GUILTY IL - Kimberly Vaughn, 34, & 3 children slain, Channahon Twp, 14 June 2007

[opme]

His confession could be one of many things:

1. Another woman

2. Another woman expecting a child by him

3. He confessed he wasn't "in love" with her anymore and wanted a
divorce

4. He confessed he had been sexually abusing the kids (This scenario would be the one I would pick to make SENSE as to WHY she would have shot the children and herself...)

5. He confessed he was homosexual

6. He told her he quit his jobs and they were financially ruined

None of these would result in the wife shooting the children.. the husband certainly .. but not the kids. If that were the case she would not have stopped at one bullet for him.. she would have kept going until she had no more bullets.. and his "getting out of the car" wouldnt have made much of a difference.. she would have followed since he is the target of her anger/agression.. makes no sense the kids would have been shot regardless of what he told her. Secondly,she then pulls out a gun that just happened to be in the car for a trip to a waterpark? and for an anniversary get away? Not unless it was routinely kept in the car and was always loaded.

The husband confessed to something.. in the car? which would mean in front of the kids? at home before they left? if it was that bad she would never have agreed to go with him anywhere left alone on an anniversary trip.

Even several of these 'confessions" wouldnt be enough for this woman to hurt her children..based on the information coming from the family/friends/neighbors..

 

[Annie]

I think if he says he confessed something to her, it is something he knows is going to come out anyway. Maybe as he shot her, he confessed that he had a girlfriend and she is now history. IMO

 

[southcitymom]

I think if he says he confessed something to her, it is something he knows is going to come out anyway. Maybe as he shot her, he confessed that he had a girlfriend and she is now history. IMO

Exactly - it's either her motive or his, but he had to assume it would be found out.

 

[Lanie]

The only experiences I am aware of where a mother kills her children and then herself is when the woman is going to committ suicide and doesn't want to leave her children behind. I have yet to read one person saying Kimberly showed any signs of depression.
We drove to Colorado last year over Christmas, and we have a cloth luggage carrier we put on top of the car. My husband had to pull over a few times so we could tuck in straps, etc., and we either pulled over on the side of the highway, or checked the straps when we fueled or got something to eat.
I find it hard to swallow Ms. Vaughn, as described, would allow a gun to be in such easy access of her children. I also wonder how much resentment hubby might bear towards children, as it seems they got most of Mommy's time...
Just my opinion.

 

[southcitymom]

The only experiences I am aware of where a mother kills her children and then herself is when the woman is going to committ suicide and doesn't want to leave her children behind. I have yet to read one person saying Kimberly showed any signs of depression.
We drove to Colorado last year over Christmas, and we have a cloth luggage carrier we put on top of the car. My husband had to pull over a few times so we could tuck in straps, etc., and we either pulled over on the side of the highway, or checked the straps when we fueled or got something to eat.
I find it hard to swallow Ms. Vaughn, as described, would allow a gun to be in such easy access of her children. I also wonder how much resentment hubby might bear towards children, as it seems they got most of Mommy's time...
Just my opinion.

Susan Smith....Diane Downs...some woman in TX who burned her house down with her kids in it....to name just a few. I am not saying the mother in this case is guilty, but there are definitely non-mentally ill mothers who kill their kids.

It doesn't surprise me that a hunting/investigator household would have guns around. Ms. Vaughn may not have loved guns, but she was open enough to going to a shooting range and she had an interest in criminal justice.

If the kids grew up around guns and with gun safety being taught, a gun in the car might be SOP for them.

 

[dontpanic38]

I just felt like I had to jump in for a second.
First, I want to say that the facts of the whole situation are strange, but it has bothered me a little that pretty much everyone has concluded that he did it.
As a husband and a father, I cringed when I read some of the comments condemning him. IF it comes out that she did shoot her kids and herself, the guy just lost his WHOLE family!
I am not saying that he didn't do it, but stranger things have happened.

Like I said, I don't want to stir up the pot, but as far as I have seen no one has said that.

 

[Lanie]

Susan Smith....Diane Downs...some woman in TX who burned her house down with her kids in it....to name just a few. I am not saying the mother in this case is guilty, but there are definitely non-mentally ill mothers who kill their kids.

I agree Susan Smith and Diane Downs were not mentally ill, but they also did not kill themselves. I am referring to women who kill their kids and then themselves, not women who blame their children's deaths on random stranger killers, and/or claim they intended to kill themselves.

 

[southcitymom]

I just felt like I had to jump in for a second.
First, I want to say that the facts of the whole situation are strange, but it has bothered me a little that pretty much everyone has concluded that he did it.
As a husband and a father, I cringed when I read some of the comments condemning him. IF it comes out that she did shoot her kids and herself, the guy just lost his WHOLE family!
I am not saying that he didn't do it, but stranger things have happened.

Like I said, I don't want to stir up the pot, but as far as I have seen no one has said that.

Thanks for your opinion. Early on in this thread, I stated that I believe the husband until anything proves otherwise - and I still do. Based on what we know, it doesn't make any sense that either parent killed those kids.

But this is a sleuthing board where we constantly try to figure out things based on the information (never enough!) and life experiences that we have. There are lots of closed cases where husbands killed women and children that started similar to this one and there are a lot of things in this case that just don't make sense.

This case hinges on forensics and I do not believe that the evidence we have so far is overwhleming that the husband did this - not by any stretch of the imagination. Only time will tell.

 

[MagicRose99]

I just felt like I had to jump in for a second.
First, I want to say that the facts of the whole situation are strange, but it has bothered me a little that pretty much everyone has concluded that he did it.
As a husband and a father, I cringed when I read some of the comments condemning him. IF it comes out that she did shoot her kids and herself, the guy just lost his WHOLE family!
I am not saying that he didn't do it, but stranger things have happened.

Like I said, I don't want to stir up the pot, but as far as I have seen no one has said that.

I'm pretty amazed too at how quickly people jump to conclusions myself, even if the odds favor such. But, if you look through different threads, you'll find that it's the way it is in most of them. Unfortunately, it's human nature to guess and dissect with or without facts.

In this situation, I'm sitting neutral... waiting for more facts to come to light on this situation. However it turns out, the sad fact is that innocent children got caught in the middle of this whole thing. God bless their souls.

 

[southcitymom]

I agree Susan Smith and Diane Downs were not mentally ill, but they also did not kill themselves. I am referring to women who kill their kids and then themselves, not women who blame their children's deaths on random stranger killers, and/or claim they intended to kill themselves.

There was an earlier link on this thread with an article where two experts who have followed many many cases of woman killing their children and themselves made statements that supported your original post.

I do agree with you and them that there is a "norm" for women who kill their children and themselves. This feels a little different to me - I just don't feel convinced one way or another which parent did this. I'm not even sure a third party wasn't involved.

There's just not enough information for me personally to make a call.

 

[Lanie]

I just felt like I had to jump in for a second.
First, I want to say that the facts of the whole situation are strange, but it has bothered me a little that pretty much everyone has concluded that he did it.
As a husband and a father, I cringed when I read some of the comments condemning him. IF it comes out that she did shoot her kids and herself, the guy just lost his WHOLE family!
I am not saying that he didn't do it, but stranger things have happened.

Like I said, I don't want to stir up the pot, but as far as I have seen no one has said that.

I have not said it, because I believe his loss is at his own hand. If I had one shred of doubt he was responsible, I would be feeling very sorry for him. I felt very sorry for Russell Yates, Andrea's husband, even though I feel he bears some responsibility in what happened, but I do not now, nor will I ever feel sorry for Andrea. I am a wife and mother, but this has nothing to do with gender, at least not for me.

 

[pamlet]

I have to admit .. I go back and forth...

I thought I had a theory that she planned it ... I could see how they'd end up at the cell tower if she were directing .. reading the map .. but she already knew it was out there. If she pulled out the gun - he moved fast and just got hit in the leg .. and ran ..then she finished up doing what she was doing ...

Then the "confession" thing ... well if it had just happened .. she wouldn't have had time to plan... and the theory with her would have to have her planning it...

SO - I'm officially neutral (or is that sitting on the fence?!) :doh:

 

[Lola]

Diane Downs and Susan Smith killed their kids because they saw them as an impediment to their dream life with some man. I read this guy as being under financial pressure and not knowing how to cope -- a bit like the Mark Hacking case. In the convoluted mind, he tries to alleviate his stressors by getting rid of them. Sounds cold, but you'd have to be a one cold SOB to lure your family out to murder them under the guise of taking a vacation. I think LE knows it's him and are giving him time to bury his family and let the pressure build til he begins crumbling.

 

[fran]

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/435024,6_1_NA20_VAUGHN_S1.article

Father of slain family back in native Missouri
Relatives: Parents not capable of such violenceJune 20, 2007

By Lisa Donovan Chicago Sun-Times

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Christopher Vaughn, the suburban Chicago man who survived a shooting that claimed the lives of his wife and three children, was back in his native Missouri on Tuesday, where a church and congregation were preparing to remember the victims and help the family deal with an "unspeakable tragedy."

Dressed in a shirt, shorts, and ball cap, Vaughn emerged from his parent's suburban St. Louis home. His left arm apparently bandaged, he climbed into the passenger side of a beige metallic pickup truck and left without commenting.

A short time earlier, relatives who answered the door of the modest two-story home in O'Fallon, northwest of St. Louis, asked that a reporter respect the three "No Trespassing" signs planted on the rolling wooded lot around the residence.

Family and friends of the Vaughns say Kimberly Vaughn, second from left, wouldn't kill her children, Blake, left, Abby and Cassandra, before killing herself, though that's what her husband, Christopher, says is what happened in their SUV last week.

About 30 minutes away, in nearby St. Charles Christopher's in-laws also were asking for privacy in a case that is as mysterious as it is sad.

 

[fran]

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/435003,202NWS5.article

Father returns home for family's memorials

June 20, 2007
By Lisa Donovan Special to the Daily Southtown
Christopher Vaughn, who survived the shootings that killed his wife and three children, was back in his native Missouri on Tuesday, where a church congregation was preparing to remember the victims and help the family deal with an "unspeakable tragedy."

...............................snip........................

Police said either Vaughn or his wife is responsible for the killings. They have also said Vaughn isn't a suspect but have continued to question him.

Since the slayings, Susan Phillips, Kimberly's mother, and several family and friends have maintained that Kimberly couldn't kill her children. They've also said they don't believe Vaughn is capable of such violence.

The Vaughns and Phillips, both of the St. Charles area, said through representatives they're leaving the investigation to detectives in the Chicago area as they prepare to bury their loved ones in St. Charles -- where Kimberly and Christopher met, married and started their family.

 

[fran]

This 'alledged' confession CV said he had given to his wife prior to her shooting rampage reminds me of the SP case where Laci was "fine with it" about the other woman.:liar:

This guy knew that his wife wasn't the type of person to do this horrific act. During his numerous questionings by LE, they probably told him his story didn't make sense. So,...........he had to think of an 'excuse' for her actions. He probably brought up something he KNOWS LE is going to find out any way, which will turn out to be the motive.

IMHO, the 'motive' is going to be his, but he's trying to blame it on his wife.

You don't JUST get a college degree, be the type of mother who can't stand her child in pain, even to take out a 'splinter,' walk your kids to the bus stop each day, take a part time job so you can be home with the kids,..............and turn into a murderer and commit suicide.

No, I'm not on the fence here, I think he did it.

The forensics will tell the story.

OH, and who wants to bet a lawyers up now that he has the story out about his wife, and refuses to talk to LE from here on out?:silenced:

JMHO
fran

 

[less0305]

OH, and who wants to bet a lawyers up now that he has the story out about his wife, and refuses to talk to LE from here on out?:silenced:

JMHO
fran

AND now that he's run home to mommy. Yep, there will be a lawyer in his future real soon.

 

[kinsey milhoune]

--->>>Hello kinsey milhoune, welcome to the forum. My point was that IF IF this is a pre meditated murder, husband could have described the exit and the tower too, would that be a good assumption on my part? Describing to the shooter where to meet 'that' night. Actually husband could have taken the 'shooter' to the location in daylight to make sure the 'shooter' knew where to come etc. On the other hand the cell tower being near may in fact have not reasonable explanation other than that was where it was physically.

So the marina is about how far from where the car was, and I assume there would be water with which to 'clean up' IF IF the husband was the 'only' person involved in the murder, no other 'shooter' perp.

Do you have a dog? I guess I would be surprised IF IF LE did not search the area with a tracking dog, for disposed of gloves, clothes or whatever else might have been intimidating to the husbands involvement.
Have you had any rain since the murders? If not the gun powder residue should still be amenable to finding the scent.

I am also wondering where the family loaded up to leave their home? IF they loaded up in the garage, it is possible that the family may have been poisoned and 'loaded into the vehicle under cover of inside the garage.

So many questions and no answers from this rocking chair sleuth of 60 years standing. I became interested in crime and criminals at the age of 14.

.

Ok, I see your point, if someone had told someone to meet at the cell tower, yes I guess if you were looking for it at that exit you would easily see it.

We had heavy rain just this Monday nite, hadn't had any for almost a month previous, but hopefully the LE did all the searching of the area they had to, although it was not taped off very long!

The marina is maybe a half mile south of the tower, yes, I thought of him walking there & cleaning his hands of residue too. There is a bar at the marina & it would have been closed at that hour & the marina also, so no one around to see him. Like I posted, that whole area at that hour would be very dark & deserted!

 

[Camper]

I am guessing that LE will not press charges until AFTER the funerals.

For dontpanic38, WE don't know the motive. LE has his computer. Forensic work is ongoing.

After 60 years of interest in crime and criminals, this man looks guilty. Other more professional REAL LIFE criminals can are smart enough to MAKE this man look guilty as well. WE don't know if Vaughn stepped on some SPECIAL toes in his line of work. WOULD those people have known where the family was going at that hour of the morning, to a place not previously planned on going, and would 'they' have known he would pull off the main road and wind around and park in dense cover to kill EVERYONE except the toe stepper person? Well maybe, I personally would not bet my one dollar that this was the case.

WE don't jump to conclusions, we olde time Websleuthers - been here for ten years, walk around and make little footie prints here and there to see where it all leads.

IF IF organized crime did this, why would Vaughn come up with a lame excuse about his lovely wife doing it? He could get witness protection from LE, Larson the lead investigator on this case has FBI credentials. MAYBE that is the case here, MAYBE Vaughn has told a story to Larson like I just outlined on Organized Crime. We are talking about Chicago area here.

.

 

[kinsey milhoune]

The location is a puzzle to me ...

From Kinsey's account .. and from looking at the satellite photos it would appear to be difficult to "fall upon" the location.

If the husband did it then how does he explain that away? It is just such a weird place to stop.

IF (a HUGE IF) the wife planned it - I could almost see it - especially if she was giving directions and hollering about the thing on the roof... I wonder if she had a map on her lap? I guess I'm just trying to figure the location thing .. and trying to think of "reasons" to be right there.

Just trying to figure different scenarios...

I don't think it's that difficult to understand, it looked like a dark, small exit, he probably turned left off Bluff after he exited (onto this frontage road) cause it looks very dark, tree lined etc. & no houses or lights around. I DO think he stumbled on the small access road to the tower, it isn't very long just a few feet to the tower but very hidden in the trees, and just pulled in there.

He or whoever made the decision to pull into that small access to the tower, may have thought it went farther, or realized once they pulled in that it was quite secluded & the kind of place they were looking for. In the dark, you really can't tell it goes to the tower and that it's such a short road. From the ariel views the tower looks very visible, but it isn't from the road in the dark.

My theory is that someone in that car was looking for a dark area. That exit has no gas stations, nothing!!!! It isn't hard to see that if that is what you're looking for.