Man Charged in Shooting Deaths of Wife, Children in SUV

Jun 23, 04:00 PM

Current Headlines: CHICAGO _ Murder charges were filed Saturday 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 around 7 a.m. as he arrived at a funeral home in St. Charles, Mo., where the services for his wife Kimberly and three young children are being held Saturday. The Oswego man was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and authorities are preparing to bring him back to Illinois.

Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow said his office has 120 days to decide if they will seek the death penalty in the case.

"The crime scene was horrific," Glasgow said. "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.

Authorities allege that Vaughn used a handgun to kill his wife and children, who were found on June 14 in their Ford Expedition off a frontage road off I-55, about 45 miles southwest of Chicago. Kimberly Vaughn and her daughters Abigayle, 12, and Cassandra, 11 and their son, Blake, 8 were found shot to death inside the SUV.

Christopher Vaughn, 32, who was later found along the road by a passerby suffering from minor gunshot wounds, told police in the hours immediately after that he could not remember what happened to him and his family, sources told the Tribune. Vaughn said he knew only that he had been wounded and had gone for help, the sources said.

Each of the children, all in the back seat, had been shot twice, police said. Kimberly, in the passenger's seat, was shot once in the head, sources said.

Christopher Vaughn is being held without bond in the St. Charles County detention center, Glasgow said. He said his office will attempt to speed up the extradition process, starting Monday morning and are planning on asking for the assistance of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Glasgow declined to release a possible motive at a news conference this afternoon, but said a "plethora" of evidence was reviewed, including a 9-mm handgun found in the vehicle that police tracked back to Christopher Vaughn purchasing in the state of Washington.

"Everybody that has been involved in this case has been scarred," Glasgow said. "but we are hopeful that with the issuance of these charges that Kimberly Vaughn and her three beautiful children can truly rest in peace."

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(Chicago Tribune staff reporter Dan P. Blake contributed to this story.)

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