The only thing I can think is that Kim somehow got a hold of my gun,' Vaughn said. The children were shot once in the head and once in the chest. . Vaughns family did not respond to a message seeking comment.
He said he wanted the family to be taken care of financially. The evidence was overwhelming and conclusive. 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. 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. Clutter, founder of Investigating Innocence, said a crime-scene reconstruction has shown Vaughn couldnt have unbuckled his wifes seat belt. 15:45 GMT 29 Aug 2012. Earnest Lee Hargon, 43, a former cattle truck driver and Michael Hargon's cousin, was charged Monday with capital murder in the deaths. She was stabbed. His wife, Kimberly, 34, was in the front passenger seat, slumped over the center console with a single contact gunshot wound under her chin. In 2007, Chris Vaughn was arrested during a funeral for his wife and three children. At some of the scenes where the Rhoden family was killed, investigators did find . On November 9, 1971, 46-year-old accountant John List killed his entire family in their Westfield, NJ, mansion. 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 . Angelo Ciaravino and Richard Zoller both have a way of getting their Mount Carmel teammates and the crowd fired up. The Oswego man, now 38, murdered his family in 2007 after pulling their SUV off Interstate 55 onto an isolated frontage road near Channahon on the way to what he said was a surprise trip to a Springfield water park. 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. After listening to family members semi deify him, I wanted to read the facts against the man. I thought to drive the truck. "Mr. Vaughn does not show his feelings or emotions to anyone under any circumstances," said attorney George Lenard. Compared with what I knew about Kimberly, yes, that would be a big change. Five years later, a jury found Chris guilty of murdering his family; today, he is incarcerated for four lifetimes. The Illinois State Police followed up by issuing subpoenas to her physicians requesting her medical records that may indicate suicidal or homicidal thoughts or impulses, or relating to Kimberlys prescriptions for and utilization of the drugs referred to as Topamax, Avapro, and Nortriptyline. She was taking Avapro for high blood pressure. Christopher Vaughn, whose wife and three children were found fatally shot in the family's sports utility vehicle June 14, in Channahon, Ill., is seen Friday leaving a funeral home after the visitation in St. Charles, Mo. 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? But there was one email she wrote to her husband on May 24, 2007, three weeks before her death that provides the best supporting evidence that she was experiencing dangerous side effects of her medications. The States Case However, a state police ballistic expert from ISP crime lab who was present when he made this remark disputed this chauvinistic assumption saying that her own hand was able to test fire the weapon with no difficulty. He allegedly murdered his family so he could move to a . 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. 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. TELL DR. PHIL YOUR STORY: Are you involved in a story making headlines? Approved by the FDA to treat epilepsy and seizures, Topamax has an off label use for the treatment of migraine headaches. 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. But Thursday, Waukegan defense attorney Jed Stone told the Sun-Times he recently signed on as lead counsel for Vaughn and has been looking down a number of avenues, all of which lead to actual innocence. Stone and another longtime investigator on the case, Bill Clutter, said they will start by seeking clemency for Vaughn this year from Gov. To this day he maintains no memory of what occurred on the day of the murders. DNA testing later invalidated a misinterpretation of blood stain evidence, which the State used to establish probable cause to arrest Chris. It's believed the killings began around 12:45 p.m., but they weren't discovered for nearly 12 hours. While prosecutors flashed grisly photos of his wife and three young children slumped dead and bleeding in the family SUV, Christopher Vaughn sat expressionless, calmly jotting notes. Police and EMS were both called, and both arrived at the scene. 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. That was really off putting. Chris revolver was lying on the floorboard near her feet. . 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. Murder of the wife and children in the suburbs, Kimberly. LBP should be ashamed of herself. It was a sickening feeling, as the architect of our defense experts and strategy, watching the case swirling around the toilet bowl. 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 away from the Ford Expedition he had been driving. "There can't be a more fitting end for him than that. This analysis of the crime scene evidence not only disproves the initial police theory that it was Chris who unbuckled the seat belt, but it helps to establish evidence supporting a defense theory that this was a murder-suicide committed by the wife. She was athletic and played volleyball. In 2007, Chris Vaughn was convicted of murdering his wife and 3 kids on the way to a waterpark in illinois. Caption: WICS. I was brought on to the case by a St. Louis criminal defense attorney with whom I had worked before. The CSI said he was persuaded by the physical evidence that this was a murder-suicide committed by the wife. His family, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8, were found dead, seated together in the rear passenger seat, each shot twice. The screening of his police interview video has been the most dramatic part of the second week of testimony at Vaughn's trial in Joliet, according to the Chicago Tribune. I opened my door, saw the gun Kim was holding and jumped into my seat to grab it. Watch with discovery+ 5. Weiss said he was haunted for a time by what he saw the day of the murders, struggling to sleep or concentrate. He also said there is no question [Vaughn] was wearing that jacket when he was shot contradicting the theory that Vaughn had wrapped the gun in the jacket. 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. "You could lock him up for 500 lifetimes and it would not compensate the victims in this case or the family members.". Were ready for anything that occurs, Glasgow said. To keep creating The fact it was either him or his wife that was the shooter. 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. If he isnt guilty why wasnt he looking for who did it? This could be due to my lack of search skills. When Vaughn's family was killed, he lost his three young children and his wife, making him the sole survivor. . His children, 12-year-old Abigayle . He was leading a dual life. You killed them. She then turned the gun on herself and fired. Christopher Vaughn, 32, is charged with eight counts of murder Christopher Vaughn, of Oswego, Illinois, is seen in his police interview declining to even say the names of his murdered three children and wife. I have read some of the flood of news articles following the Chris Vaughn trial. And if he married her, that was his choice. 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. See for yourself in the gallery of colorized vintage crime scene photos -- whether New York or elsewhere, whether gangland or other -- above. After hearing the evidence that supported our defense theory, he recruited a defense attorney to assist pro bono. I got to the road to get help.. The next night, Archie and his buddies went out in search of victim number one. His blood is on her side of the car. There's circumstantial evidence that he was unhappy and wanted to leave his family, his story is sketchy as hell (he knew what happened at first, and then he had amnesia? There is a transfer stain of blood on the inside of Kimberlys right thumb. The three children were each shot once in the head and once in the torso. On Saturday, Vaughn was arrested in St. Charles and charged with eight counts of. Christopher Vaughn, of Oswego, Illinois, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and three children on June 14, 2007. The Vaughn family murders in Illinois in 2007 have long divided those interested in the crimes. Prosecutors will continue playing portions of interviews with Vaughn today. That stripped away resources to defend Vaughn. He recommended we retain ballistics expert Lucien Haag. 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? It seems like the family was dead set on focusing on the negative with Kim and her family. He then fell 'head-first' out of the vehicle and stumbled down the road until he flagged down a passing motorist, he said. But the father does not respond. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 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. The bleeding man told the truck driver that he believed his wife had shot him. 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. Kimberly's father, Del Phillips, said the family never saw any sign that Christopher Vaughn was dangerous. Most likely from when he placed the gun at her feet. Kimberly suffered an angle-contact gunshot wound under her chin, records show. 2007 the Vaughn family- Christopher, his wife Kimberly and their three children . ', 'They're gone,' Vaughn answers, his head bowed. 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. "It crushes my heart," she said of being separated from her sister. His three children had each been shot twice, and his wife had a single gunshot wound under her chin. After the killings, Vaughn staggered off and flagged down a motorist who called the police. His defense team argued that Kimberly had killed the children and then herself. He did this so he could later claim Kimberly shot him and the three children before turning the gun on herself, and that he was lucky enough to be the only one to leave the SUV with his life, Mills said. Traces of his flesh and blood, and denim and polyester fibers consistent with the jacket and jeans were found on the bullet. Vaughn's initial statement revealed an outlandish story he would cling to during the course of his defense. Reviewing his statements, it was apparent that he had no memory of what happened to his family. whose wife and three children were found fatally shot in the His jacket had holes in it that suggested it was bunched around the gun when fired. Chriss 9mm Taurus handgun was found on the floorboard near her feet. I havent formed an opinion yet, but was looking to see what you guys think. Before the execution could be carried out, Earnest was stabbed 30-times by a fellow inmate at the state penitentiary. 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. I fell back out the door preparing to make another attempt. I am not sure how you get past this fact. She slumped toward the drivers seat and a river of blood flowed onto the center console, causing secondary spatter stains on the side of the drivers seat adjacent to the center console. 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