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News
Vaughn in Missouri jail—for now : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisVaughn in Missouri jail—for now
| Extradition hearing called a “bump in the road”
| by Tony Scott
| 6/28/2007
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An Oswego man charged with murdering his wife and three young children is now sitting in a Missouri jail as a “fugitive from justice,” and will stay there at least until late next month.
Christopher Douglas Vaughn was arrested by Illinois State Police around 7 a.m. Saturday morning at a St. Charles, Mo., funeral home, before a scheduled 1 p.m. memorial service for his dead wife and children.
Vaughn is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in connection with the murder of his wife, Kimberly, 34, and his three children, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8.
Vaughn was found by a passerby early on the morning of June 14 around 5:20 a.m. with a gunshot wound to his leg. Vaughn’s wife and children were found in his SUV parked along a cellular tower access road off Interstate 55 near Channahon, all dead of gunshot wounds. Kimberly was shot once, while the children were shot multiple times.
The charges, which could lead to the death penalty for Vaughn, were announced at a press conference last Saturday afternoon by Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, flanked by State Police investigators and state’s attorney staff.
There are two counts for each victim: one count for a “specific intent to kill” and the other for “knowingly doing an act to cause death or great bodily harm,” Glasgow said.
“We’re hopeful that with the issuance of these charges that Kimberly Vaughn and her three beautiful children can truly rest in peace,” Glasgow said.
However, Vaughn is challenging his extradition back to Illinois. Glasgow and the Illinois State Police have used what Glasgow called “unusual means” to get Vaughn back to Illinois, including a governor’s warrant signed by both Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.
The warrant was flown via State Police plane from Springfield to Jefferson City, Mo., on Monday afternoon. The warrant calls for the state police to arrest “fugitive from justice Christopher D. Vaughn from the proper authorities of the State of Missouri and to convey said fugitive to the State of Illinois... to be dealt with according to the law.”
On Saturday, Glasgow called efforts to challenge the extradition a “bump in the road.”
“Right now, we have a bump in the road; we have an extradition hearing to face,” he said. “But I guarantee you that we will spare no expense and no effort in getting him back here quicker than you can imagine.”
However, a judge Tuesday granted Vaughn’s attorney’s request to file a writ of habeas corpus request that will delay the extradition. A hearing on the request is set for July 25 at 9 a.m. in St. Charles County, Mo., according to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas.
“Defense counsel had requested additional time to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus, which the judge gave him.” Banas said Tuesday. “In between that time, frankly, there’s not much that’s going to happen. He’s going to remain in custody of the St. Charles County Department of Corrections.”
Vaughn is represented by Missouri attorney David Waltrip, who was unable to be reached as of press time. Vaughn is being held in the St. Charles County Adult Detention Facility, State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich said.
In a statement Tuesday, Glasgow said he was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision.
“Jack Banas informed me personally this morning that Mr. Vaughn’s attorney indicated he intends to file a writ of habeas corpus, and that will delay extradition,” Glasgow said Tuesday. “While I am disappointed the next scheduled hearing is nearly a month away, it remains an absolute certainty that Mr. Vaughn eventually will be returned to Illinois to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder.”
Charges filed, ‘painstaking
effort’ by investigators
Glasgow said he prepared the written order for the charges late Friday evening around 10 p.m., and met with Dobrich and 12th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen White an hour later to obtain a warrant for Vaughn’s arrest.
Glasgow said, “There was a plethora of evidence that had to be combed through” before he decided to file the charges.
Police had collected computer equipment and other electronic equipment from Vaughn’s home at 711 Mansfield Court in Oswego. Police also recovered a gun from the crime scene, a Taurus PT92 AFS 9mm handgun that was purchased by Vaughn in Washington state, where the couple lived before moving to the Oswego area last year. Vaughn had a firearm owner’s identification (FOID) card for the gun, Glasgow said.
Vaughn was arrested early the following morning, and did not resist when arrested, Glasgow said.
“All we can say about his demeanor is that he did not resist. It was a peaceful apprehension,” he said.
Asked why he didn’t wait until after the funeral services to arrest Vaughn, Glasgow said he had to “act quickly” since Vaughn was in another state.
“The moment that I have probable cause and believe that I can prove my case, then I move forward,” Glasgow said. “We have an individual who is not in my state, and so I had to act quickly to make sure an apprehension was made.”
Glasgow acknowledged that Vaughn could face the death penalty if convicted. The prosecutor has 120 days to make the announcement of whether he plans to seek the death penalty in this case. He said it qualifies as a death penalty case under Illinois law because two or more people were murdered.
“This is a potential death penalty case; this is a very sobering decision we have to make,” he said. “The court will look, at the sentencing phase, at what type of life a defendant lives, in determining whether or not it’s warranted. So we have to give very careful consideration that we have the evidence that we need to ethically and lawfully pursue the death penalty in this case. And we will make that announcement as quickly as we can.”
Both Glasgow and Dobrich thanked investigators and forensics lab staff for working on the case.
“The evidence in the case consists of numerous interviews of various individuals, the forensic evidence that was collected. It was a very painstaking effort,” Glasgow said. “The Illinois State Crime Lab does a phenomenal job, but they are serving a very large metropolitan area with numerous police departments requesting various analyses, from gun residue to DNA. They were able to expedite some of those results which contributed to these charges today.”
Glasgow also thanked Dobrich and State Police Capt. Kenneth Kaupas for their work on the case.
“There are no roadblocks with these guys,” he said. “Anything that I suggested needed to be done, got done, and they didn’t even ask why. They just trusted.”
Asked why the police and state’s attorney staff worked above and beyond on the case, Glasgow said those who worked on the investigation “have been scarred.”
“Everyone who came in contact with this case was moved by what they saw,” he said.
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