Christopher Vaughn's Lawyer Fails to Make it to Murder Case; Hearing Postponed
Missouri attorney representing Oswego man charged with murdering his entire family misses Tuesday's court appearance, further delaying nearly 4-year-old case.
Photos
A half-dozen relatives of slain mother Kimberly Vaughn made the five-hour trip from the St. Louis area to Joliet for a crucial hearing in the murder case against her husband, Christopher Vaughn.
But the lawyer for the allegedly murderous husband stayed back in Missouri, making the family's journey a waste.
Prosecutors were poised to push for emails written by Kimberly Vaughn to be used as evidence against Christopher Vaughn, 37, said Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney's Office.
But whether they were ready, Missouri attorney John Rogers was nowhere to be found, leading Judge Daniel Rozak to put off the hearing for at least a month.
Rozak scheduled a May 10 appearance for Vaughn at which lawyers for both sides will pick a date to hold the hearing on the admissibility of the emails.
"We were fully prepared to argue today, but Mr. Rogers was not present," Pelkie said Tuesday.
Rogers refused to discuss why he failed to appear for the hearing, hanging up the phone when asked why he was not there.
Christopher Vaughn was charged with gunning down his 34-year-old wife and three children — Blake, 8, Cassandra, 11, and Abigayle, 12 — while they sat in the family's sport utility vehicle on the Interstate 55 Frontage Road outside Channahon in June 2007.
Vaughn reportedly claimed to police that he escaped with a bullet wound to his leg when his wife shot him and the children before turning the gun on herself and taking her own life.
Police and prosecutors contend that Vaughn shot his own leg to lend credence to the story about his wife's killing spree.
Vaughn was taken into custody nine days after the killings. He was arrested at a St. Charles, MO, funeral home just before services for his wife and children were to start.
Rozak has sealed Vaughn's court file, including the prosecution motion to enter the emails as evidence. Pelkie said he could not comment on the contents of the emails from Kimberly Vaughn or disclose to whom they were written.
Steven Jack
8:06 pm on Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Please keep in mind folks that in our great country a person is innocent until proven guilty. Calling Christopher Vaughn a "murderer" or otherwise convicting him here only serves to make a terrible situation worse. Please refrain from such comments. Thank you so much.
nora
8:20 am on Sunday, April 17, 2011
Can't get anymore worse than murder. If it was your family gunned down you would not hesitate to call it murder.
Danielle Ackerman
3:00 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
Why be so righteous? if it were YOUR family I'd guarantee you would not write this comment. He was planning the funerals a week BEFORE he killed them. How do you explain this Steven Jack? Don't tell us to "refrain from such comments". You must be related to this monster.
kip
11:10 am on Sunday, April 17, 2011
I've personally met Chris and he was always a little off and controlling in many ways. This MURDER was not a stretch for him. The Dealth Penalty if still in effect would have been a good ending to a tragic story. My true feelings.
nora
12:24 pm on Sunday, April 17, 2011
An eye for an eye. Lets hope he has night-mares of his wife and children staring at him
oswegoannie
12:09 pm on Sunday, April 17, 2011
Lots of comments deleted. How terrible for Kimberly Vaughn's family that they had to make the very sad trip from MO for the start of this trial in vain, because Chris Vaughn's scum attorney is playing games with the legal system and was a no show. I hope if Rogers no-shows again that there are serious court sanctions for his unprofessional behavior.
trivialthings
9:46 pm on Sunday, April 17, 2011
They've had MORE than enough time to prepare for this trial. If his lawyer is a no show again or tries to delay the trial any longer the Judge, if he had ANY sense of decency and compassion for the victim's family, should set a FINAL COURT DATE for trial and lawyer or not it should proceed.
paige
2:37 pm on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
I personally know Kimberly's parents and have known Kimberly since she was a child in our church. Her parents have been very courageous in how they have handled this horrible nightmare. They deserve
better than this. Christopher Vaughn is a murderer and should have already been convicted. Sorry
Steven Jack, he is a murderer!!! If you had seen how nervous he was at his wife and children's visitation
you would have been convinced. He NEVER once looked at the FOUR caskets that were right in front of
him.
Randi
1:11 pm on Sunday, September 18, 2011
I have been following this trial from the beginning. Not only because it is a horrible story about a father killing his family, but because I personally knew the family. Abigayle was my best friend, and they were my next door neighbors for 4 years. Even though countless sleepovers at their house, knowing all of them personally, I still am convinced that Chris did it. Kim always kept the kids in play, making sure they did their homework before they were allowed to come outside and play, but there was always something off about Chris. He never seemed right to me. I will follow this case into the end, hoping that my beatfriend gets the justice that she deserves.
nora
9:51 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
MURDERER, MURDERER, MURDERER,MURDERER. HE DESERVES TO BE IN A CELL WITH THAT OTHER PIG DREW PETERSON