Feb. 17, 2025

Kimberly and Christopher Vaughn - Part 1

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In the early hours of Thursday, June 14, 2007, just before sunrise, 32-year-old Christopher Vaughn was found limping along a rural road near Channahon, Illinois searching for help after he had sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to his left thigh and left wrist. Vaughn, a devoted husband to his wife, Kimberly, 34, and a loving father to their three children—12-year-old Abigayle, 11-year-old Cassandra, and 8-year-old Blake—flagged down a passerby at 5:18 a.m. and asked him to call 911. Tragically, when the police arrived on the scene, they discovered Kim and the three children were brutally slain inside the family’s red 2004 Ford Expedition SUV, parked on a service road just off Interstate 55. The devastating tragedy raised one important question. Which parent killed their beautiful, young children? Did this loving mother kill her family and then turn the gun on herself or did Chris Vaughn attempt to cover up his own unthinkable crime?

Listen to both parts today on Patreon.

Today's snacks: Motor City Pizza Company frozen pizza and Gino's Frozen Deep Dish pizza

Sources:

WEBVTT

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Hi. I'm Tina, and I'm Rich. And if there's one

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thing we've learned and over twenty years of marriage.

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It's that some days you'll feel like killing your wife, and.

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Some days you'll feel like killing your husband.

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Welcome to love, Mary Kill, Hi Rich, Hi Tina.

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How are you?

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I'm doing good? How are you?

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I'm great? So it is February eighth that we're recording this,

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and the super Bowl is happening tomorrow.

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Sure is?

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Do you want to give a prediction?

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I just don't care.

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Oh wow, not at all.

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No I do, I do. I'm just still win. I

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think the Chiefs will win.

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Do you think so?

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Yes, I think they'll win handily.

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Do you think that Travis will propose to Taylor after

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the game?

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You know, I hadn't even considered that possibility, but now

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that you mentioned.

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It would be the only reason I would watch.

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Happened like at halftime during the halftime show, I don't

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even know.

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Hendrick Lamar.

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That sounds right.

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And it's almost Valentine's Day.

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It sure is.

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Thank you in advance for the lovely gift.

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Yeah, you're welcome. I think you know what it is already.

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I'm making you Macarone.

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Oh, and you bought me flowers today when you went

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to the grocery store, which was very nice of you.

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You're making a face like it wasn't that nice. Not

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sure what the face.

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Well, I thought that maybe possibly you bought me flowers

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because you knew we were recording today and you wanted

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me to say on air that, oh, I have the

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best husband. He bought me flowers today.

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Is not true at all. That's a very cynical view

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of things. I was at the store and I was

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thinking about my beautiful, lovely wife, and I happened to

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see flowers. I thought I should get some flowers.

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I don't want to air our dirty laundry. But you

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did kind of get in trouble recently for something, nothing major,

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but so I think that was maybe a little repentance.

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Not sure about that.

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So you are making macarones.

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Yeah, com and he is having a virtual macarone baking

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class this week, why, just for fun. Well, my company's

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based in France, as you know. So they're having this

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company that it's called the Little French Bakery. They're here

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in the US, but they do baking classes. So we'll

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see how they turn out.

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How long is that class slated for?

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I have two hours?

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Oh wow, yeah, that's a lot. That's a long time.

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Yeah, so Thursday night, I'll be that's that night. I

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think Thursday night. Yeah.

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Oh okay. So you have to take time out of

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your personal time to do the class.

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Yes, and it was voluntary, totally voluntary. But I thought

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it would be fun.

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I have never made macarons before. It just seems like

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too much trouble for one bite.

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It does seem like a lot of words.

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But I think they're delicious. I can't. I'm sure you're

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gonna do great, baker.

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Yeah, I hope they turn out. Okay, I'm a little worried.

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But there's a lot of nuances.

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Yeah, it seems like it. And there's cream cheese and

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the recipe too, so oh not too excited about that flavor.

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Did you decide what flavor you're making?

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No, I don't know.

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Okay, well, speaking of snacks and food, I did so.

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I'm from Chicago, you're from Detroit, and today's case takes

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place in Chicago, and I wanted to solve something once

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and for all. What is better Detroit style or Chicago style?

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Pizza? Are you talking about pizza.

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Talking about pizza, Well, the answer is Detroit style. Okay, Well,

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I'm glad that you're keeping it open mind. Will you

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try to keep an open mind when you sample these

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two pizzas. They're both frozen. I was gonna get like

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gold Belly and I have one shipped in from Chicago.

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But they do sell a Chicago style frozen pizza in

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our grocery store and the Detroit style that we get

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at Costco. And I know that you love this frozen pizza.

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It is the best frozen pizza I think in the world.

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It is MotorCity pizza we get at Costco and it's

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really good. But the other one is from Gino's Gino's.

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East classic Chicago style pizza.

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So try to keep an open mind, all right, I'll

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do my best. What did you think?

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I think as far as frozen pizza goes, they're both

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very good. But I do like the Detroit style a

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little bit better. I think in real life though, like pizza,

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you know, not frozen pizza, I definitely prefer Detroit style

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over Chicago style. Well, I just think Chicago style is

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like too it's too thick, it's too much.

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Like you do have one place near US that does

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Chicago style the Anthony's Pizza. They're both similar pizzas. They

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both have a thicker crust, and they both have probably

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more cheese than you would have on a pizza. Both

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typically have the sauce on top, like not the sauce

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isn't under the cheese, it's over the cheese cheese, although

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on this frozen pizza, the sauce is under the cheese.

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This frozen pizza, I would have to give it to

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the Detroit style too. I think in real life I

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would choose Chicago style.

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I'm just surprised Detroit style pizza hasn't caught on nationwide

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because I really do think it's pretty amazing.

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What do you think is so amazing?

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It just got a really good flavor to it. It's

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something about the crust and the type of cheese and

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kind of the caramelization of the crust. It's just I

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don't know something about I don't know exactly what it is.

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The Toroy style crust is different. It was originally baked

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in an auto parts tray, some sort of tray, and

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it's almost like a focaca bread on the bottom. Because

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I think there's a fair amount of oil in it

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and it gets.

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Crispier, right, Yeah, I think so.

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So it's square and Chicago style are usually round and

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they usually have a lot of cheese, very very thick. Yeah,

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you like you're an expert, Like you've had so much

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Chicago style pizza and you're a little.

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Fair amount in my life, not as much as you.

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But I can't say enough about the Motor City Pizza Company,

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the frozen pizza that we get at Costco. Recently, I

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got it at Meyer and it wasn't as good because

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the one that you get from Costco has the little

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chunky bits of pepperoni and circle pepperoni. The one admirer

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didn't have the other pepperonis. So if you have a

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Costco membership, definitely get it there. So what would you

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rate both of those?

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I'd give the the Detroit style eight out of ten,

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the Chicago Style seven out of ten.

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If it were Buddi's pizza, you would probably give it

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a t Like a fresh Buddy, you would give it

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ten nights, Yeah, for sure. In defense of the Gino's pizza,

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there was a quick cook method where you put it

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in the microwave for six minutes and then you put

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it in the oven, and I did that, and it

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probably would have been better had I cooked it for

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the fifty five minutes or whatever.

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Don't take shortcuts people.

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Yeah, well it was on the box. I was like,

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But anyway, I think they were both great. Today, I'm

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going to tell you the story of Kimberly and Christopher Vaughan.

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Thank you to our listener Kyle for recommending this case.

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Today's case involves death of young children and discussion of suicide.

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Please listen with care. If you are ready to leave

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father and mother and brother and sister and wife and

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child and friends and never see them again. If you

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have paid your debts and made your will and settled

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all your affairs, and I are a freeman, then you

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are ready for a walk. A pome by Henry David

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Throw found on Christopher Vaughn's laptop on June fourteenth, two

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thousand and seven. The Vaughan family, Chris thirty two, his

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wife Kim thirty four, and their three children, twelve year

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old Abigail, eleven year old Cassandra, an eight year old Blake,

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woke up early in their home in Oswego, Illinois for

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a day of family fun Oswego, about an hour south

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west of Chicago, with a population of thirty five thousand,

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had been home for the family of five for a

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little more than a year. The weather that day called

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for his sizzling temperatures near ninety degrees with oppressive humidity,

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unseasonably warm for Illinois. In mid June, Christopher Vaughan took

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the day off work to surprise his wife and children

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with a day trip to Knight's Action Park and Caribbean

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Water Adventure in Springfield, Illinois, a three hour, twelve minute

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drive from their home. Chris had worked late the previous

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night and only slept for a few hours while wearing

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his clothes from the previous day. The family of five

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hit the road before the sun was up between four

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thirty and four forty five a m. So they would

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be back to Oswego later that afternoon for Abbey's soccer practice.

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She was a star goalie who had just been invited

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to join a travel team.

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Can imagine getting kids up at four thirty in the morning.

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I guess if you're going to do something fun easy.

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Honestly, that was my first thought too, Yeah, or if

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you got me up and was like, hey, let's get

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the water park. It's four am. The last thing eleven

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year old Sandy asked her dad was if she had

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to brush her hair. Before they left, Chris and Kim

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packed towels, swimsuits, sunscreen, and a cooler with snacks and drinks.

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Kim brought along two books to read during the long

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road trip. One snuggled into the car with their blankets

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and stuffed animals. The children all fell back to sleep curiously.

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The water park didn't open until ten am. The Vonnds,

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if unencumbered with any extra stops, would arrive by eight am,

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two hours early. Shortly after they got on the road,

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Kim felt nauseous and asked Chris to pull over. Kim

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took medication for migraines that sometimes upset her stomach. Chris

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exited Interstate fifty five and drove south on the Bluff

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Road exit. Had he turned north on Bluff Road, there

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was a subdivision with more lighting, but to the south

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it was dark, isolated, and wooded. Chris pulled onto an

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isolated gravel cell tower access road in Shanahan Township, about

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forty minutes from their house. They were in will County

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near Juliette. The sun hadn't yet risen, and the short

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road was really more of like a driveway, was shrouded

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in darkness, with trees obscuring the view from the road.

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While Kim tried to steady herself, Chris checked the tires

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on the roof lugagrack that had been rattling during the drive.

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When he opened the door to re enter the suv,

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he noticed blood dripping from his leg and his left hand.

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He was confused why he was bleeding. He tumbled out

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of the suv, disoriented. I need help, he thought to himself.

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He had no memory of being shot or hearing a gun.

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He just knew that he was bleeding. Chris fled the

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vehicle and limped along the road looking for help. He

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walked about a football fields distance when he flagged down

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a man in a black pickup truck at five eighteen

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a m. Sunrise that day was at five fourteen a m.

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I always feel like a detective when I'm like, when

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was the sunrise that I could go back to weather

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dot com or whatever. He asked the man to call

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the police. Chris had walked less than three hundred feet

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from the Ford expedition and didn't seem to have a

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sense of urgency even though his life was potentially in danger.

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So he's standing outside of his car with his family

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in the car, and he suddenly realizes he's bleeding, And

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probably he.

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Didn't realize he was bleeding until he got back into

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the car, Okay.

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But either way, and then he just like he just

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leaves his family there to go look for help.

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Yes, okay, he doesn't know the state of anyone else.

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Okay, seems very odd.

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Kim and Chris's cell phones were in the Vaughn's suv,

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so it's unclear why didn't he just use one of

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them to call nine to one one himself. The man

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in the pickup truck asked Chris if he'd been in

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a motorcycle accident. A dazed and confused Chris said, no,

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I think my wife just shot me.

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Hmm, he thinks his wife shot him. The story is

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00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.919
not adding up at all for me so far, but

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I'm sure I'll learn more.

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00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.919
I'm most baffled at this point why he didn't use

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his own cell phone and why he has a vehicle.

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Why didn't he just drive his vehicle to help?

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Yeah.

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Kimberly Ellen Phillips was born on December twelfth, nineteen seventy two,

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in San Antonio, Texas, to Susan and Dell Phillips. Kim

247
00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:16.360
grew up with her twin sister, Susan Jennifer, and an

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older sister, Elizabeth Nicole, in Saint Charles, Missouri, a suburb

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of Saint Louis with the population of about seventy thousand.

250
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Her mother was a high school teacher and her father

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was an attorney. Kim was bright, friendly and warm. She

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00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:32.039
made friends easily and was well liked. She was active

253
00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.200
in high school. She played volleyball and was in Key Club,

254
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pep Club, choir, and other activities.

255
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What is Key Club?

256
00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.600
Well, I'm glad you asked. Rich. Key Club members around

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the world are learning how to lead and stand for

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what's right through service and volunteerism. In partnership with their

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00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:50.639
local Kawanis Club. High school students are making a positive

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impact as they serve others in their schools and communities.

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It's a growing organization with global reach. With hundreds of

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clubs in forty five countries. The impact of Key Clubs

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can be felt all over the world.

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It's weird that you knew that right off the top

265
00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:04.960
of your head Yeah.

266
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Kim graduated in nineteen ninety one and went off to college.

267
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The importance of education and lifelong learning had always been

268
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underscored to Kim and her siblings. Christopher Douglas Vaughn was

269
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born on September twenty sixth, nineteen seventy four, in Indiana.

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He also grew up in Saint Charles, Missouri, with his parents,

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Gail and Pierre or Pete. Chris was the oldest of

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00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:27.960
three boys. Eric was thirteen months behind Chris, and Adam

273
00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:30.799
came four years later. The Vaughans were a close knit

274
00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:34.960
family who enjoyed sports and outdoor activities, especially fishing. Chris

275
00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.399
attended Francis Howell High School. He played soccer and was

276
00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.440
a member of the National Honor Society. Chris was never

277
00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.279
one to seek out the spotlight. Quiet and reserved, he

278
00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.360
preferred to blend into the background, but he wasn't a loner.

279
00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.720
In high school, he steered clear of serious relationships, but

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00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.639
he didn't mind a little attention from girls, enjoying the

281
00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:57.600
occasional flirtation without ever getting too attached. He graduated in

282
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nineteen ninety three. The summer after graduate, Chris and his

283
00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:04.240
brother worked at the local miniature golf course and driving range.

284
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One night when Chris wasn't working, his brother met a

285
00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.639
friend of a friend, Kim Phillips, for the first time.

286
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.039
With her quick wit, bright smile, and bubbly personality. Chris's

287
00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:17.120
brother was immediately taken with Kim, but quickly realized she

288
00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:19.080
was too old for him, but thought she might be

289
00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:21.039
a great match for Chris and help him out of

290
00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:23.919
his shell. You've got to meet this girl, he urged

291
00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:24.639
his older brother.

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00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.279
I'm not buying this story. Would I just don't think

293
00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.039
a guy would be like, Oh, she's too old for me,

294
00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.600
So I'm gonna introduce her to my brother.

295
00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:36.919
Kim was two years older than Chris, so she's at

296
00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:40.159
least three years older than the brother. She probably wouldn't

297
00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:42.919
have been interested in him. When Chris and Kim met,

298
00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:46.120
they had an instant connection. Before long, they were spending

299
00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:49.279
most of their free time together. Chris's parents were unhappy

300
00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.559
about the new relationship and hoped it was just a

301
00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.840
summer fling. They didn't want anything to get in the

302
00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.759
way of his studies. But at summer's end, when Kim

303
00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.480
and Chris both went to their respective colleges, they were

304
00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:03.320
determined to maintain their relationship. Chris attended the University of

305
00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:07.240
Missouri Rolla to study electrical engineering. It was a big

306
00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.440
deal because he was the first member of the Vaughan

307
00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.360
family to attend college. His grades were not great his

308
00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:15.399
first semester, and his parents blamed his relationship with Kim

309
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.720
Dell Phillips. Kim's dad didn't mind driving Kim to see

310
00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:21.320
Chris on the weekends. The Vaughns are upset about this

311
00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:25.000
arrangement as Chris's grades nos dive further. At the end

312
00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.080
of Chris's first year of college, Kim became pregnant. They

313
00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.399
both decided to drop out of college and get married.

314
00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:34.159
On the Murder in Illinois podcast, Gail Vaughan said, quote,

315
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:37.279
Chris was her night in shining Armor and solved all

316
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.120
of her problems for her. Gail Vaughan, Chris's mom like

317
00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:44.039
a lot of the other moms that like Chris Wats's mom,

318
00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.600
and she's just one of those mothers that her son could,

319
00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:51.159
her son can do. And the podcast Murder in Illinois

320
00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:56.440
is basically told from the Vaughn's perspective, and it was

321
00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.360
hard for me to listen to because they talk about

322
00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:02.759
Chris in like these glowing ways, how Kim wasn't worthy

323
00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.639
of him and she and she kind of ruined his life.

324
00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.000
Neither said of parents were thrilled about them dropping out

325
00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:12.639
of college, but Chris knew he could be successful without

326
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.840
a college degree. They were married on June seventeenth, nineteen

327
00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.840
ninety four. Kim was twenty one and Chris was nineteen.

328
00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.360
Abigail Elizabeth was born on December fifteenth, nineteen ninety four.

329
00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.120
The young family lived with Kim's parents until they could

330
00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:29.279
afford a place of their own. This arrangement caused tension

331
00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:32.559
between the Phillips and Vaughan families. Chris's parents thought the

332
00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:35.559
Phillips were preventing them from seeing their grandchild. On the

333
00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:39.080
Murder in Illinois podcast, Pierre Vaughan, Chris's father called Del

334
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.440
Phillips an ambulance chaser. He said, quote Kimberly's people are

335
00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:46.919
bookworms and college people. They've never camped or hiked. They

336
00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.720
weren't outdoors people at all. They were professional students. Kim

337
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.159
was very sheltered. Chris was building his resume while Kim

338
00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.639
stayed home with Abby. He frequently changed jobs, searching for

339
00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:01.480
higher pay and better titles, and Ellen was born fifteen

340
00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.600
months after her sister, on March twelfth, nineteen ninety six.

341
00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:08.240
Later that summer, the Vaughns bought a newly constructed home

342
00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:12.200
in Saint Peter's, Missouri. On April nineteenth, nineteen ninety nine.

343
00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:16.039
Blake rounded out the family. Kim was an active, devoted mother,

344
00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:20.200
while Chris worked long hours. Neighbors commented on how sweet

345
00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:22.320
and polite the children were and what a loving mother

346
00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.360
Kim was, but Chris was less popular. He could be

347
00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:29.039
blunt and unpleasant, unafraid to confront a neighbor over minor issues.

348
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.360
When people met Kim and Chris, they thought they were

349
00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:34.919
a mismatched pair, but they seemed happy together. One neighbor

350
00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:37.840
had a more favorable opinion of Chris, quote, he is

351
00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:41.039
a great guy, very active, very loving. The neighbors said

352
00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:43.399
that Kim loved to cook and read, and everything centered

353
00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:46.960
around her kids and their activities. Quote, she was just

354
00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.679
a very spirited and energetic person who loved life. She

355
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.080
was very talkative, social and got along with everyone.

356
00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.120
In June two thousand and one, the Vaughan family moved

357
00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.759
from their native Missouri to Samamish, Washington. Less than ten

358
00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:05.279
miles from Microsoft headquarters. Chris got his private investigator's license

359
00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.920
and started a company, Stonebridge Security, which specialized in identifying

360
00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.480
computer fraud and preventing and investigating cybercrimes.

361
00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.920
I was surprised that that took a private investigator's license.

362
00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.839
Yeah, that is kind of unusual. Probably a good combination though.

363
00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:20.480
Yeah.

364
00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.319
His business did well and he quickly gained several clients.

365
00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:27.200
Neighbor Kelly Taylor said, quote, Christopher was very well known

366
00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:29.359
for being good at what he did because there were

367
00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.079
not a lot of those kinds of people out there. Unquote.

368
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:35.119
Another neighbor got a bad vibe from Chris. Quote he

369
00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.839
was a little bit for my taste, domineering, some would say, controlling,

370
00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:42.359
kind of old fashioned. Hello, it's six o'clock dinner. I

371
00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.559
don't see my dinner on the table. And then he'd

372
00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:46.680
kind of snicker like he was kidding, but I knew

373
00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:51.920
he wasn't kidding. It's just like you, so much like me.

374
00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.960
Another neighbor said, quote, he walks with a swagger. Kimberly

375
00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.119
and Christopher made an odd couple. She was an abuliant

376
00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:02.640
social butterfly with a million dollar smile. He was taciturn

377
00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.839
withdrawn and occasionally given to angry confrontations.

378
00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:07.599
That neighbor had a good vocabulary.

379
00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:10.599
Yeah, Kim wanted a career, but Chris urged her to

380
00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:13.480
stay home with the children. As a compromise, she took

381
00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.640
classes in criminal justice at the University of Phoenix, an

382
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:20.279
online college. In two thousand and five, Chris was recruited

383
00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:24.359
by Navigant Consulting to join their computer forensics group in Chicago.

384
00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.440
That summer, the Vaughns sold their home in Washington for

385
00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.079
a one hundred and twelve thousand dollars profit and moved

386
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:33.079
to a townhouse in Aurora, Illinois. While they waited for

387
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.759
their new home they'd purchased in Oswego to be built,

388
00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:38.799
a neighbor in their complex complained of hearing arguing and

389
00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:39.599
door slamming.

390
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:42.880
I think that Chris also continued to run his business

391
00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.079
out of their apartment, but it's unclear what happened to

392
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.599
the company, but by December two thousand and six, he

393
00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:51.160
did not renew the business license. Washington State claims that

394
00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:53.480
Chris still owes them back taxes.

395
00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:57.880
Chris's job with Navigant required him to travel frequently, usually

396
00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.480
to Utah, Washington, or Mexico. Neighbors said he would leave

397
00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:03.519
on Tuesday and return home on Sunday.

398
00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.279
Do you think it's odd that he would come home

399
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.200
on Sunday? Usually come home on a Thursday or a Friday.

400
00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.440
I mean, yeah, for most businesses, they run Monday through Friday.

401
00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:15.079
So though possibly he was installing software over the weekend

402
00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:15.799
or something like that.

403
00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.200
Certainly possible, yeah, but I would say unusual. His parents

404
00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:21.519
said that he earned a salary of two hundred thousand

405
00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.119
dollars a year, plus bonuses.

406
00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:25.319
When I learned that, I thought that seemed like an

407
00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:28.279
awful lot of money for someone who's thirty years old,

408
00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:29.839
it doesn't have a college degree.

409
00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:31.960
Yeah, that seems like a huge salary for that.

410
00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.920
Yeah, it adjusted for inflation, it would be three hundred

411
00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:37.799
and twenty thousand dollars a year. Do you think that

412
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:39.680
salary seems really high?

413
00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.480
That seems really unlikely to me for the job that

414
00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:45.240
he was doing. I mean, I work in the IT industry.

415
00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:47.839
I've worked in the IT industry for a long time.

416
00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:50.839
Certainly possible if you had your own business, but I

417
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.119
wouldn't think he'd be making that much money for a

418
00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.200
consulting firm at that point. In May two thousand and six,

419
00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:58.880
the Vaughns moved into their new thirty three hundred square

420
00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:00.720
foot home with four bead rooms and two and a

421
00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.799
half baths in Oswego, Illinois. They took out two mortgages

422
00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:07.200
to pay for the four hundred and seventeen thousand dollars

423
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.160
home that would be six hundred and fifty thousand dollars today.

424
00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:13.039
One mortgage was for three hundred and thirty three thousand

425
00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.680
dollars and the other one was for eighty three thousand.

426
00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:18.480
They put almost no money down, even though they'd made

427
00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.200
a large profit on their home in Washington. Although there

428
00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:24.079
didn't seem to be any signs of financial trouble, Kim

429
00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.680
was immediately well liked and a favorite with the neighbors.

430
00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:29.279
After their move to their new house in the gated community,

431
00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:32.599
she worked as a substitute para professional at the children's

432
00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:35.960
school and also at their subdivision clubhouse and pool while

433
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.359
she continued to take classes. Days before her death, on

434
00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:42.559
June ninth, Kim walked in a graduation ceremony with her

435
00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:46.599
University of Phoenix classmates. She received a blank diploma because

436
00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:48.720
she still had a couple of credits to finish but

437
00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:51.880
Kim was very proud of her accomplishment. The last known

438
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.920
picture of the Vaughan family is from the ceremony. Kim

439
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:57.680
is beautiful and beaming in her cap, black robe and

440
00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:01.519
purple sash, surrounded by her sweet children, while Christopher is

441
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.960
wearing sunglasses, looking aloof and unenthused to be there.

442
00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:07.079
Do you remember I showed you the picture and I

443
00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:09.440
was like, does this guy look like a real douche

444
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:09.680
to you?

445
00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.920
Oh? Yeah, side too, remember that? And yes he did.

446
00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:15.200
Although he had taken her out to dinner and a

447
00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:18.359
movie the night before to celebrate, and after the ceremony,

448
00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.319
there was a little surprise party for Kim.

449
00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:23.000
On the night of June thirteenth, two thousand and seven,

450
00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:25.920
Kim and Chris had their neighbors over for dinner. Earlier

451
00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:29.279
that day, Kim had taken Sandy to camp Invention, gone

452
00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:32.680
grocery shopping, worked at the clubhouse, taken the kids swimming,

453
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:35.720
and then came home to start cooking. Everyone who saw

454
00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:39.119
Kim that day said she seemed happy, upbeat, and excited

455
00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:41.960
for a week and away with Chris. Chris worked that

456
00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.279
day before heading to the shooting range. Grainy footage shows

457
00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:48.839
him wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a fleece jacket, an

458
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:52.519
unusual choice given the sweltering heat outside and the even

459
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.400
higher temperatures inside the shooting range. When Chris got home,

460
00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:59.359
he didn't shower or change He placed his unloaded gun

461
00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:02.319
in its path case in his closet before he fired

462
00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.839
up the grill to cook steaks for dinner for their neighbors,

463
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.480
the Andreliks, their closest friends in the neighborhood. Later, when

464
00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:11.680
the Andreliks testified in court, they said Kim and Chris

465
00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.000
never mentioned any plans to go to a water park

466
00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:17.279
the next day. After their guests left, Kim stayed up

467
00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:20.359
working on school work until about eleven PM before she

468
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.559
headed to bed, and records from the University of Phoenix

469
00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:26.880
confirmed this time. Chris worked most of the night. He

470
00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:28.920
said he took a nap for a few hours, but

471
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.200
never actually went to bed. Around four am, he woke

472
00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:34.079
up his family and told them they were going to

473
00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.680
the water park for the day. Despite his late night

474
00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.519
and the warm temperatures, Chris never changed out of the

475
00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:42.160
clothes that he had worn since the previous day. I

476
00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.319
know I keep talking about what he's wearing, but I

477
00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:48.680
think it's important. Okay. So, yeah, Chris was wearing jeans,

478
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.039
cowboy boots, a long sleeved t shirt, and a fleece jacket.

479
00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:52.839
Interesting.

480
00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.319
Where were they going, Yeah, to a water park.

481
00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:57.880
And the implication too that they didn't tell the neighbors

482
00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:00.160
anything about going to a water park the next day

483
00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:02.519
is that Kim maybe didn't know about it. Like it

484
00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:05.039
was like he it was a surprise from Chris that

485
00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:07.480
he woke them up at four am and said, hey.

486
00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.160
It wasn't something that they had planned.

487
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:09.519
Okay.

488
00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.240
On June fourteenth, two thousand and seven, the man in

489
00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:15.000
the black pickup truck, John Spear, put Chris in his

490
00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.160
truck and applied pressure to his leg wound while he

491
00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:21.200
called nine one one. When paramedics arrived at the scene

492
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.319
minutes later at five twenty four am, Chris and John

493
00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.559
were waiting outside the pickup down the road from the

494
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:31.079
Forward Expedition. Officers noted Chris's bloody jacket, shirt and pants.

495
00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:33.920
He only offered to police that he and his family

496
00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:36.680
were on their way to Springfield to visit a water park.

497
00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.680
Then he pointed them in the direction of the suv,

498
00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.599
but didn't accompany them. John Spear noticed that Vaughn didn't

499
00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:46.640
tell law enforcement that his wife shot him as he

500
00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:47.160
did him.

501
00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.599
This doesn't make any like how far away were they

502
00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:52.839
from the car with his wife and kids? And so

503
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:54.559
he goes they called nine to one one, and he

504
00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:57.920
doesn't bother to go back and check on them or

505
00:23:58.200 --> 00:23:59.960
go back. It makes no sense.

506
00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:03.440
I see no error in your logic. Officers were met

507
00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:07.240
with a scene of unimaginable horror and devastating sadness as

508
00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:10.759
they approached the Vaughan's forward expedition. A long trail of

509
00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:14.319
crimson blood two hundred feet long, trickled towards them as

510
00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:17.599
they walked down the desolate road. Shocking blood spatter from

511
00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:22.400
inside the suv was visible from the vehicle's exterior. Shards

512
00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:24.839
of glass listened on the pavement in the early morning

513
00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:27.880
light from the shattered driver's side window. They approached the

514
00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:31.799
vehicle cautiously, afraid a threat still loomed inside, but there

515
00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:36.079
was no movement. The bodies of Kimberly, Abigail, Cassandra, and

516
00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:39.240
Blake were sprawled across the seats, slumped over and lifeless.

517
00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.160
They were all pronounced dead at the scene. No life

518
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:45.640
saving measures were administered. The crime scene was so gut

519
00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:49.640
wrenching even the most seasoned responding officers wept openly. A

520
00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.920
police chaplain rushed to the scene to offer support and counseling.

521
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:57.599
Christopher Vaughan remained stone faced and silent as the investigation ensued.

522
00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:01.039
At eleven a m the Vaughan's read Ward Expedition, which

523
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.759
held all of the forensic evidence from the crime and

524
00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.039
would unlock the truth of how the tragedy unfolded, was

525
00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.599
covered with a large tarp and towed away on a

526
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.799
flatbed trailer to the will County Morgue with the four

527
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:17.400
deceased bodies still inside. The investigation relied on blood spatter,

528
00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:22.079
bullet trajectories, and gunpowder residue to tell the story this

529
00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:24.400
I mean not that that wasn't hard, but this part

530
00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.559
is really hard to hear too. The children, all still

531
00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:30.839
buckled in the back seat, were each shot twice. Abigail,

532
00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:32.880
sitting behind the driver's seat, was shot once in the

533
00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.160
head and once in the chest. In fact, all three

534
00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:37.160
children had one shot in the head and one to

535
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:40.000
the chest. Abby clutched a stuffed animal and held a

536
00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:42.960
Harry Potter book on her lap. Cassandra was in the middle,

537
00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:45.279
a copy of Charlotte's Web sticking out of the seat

538
00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.079
pocket in front of her, and Blake, the youngest, sat

539
00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:51.240
behind Kim in the passenger seat with his blanket on

540
00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:54.640
his lap, his hands raised in a defensive position. He

541
00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:57.960
was shot in the under arm area. Kim suffered one

542
00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:01.759
fatal blow under her chin. Her seat belt was unbuckled

543
00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:06.279
and retracted. When investigators extended the seatbelt, they found it

544
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.039
soaked in blood, a detail that would become a key

545
00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:13.039
point of contention. They believe Chris had unbuckled Kim's seatbelt

546
00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:15.920
in an attempt to stage the scene, making it appear

547
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.279
as though she had reached into the back seat to

548
00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:22.559
shoot the children. A Taurus nine millimeter semi automatic handgun,

549
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:25.359
the same gun Chris had taken to the shooting range,

550
00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:27.880
was found in the suv and he were Kim's feet,

551
00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:30.119
next to her red purse and the two books that

552
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.839
she'd brought along. Chris had purchased the gun when they

553
00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:36.200
lived in Washington State. A neighbor recalled the Kim hated

554
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:38.519
guns and made Chris keep it in his jeep in

555
00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:41.279
the locked glove box. There was one round left in

556
00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.039
the chamber. Of the gun. Later, Chris claimed he didn't

557
00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:46.559
know how it got in the suv, although he had

558
00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:49.119
fired the gun the previous night at the shooting range.

559
00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:51.119
He said he'd put the gun back in the bedroom

560
00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:53.759
closet and they were in the Ford expedition. The other

561
00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:56.279
car that they owned was a jeep, and the jeep

562
00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:59.079
was usually his car, so it was like, how did

563
00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:03.119
the gun get into the expedition. Friends and family said

564
00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:05.480
that Chris liked to hunt and was good with guns.

565
00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:08.680
Kim had very limited experience with guns. She was the

566
00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:10.839
type of mother who didn't even let her children play

567
00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:13.359
with squirt guns. She had visited a gun range with

568
00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:16.319
Chris only once or twice. She laughed while telling a

569
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:19.039
friend that the only time she hit the target was

570
00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:22.319
when she'd closed her eyes. Ten spent casings and eight

571
00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:25.519
fired bullets were found in the suv. In a small,

572
00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:28.880
enclosed base such as a vehicle, gunshot residue tests are

573
00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:33.000
inconclusive because matter floats through the air and lands on everything.

574
00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:36.559
Although investigators stated that they didn't believe there was enough

575
00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:39.680
gunshot residue on Kim's hands to indicate that she had

576
00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:42.519
fired a gun, gunshot residue was found on the band

577
00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:47.200
of Chris's underwear, his jacket, sleeves, and jacket pocket. We'll

578
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.319
be back after a break.

579
00:27:56.200 --> 00:27:59.160
Paramedics treated Chris at the scene for a gunshot wound

580
00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:02.359
to his left eye and a three centimeter grazing wound

581
00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:05.480
on his left wrist. Neither were life threatening. Although the

582
00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:08.640
bullet had passed through his leg, his jeans had a

583
00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:11.319
bullet entrance hole on the left upper thigh and an

584
00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.160
exit hole on the left outer seam, so it sounds

585
00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:17.359
like the bullet kind of went from the right to left,

586
00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:21.640
like it came into his thigh from his right exited

587
00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:24.680
on his left. Yes, glass was found on his pants

588
00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:28.839
and inside his jacket pocket. Paramedics and law enforcement observed

589
00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:31.880
Chris's lack of emotion. While he could be in shock,

590
00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:34.200
they did not see any clear signs of it. When

591
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:36.759
the paramedics began to cut the cowboy boot off of

592
00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:40.119
his foot, he protested angrily, he did not ask about

593
00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:41.880
Kim or the children's condition.

594
00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:45.039
When you're in shock, I believe that your blood pressure

595
00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:49.559
goes down, and his was up. Okay, So they didn't

596
00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:52.279
think that he had. It seemed like he was maybe

597
00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.559
trying to fake that he was in shock.

598
00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:58.400
Yeah. Christopher was taken to Provina Saint Joseph Medical Center

599
00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:01.160
at five point fifty six am and Juliet for X

600
00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:04.079
rays and further treatment. He was lucky the bullet had

601
00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:06.640
passed through his leg and didn't hit any major arteries

602
00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:10.039
or bone, although it did just miss his penis and

603
00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:13.000
the wrist wound was just a grazing wound. He told

604
00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:16.119
his doctors and nurses that he couldn't remember what had happened.

605
00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:18.599
He didn't even realize that he had been shot until

606
00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:19.920
they told him at the hospital.

607
00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:20.559
Okay.

608
00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:23.599
Chris was angry about his fleece jacket that had been

609
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:27.160
damaged by paramedics. He said he'd purchased the jacket recently

610
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.799
when he visited Canada's Yukon territories. He asked a nurse

611
00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.279
to call his wife. He explained that she gets mad

612
00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:35.480
when she doesn't know where to find him. He didn't

613
00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:39.160
ask about the children. Once again, his stoic demeanor was noted.

614
00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:41.839
That seemed like the way someone would act if they

615
00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:44.720
wanted to act like they were in shock, like call

616
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:45.680
my wife.

617
00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.920
You know, yeah, and not displaying any emotion.

618
00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:51.720
After he was released from the hospital, Christopher Vaughan agreed

619
00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.000
to be questioned by the police. He went to the

620
00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:57.559
District five State Police headquarters in Lockport for questioning at

621
00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:02.119
about nine forty five. Am Arson, an Illinois State Police sergeant,

622
00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.480
was the lead investigator on the case. Larson read Chris

623
00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:09.599
his Miranda rights before the interview started. The interview started slowly.

624
00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:13.359
Chris again claimed he didn't remember what happened. After they'd

625
00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:16.000
stopped on the service road. He offered that he and

626
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.839
Kim had been having marital troubles, but he was surprising

627
00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:21.400
her with a weekend away. He admitted that he had

628
00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:23.880
had an affair. He was oversharing.

629
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.079
It was odd that Chris told police that he was

630
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:30.160
planning this surprise getaway for Kim when she had told

631
00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:33.039
a lot of people about it. On Thursday, they were

632
00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:34.920
going to the water park, but the next day they

633
00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:36.680
were going We'll talk about it in a minute, but

634
00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:38.960
they were just a couple trip planned.

635
00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:42.680
Okay, So the surprise trip, according to him, was after

636
00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:43.920
the water park, the weekend away.

637
00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:46.200
It was day but she knew about that, yeah, but

638
00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:48.599
he didn't. He told the police that it was a surprise.

639
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:50.359
So I don't know why he did that. Because she

640
00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:53.200
was packing. She told her sister and her friends about it.

641
00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:56.720
Gotcha. An hour and eleven minutes into the interview, Lawson

642
00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:00.480
told Chris about his family's fate, quote, Chris, your wife

643
00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:03.519
and your kids are all dead. Chris was incredulous to

644
00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:06.799
the new information and asked to speak with Kim. Larsen

645
00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:08.839
made it clear that Chris was a suspect in the

646
00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:11.279
murders and asked why he killed his family.

647
00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:13.400
No, that's not possible.

648
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:16.720
They're all shot, Chris, They're dead, no longer here.

649
00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:20.079
That's not possible. Can you just bring Kim in?

650
00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:23.119
Did you kill your wife? Did you kill your kids?

651
00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:25.799
I could never How did they die?

652
00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:29.759
They're not dead? This is some weird show. My kids

653
00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:30.400
are fine.

654
00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.240
Say it. Say my wife and kids are dead. They're

655
00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.480
not gone. Gone is going to the store. They're not gone.

656
00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:40.559
They're dead. You can shake your head, cover your eyes.

657
00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:43.359
The answers are not in the palm of your hands.

658
00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:46.200
I have nothing to go home to. I don't know

659
00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:49.799
how to face my parents, her parents. I couldn't have

660
00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:52.960
done this, Kimberly couldn't have done this. I have no

661
00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:56.039
one to go home to, no one to take to soccer,

662
00:31:56.519 --> 00:32:00.480
No reason to do anything. This wasn't some master plan.

663
00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:03.359
The detective said that it was some of the worst

664
00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:04.759
acting that they had ever seen.

665
00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:06.400
Can I just jump in and say, that's why I

666
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.480
wasn't giving my I know, I was.

667
00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:10.400
Thinking that it was bad acting, but now I realized

668
00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:14.880
it was actually brilliant acting, really nailed it. Chris never

669
00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:17.759
asked how Kim and the children had died. When I

670
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:20.720
asked about their birth dates, he couldn't remember. He had

671
00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:22.960
no pictures of them in his wallet. He said he

672
00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:25.079
had to take them out after it got too thick.

673
00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:27.680
He did ask if the police had his watch. It

674
00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:29.039
was very important to him.

675
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:31.039
He said, how do you like Chris? Now?

676
00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:33.720
I don't like him even a little bit.

677
00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.160
I hate him. I hated him. So this was a

678
00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:38.799
hard one to do because I really don't like him. Yeah,

679
00:32:38.839 --> 00:32:41.160
I wish that I could be the podcaster who delivers

680
00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.960
the whole case, gives you both sides and all the evidence,

681
00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.359
and then at the very end, the very very end,

682
00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:48.319
tell you how I feel. But I think it's always

683
00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:51.480
very obvious how I feel, and usually you two, well.

684
00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.880
Yeah, in this case, I think it's it is pretty obvious.

685
00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:55.519
Some cases it's a little less obvious.

686
00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:57.640
But what a lot of people do think he's innocent,

687
00:32:57.799 --> 00:32:59.000
So I do need to say that.

688
00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:02.359
Yeah, so far, I can't understand how that is the case,

689
00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:05.079
but I'm going to try to withhold judgment until we

690
00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:05.720
get further in.

691
00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:08.640
By the way, his watch, I haven't seen a picture

692
00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:12.480
of it, but it's some sort of tur It's inlaid

693
00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:15.519
with turquoise. There's like some turquoise involved in there.

694
00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.960
Okay. Investigators lied to Chris and told him that there

695
00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:22.079
were surveillance cameras on the cell phone tower. All cell

696
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:24.759
phone towers since nine to eleven had cameras on them.

697
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:28.480
They insisted. Chris seemed unbothered and insisted that they show

698
00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:29.960
him the footage.

699
00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:32.279
Like he seemed excited. He was like, oh, let's let's

700
00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:32.960
see the footage.

701
00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:35.480
Then, well, it's interesting. When asked about the gun that

702
00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:37.799
he owned, he claimed he didn't know what kind it

703
00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:40.319
was and said it was back at his house. This

704
00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:42.680
interview and the two that followed in the coming days

705
00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:46.640
were all videotaped. Despite earlier telling John Spear that his

706
00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:50.160
wife had shot him, Vaughn now consistently claimed he couldn't

707
00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:54.079
remember what happened and didn't recall hearing any gunshots. He

708
00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:56.480
said that once he noticed his leg was bleeding, he

709
00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:58.680
left the vehicle to go get help, but the blood

710
00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:01.960
evidence told the different. Stu. He said that Kim couldn't

711
00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:04.880
have shot their children because, quote, she wasn't that type

712
00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:08.159
of person. Chris was shown photographs of his four dead

713
00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:11.760
family members during the interrogation in hopes of eliciting and

714
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:15.360
emotional response from him. He angrily crumpled a photo and

715
00:34:15.400 --> 00:34:17.679
threw it into the corner of the room and swept

716
00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:20.960
the other photos onto the floor, except the photo of Blake.

717
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:24.480
When the investigators left the room moments later, Chris covered

718
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:27.840
the photo with a file folder. After an emotional morning,

719
00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:29.639
they let him take a three hour nap.

720
00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:33.280
I've never heard of the police letting a suspect take

721
00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:34.039
a three hour nap.

722
00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:36.719
No, I haven't either, And I would think, like I know,

723
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.960
if they really suspected him of doing this, they would

724
00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:42.519
want to keep questioning him even if he was exhausted,

725
00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:44.719
because I think they'd be more likely to get a

726
00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.760
confession out of him.

727
00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:48.480
Well, he was also on pain medication, I believe. I

728
00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:51.039
think the leg wound, while not life threatening, I'm sure

729
00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:52.599
he was still in a lot of pain.

730
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:56.360
Yeah. If Lockport, Illinois sounds familiar, you might remember that

731
00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:00.000
on October twenty eighth, two thousand and seven, Stacy Peterson,

732
00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:03.280
the wife of police officer Drew Peterson, went missing from

733
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:06.679
bowling Brook, Illinois. Her sister, an advocate, walked into the

734
00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:10.760
same Illinois State Police post in Lockport, to report Stacy missing.

735
00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:13.000
Do you remember Drew Peterson? Oh?

736
00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:14.360
I do, Yeah, I hated him too.

737
00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:16.280
Yeah, how could you forget Drew Peterson? Right?

738
00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:19.199
The Vaughan family murders was a huge story for the

739
00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:22.920
Chicago area until the story of Drew Peterson, the suspicious

740
00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:26.800
death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance

741
00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:29.840
of his fourth wife, became the prime focus of the media.

742
00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:32.679
So the Drew Peterson thing came to light just a

743
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.840
few months after the Vaughan Family murders.

744
00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:37.760
Then it did. Although I am horrified to tell you

745
00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:39.559
that I went back and I was reading the Drew

746
00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:43.239
Peterson episode that we did, and I made some mistakes

747
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:46.480
on the dates you did not, Yeah, like the date

748
00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:49.559
of the trial. I think I had wrong. My apologies

749
00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:52.639
for that, if you go back and listen. Investigators continued

750
00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:55.000
to press Chris if he thought Kim could ever murdered

751
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:58.480
the children and shot herself, but he consistently denied that

752
00:35:58.559 --> 00:36:01.960
this was possible. And some people think that this points

753
00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:05.079
to his possible innocence because he was like, oh, no,

754
00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:08.719
Kim couldn't have killed the children, But I think it

755
00:36:08.760 --> 00:36:13.559
was just too obvious otherwise, right, yeah. Investigators announced to

756
00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:15.719
the public that there was no danger to them because

757
00:36:15.719 --> 00:36:19.280
they believed all involved parties had been at the crime scene.

758
00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:22.280
There was no third party, although they stopped short of

759
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:26.440
naming Chris or Kim as official suspects. Meanwhile, a search

760
00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:30.519
took place at the Vaughan home. Several computers, printers, modems,

761
00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:34.480
and other electronic devices were taken from the home. Investigators

762
00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:38.519
hoped to uncover a motive for the murders on the devices. Notably,

763
00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:42.400
a TVO DVR was seized. An episode of Law and

764
00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:46.639
Order SVU called Annihilated aired on May eighth, two thousand

765
00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:49.320
and seven. It was about a woman and her children

766
00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:51.880
who were shot and killed while the husband walked away

767
00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:55.239
with minor injuries. The husband later blamed his wife for

768
00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:59.079
the shooting. Detectives were curious if the Vaughans had watched it.

769
00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:01.599
I don't know if it was on the dbor or not,

770
00:37:01.719 --> 00:37:03.199
but it must not have been because it was never

771
00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:06.199
brought up again. The Vaughan's two dogs, a Schnauzer and

772
00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:09.480
a Golden Retriever, were taken by animal control. A neighbor

773
00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:12.239
said that Kim loved their dogs like children, and she

774
00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:15.239
would have never left them unattended all day while they

775
00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:19.559
were at the water park. Investigators traced Chris's online profiles

776
00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:23.039
using his computers. He was a frequent contributor to a

777
00:37:23.079 --> 00:37:27.000
social networking site called forty three Things. The website was

778
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:31.199
an early social networking platform that connected people with similar

779
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:35.599
likes and goals. Chris was interested in wildlife survival. On

780
00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:38.639
May thirteenth, two thousand and seven, Chris had just returned

781
00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:42.480
from a solo trip to Canada's Yukon territories. He wrote

782
00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:45.480
on the forty three Things website quote, I got back

783
00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:47.760
this weekend from a trip to Canada, and let me

784
00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:50.639
tell you, it was truly hard to come back after

785
00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:53.199
spending even a week up there. I was in the

786
00:37:53.239 --> 00:37:56.760
middle of the Yukon literally, I packed everything I needed

787
00:37:56.760 --> 00:37:59.760
with me and slept out under the stars and snow.

788
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:02.519
Since the primary reason I was up there was to

789
00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:05.480
scout the area for a longer visit. I worked on

790
00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:08.199
covering a lot of ground and seeing a lot of terrain.

791
00:38:08.599 --> 00:38:14.239
The place was crawling with critters. I saw elk, moose, beaver, porcupine, lynx,

792
00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:19.320
grizzly fanined sheep, crane wolf, to mention a few. Considering

793
00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:21.920
the pays I had said, I consider that a fairly

794
00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:25.159
good list of wild life to just stumble into. Most

795
00:38:25.239 --> 00:38:28.639
were within twenty to thirty meters, which was unbelievable. The

796
00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:31.400
terrain was harsh by my estimates, as it was still

797
00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:35.079
cold and subject to extreme changes very quickly. First day

798
00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:37.960
it was sunny and eight degrees celsius. The last day

799
00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:42.199
it was two degrees below celsius, snowing, and very windy.

800
00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:45.360
For anyone looking to get this lost in the wilderness,

801
00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:48.960
I would highly recommend the Yukon. There were very few towns,

802
00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:52.960
fewer roads, and hundreds of kilometers of pure wilderness.

803
00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:56.039
It sounds pretty amazing, although I can say I wouldn't

804
00:38:56.039 --> 00:38:58.159
want to be quite that close to like a grizzly

805
00:38:58.199 --> 00:39:00.880
bear or a lynx. I think this is a really

806
00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:03.639
random observation, but it just seems odd to me that

807
00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:06.920
he's using the metric system in his descriptions of this.

808
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.119
It's like, I don't get it. I guess because he

809
00:39:09.159 --> 00:39:09.639
was in Canada.

810
00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:12.000
It was pretty much Canadian now, I guess. So. On

811
00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:14.519
the day of the murders, at about eleven am, the

812
00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:17.039
phone at Gail Vaughan's home ring as she went about

813
00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:20.719
her day, unbeknownst of the horrific tragedy that had unfolded

814
00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:24.079
early that morning, A reporter from the Chicago Sun Times

815
00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:26.480
was on the other end of the line. The reporter

816
00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:29.519
asked Gail for some background information about Chris and his family.

817
00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:32.920
Unaware that she hadn't heard the horrible news, Gail talked

818
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:35.599
to the reporter for a few minutes before realizing it

819
00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:38.239
was an odd question. She asked the reporter why she

820
00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:41.440
was asking about her son and his family. The reporter

821
00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:44.559
was then tasked with telling Gail the worst news that

822
00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:47.400
she would ever receive in her life. She told Gail

823
00:39:47.480 --> 00:39:50.159
that four of the Vaughans were dead. There was only

824
00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:54.679
one survivor, and she didn't know who. Conversely, Kim's parents,

825
00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:58.360
Susan Andel, had been informed hours earlier about the deaths

826
00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:02.159
of Kim, Abigail Cassandra and Blake. Gale and Pete tried

827
00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:05.119
to reach Chris's cell phone, but he didn't answer. Pete

828
00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:07.960
called Chris's work number and someone told him that he'd

829
00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:11.280
taken a vacation day. Frustrated because they were unable to

830
00:40:11.320 --> 00:40:14.400
get any information, they decided to head to Illinois to

831
00:40:14.440 --> 00:40:17.360
find Chris. About five hours away. They got to the

832
00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:20.679
Illinois State Police post at about ten thirty pm. They

833
00:40:20.679 --> 00:40:23.079
were told they couldn't see Chris, and he was not

834
00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:25.719
told that his parents were there to support him. The

835
00:40:25.760 --> 00:40:28.639
police questioned the Vaughns and then told them to wait.

836
00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:31.440
After they had waited for a few hours, at about

837
00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:33.840
one am, the Vaughns decided to get a hotel for

838
00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:36.079
the night. They left their cell phone number with the

839
00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:38.320
state police and asked them to give it to Chris

840
00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:41.320
as soon as he was done being questioned. They were

841
00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:44.440
assured that they would pass along their information to Chris.

842
00:40:45.400 --> 00:40:48.440
Chris spent fourteen hours at the police station before complaining

843
00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:50.760
that he was tired and asked them to leave. It

844
00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:53.159
was nearly two am when the police agreed to drop

845
00:40:53.239 --> 00:40:55.639
him off at a motel. They didn't tell him that

846
00:40:55.679 --> 00:40:58.119
his parents were in town and didn't give him their

847
00:40:58.159 --> 00:41:01.800
cell phone number. Chris's clothing had been taken as evidence,

848
00:41:02.079 --> 00:41:04.920
leaving him dressed in nothing but a hospital ground and

849
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.079
grippy socks all day, and his cell phone had been confiscated.

850
00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:12.679
Chris had no way to contact anyone and was unable

851
00:41:12.679 --> 00:41:15.840
to return home. Police placed him in a taxi, still

852
00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:19.280
wearing just a hospital gown and socks, and sent him

853
00:41:19.320 --> 00:41:21.280
to the fair Field and Juliet.

854
00:41:21.440 --> 00:41:22.400
That's pretty odd.

855
00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:25.440
When Chris arrived at the Fairfield, they refused to give

856
00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:27.599
him a room because of the way he was dressed

857
00:41:27.760 --> 00:41:30.039
in addition to his bloody bandages.

858
00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:31.280
That's bizarre.

859
00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:35.239
He visited two more motels before a Super eight motel

860
00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:37.000
agreed to rent him a room.

861
00:41:37.159 --> 00:41:39.119
What say about the Super eight motel?

862
00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:40.599
They're nice?

863
00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:43.719
Turned away from every motel that Super eight. We'll take you.

864
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:47.320
The next morning, when the Vaughans awoke, they called the

865
00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:49.840
police station to see where Chris was, and they told

866
00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:52.480
him that they dropped him off at the fair Field Inn.

867
00:41:52.920 --> 00:41:55.199
But when they drove there to see him, he wasn't there.

868
00:41:55.400 --> 00:41:57.000
So this whole thing, I have a little bit of

869
00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:59.519
sympathy for everyone, because.

870
00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:02.239
It's just the police did not handle this part of it,

871
00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:03.000
well at all.

872
00:42:03.320 --> 00:42:05.159
I just always assumed that they had, you know, some

873
00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:07.400
extra like sweatpants or something.

874
00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:08.840
That you, yeah, you would think.

875
00:42:09.360 --> 00:42:12.079
They continue to drive around until they finally found Chris

876
00:42:12.119 --> 00:42:14.920
at the Super eight. Gail said he was in shock

877
00:42:15.039 --> 00:42:18.480
and unable to communicate. So usually when you're in shock,

878
00:42:18.559 --> 00:42:21.119
I think it's a relatively short amount of time. So

879
00:42:21.199 --> 00:42:23.599
Gail went out and bought Chris some new clothes, shoes,

880
00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:26.800
and fresh bandages for his wounds. The three of Wan's

881
00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:30.559
checked into another hotel, a Holiday in Express, because the

882
00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:34.079
houses they can't go back to Chris's house right Later

883
00:42:34.119 --> 00:42:36.920
that morning, Chris and Susan Phillips, Kim's mom, had an

884
00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:39.400
awkward phone call. He told her that he didn't know

885
00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:42.320
what to say, and she said the same. Susan asked

886
00:42:42.360 --> 00:42:45.400
that Kim and the children be buried together in Saint Charles,

887
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:49.280
their hometown, and Chris agreed. The call only lasted two minutes.

888
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:52.400
Chris returned to the police station for two more hours

889
00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:55.840
of questioning, and return once again on Sunday, Father's Day

890
00:42:55.920 --> 00:42:59.079
for an undisclosed amount of time. The media hounded the

891
00:42:59.119 --> 00:43:02.639
Phillips family for reaction to the horrible tragedy. Susan told

892
00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:05.519
them that Kim and Chris loved their children beyond measure

893
00:43:05.800 --> 00:43:08.079
and they were always a pleasure to spend time with.

894
00:43:08.519 --> 00:43:10.880
She said Chris treated her daughter like a princess and

895
00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:13.480
doted on her. He had recently bought her a new

896
00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:17.159
diamond ring, and he was supportive of her continuing her education.

897
00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:21.320
Kim's sister, Nicki Eisman, told the News quote, There's no

898
00:43:21.400 --> 00:43:23.840
way I would believe it was her. There is no

899
00:43:23.960 --> 00:43:26.360
way she would have heard her children. She could not

900
00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:29.320
bear to see her children cry and was so averse

901
00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:33.280
to them experiencing any pain that she couldn't remove their splinters.

902
00:43:33.599 --> 00:43:36.400
We need to know exactly what unfolded on June fourteenth.

903
00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:39.360
We need answers. Nicki had talked to her sister two

904
00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:41.320
days before her death and said that she was in

905
00:43:41.400 --> 00:43:45.440
great spirits and she looked forward to her future with Chris, Abby, Sandy,

906
00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:47.960
and Blake. So I think I'd mentioned this before. Kim

907
00:43:48.039 --> 00:43:50.159
is really close to her family. She has a twin.

908
00:43:50.599 --> 00:43:53.519
She talks to her sisters and mom multiple times a day.

909
00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:56.840
Technically, Chris had planned a trip for Kim on June

910
00:43:56.880 --> 00:44:01.880
sixteenth and seventeenth to celebrate their thirteenth wedding anniversary in Herman, Missouri.

911
00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:03.639
He had booked to stay at the same bed and

912
00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:07.679
breakfast where they had honeymooned. Investigators later called and confirmed

913
00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:11.360
the reservation. Chris's mom, Gail, and her sister were set

914
00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:15.400
to stay with the kids in Oswego while they were away. Unfortunately,

915
00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:18.239
Kim never got to go on that second honeymoon. But

916
00:44:18.360 --> 00:44:21.599
this trip wasn't just about romance. It was Chris's attempt

917
00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:24.559
to make things right. According to Chris, things had been

918
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:27.519
rocky between them for months. Ever since a work trip

919
00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:31.320
to Mexico in December, Chris had visited a strip club

920
00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:33.840
and then spent the night with some women. Kim and

921
00:44:33.920 --> 00:44:37.199
Chris had been fighting ever since. He told the police quote,

922
00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:39.159
I had too much to drink and went home with

923
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:41.599
a few of the ladies. I made a bigger mistake

924
00:44:41.639 --> 00:44:44.559
by telling her I get to sleep in the office.

925
00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:47.280
So he went home with a few of the ladies.

926
00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:51.400
Yeah, that seems a little m strange. Investigators didn't doubt

927
00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:53.679
that he had cheated, but they did question if he

928
00:44:53.719 --> 00:44:57.119
really had told Kim. Was he planting a motive for her?

929
00:44:57.480 --> 00:44:59.599
If she was so angry and compelled to kill him,

930
00:44:59.599 --> 00:45:02.440
wouldn't she had confided in someone Like I said.

931
00:45:02.440 --> 00:45:04.440
She was really close with her family, so I think

932
00:45:04.440 --> 00:45:06.280
that she would have mentioned it to them.

933
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:09.199
Well, yeah, and you said she talked to her sister

934
00:45:09.320 --> 00:45:11.199
two days before, right and seem fine?

935
00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:12.719
Yeah, And I think she had talked to her other

936
00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:15.639
sister the day before A few times. Chris was a

937
00:45:15.800 --> 00:45:20.360
very reserved, introverted guy, and I kind of doubt that

938
00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:23.559
he had this alleged affair m because for him to

939
00:45:23.559 --> 00:45:27.239
go home with one woman would be maybe not like him,

940
00:45:27.320 --> 00:45:28.480
but multiple women.

941
00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:30.480
I mean, the only way I would think is if

942
00:45:31.159 --> 00:45:34.000
he was paying these women, like if they were prostitutes.

943
00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:36.679
I still don't see him if he was paying a

944
00:45:36.719 --> 00:45:39.719
woman for sex, paying more than one woman for sex.

945
00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:40.679
But I could be wrong.

946
00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:44.559
Who knows. Despite his claim that their marriage had imploded,

947
00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:47.920
he told investigators that he and Kim planned to stay together,

948
00:45:48.239 --> 00:45:51.199
but only until their children graduated high school. Then they

949
00:45:51.199 --> 00:45:54.559
would go their separate ways. However, Kim never mentioned this

950
00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:58.599
arrangement to anyone. Outward appearances suggested that they were a busy,

951
00:45:58.679 --> 00:46:01.960
happy family. They had another trip to the Wisconsin Dell's

952
00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:04.400
coming up, as well as other trips to see family

953
00:46:04.440 --> 00:46:08.639
members in Missouri. They were always planning fun spontaneous activities,

954
00:46:08.840 --> 00:46:11.880
both as a couple and with their kids. Chris didn't

955
00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:14.199
seem like a man trying to escape a bad marriage.

956
00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:17.199
In fact, Kim's sister said that he treated his wife

957
00:46:17.239 --> 00:46:20.559
like a princess. The Phillips and Vaughan families came together

958
00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:22.880
to plan the funeral for Kim and the children, but

959
00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:26.679
it was anything but easy. Even under the best circumstances,

960
00:46:26.840 --> 00:46:30.000
it would have been an emotional and stressful process, but

961
00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:33.159
their history of tension made it even more difficult. The

962
00:46:33.239 --> 00:46:36.000
Vaughns often felt looked down upon by the Phillips for

963
00:46:36.039 --> 00:46:39.519
their lack of formal education. Since the Phillips family was

964
00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:42.159
covering the funeral costs, the Vaughns let them take the

965
00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:45.880
lead on most of the decisions. However, this created resentment

966
00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:49.400
that only grew over time. Tensions escalated further when the

967
00:46:49.440 --> 00:46:52.679
Phillips family demanded access to the house as well as

968
00:46:52.760 --> 00:46:56.800
Kim's jewelry and personal belongings, something that deeply offended and

969
00:46:56.920 --> 00:47:00.880
angered the Vaughns. On Saturday, June twenty seven, hundreds of

970
00:47:00.920 --> 00:47:04.440
friends and family members gathered at New Hope Presbyterian Church

971
00:47:04.800 --> 00:47:08.719
in Saint Charles, Missouri, to say goodbye to Kim, Abigail, Cassandra,

972
00:47:08.840 --> 00:47:11.480
and Blake Vaughan. It was the same church where the

973
00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:15.199
children had been baptized as babies. The mourners were greeted

974
00:47:15.239 --> 00:47:18.159
with two hundred enlarged family photos of the Vaughans that

975
00:47:18.239 --> 00:47:22.159
filled the church. Only one photo contained Chris. The four

976
00:47:22.239 --> 00:47:26.599
caskets remained closed during the funeral. Pete, Chris's dad, and

977
00:47:26.719 --> 00:47:30.239
one of his brothers, served as pallbearers. Kim was buried

978
00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:32.159
in her cap and gown that she had worn just

979
00:47:32.199 --> 00:47:36.559
a week earlier. Abigail was buried with two unicorns, Cassandra

980
00:47:36.760 --> 00:47:39.360
with a frog snow globe, and Blake with a Saint

981
00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:42.920
Louis Cardinal's baseball cap. Chris had kept a low profile

982
00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:46.000
during the visitation the day before the funeral, speaking with

983
00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:48.800
few people. He was given a moment alone with his

984
00:47:48.880 --> 00:47:52.559
wife and children in their caskets, but Chris was conspicuously

985
00:47:52.599 --> 00:47:56.159
absent from the funeral. Throughout their investigation, the police had

986
00:47:56.199 --> 00:47:59.199
maintained that the shooter was either Kim or Chris. There

987
00:47:59.280 --> 00:48:02.440
was no evidence of a third party being involved. However,

988
00:48:02.480 --> 00:48:05.920
they never revealed which one they considered their primary suspect.

989
00:48:06.360 --> 00:48:08.840
At the end of the funeral service, the church pastor

990
00:48:08.920 --> 00:48:11.400
quietly spoke with the Phillips family, who sat in the

991
00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:14.039
front row, and told them Chris had been arrested for

992
00:48:14.079 --> 00:48:19.280
the murders hours earlier. The family reportedly gasped, shook their heads, cried,

993
00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:22.920
and quickly left the church. Chris was charged with eight

994
00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:25.559
counts of first degree murder for the shooting deaths of

995
00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:28.719
Kim and his three children, two counts for each victim.

996
00:48:29.039 --> 00:48:31.639
The first four charges were intent to kill and the

997
00:48:31.679 --> 00:48:34.760
other four were intent to cause death or bodily harm.

998
00:48:35.159 --> 00:48:38.039
Chris was apprehended inside of the funeral home at seven

999
00:48:38.039 --> 00:48:41.639
point fifty am, hours before his family was laid to rest.

1000
00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:44.559
An employee of the funeral home asked him to step

1001
00:48:44.559 --> 00:48:47.639
into a private room to discuss Kim's jewelry. When he

1002
00:48:47.760 --> 00:48:50.760
entered the room, the police were there to arrest him.

1003
00:48:50.920 --> 00:48:52.079
So what do you think about that.

1004
00:48:52.559 --> 00:48:54.480
It's kind of a tough one. On the one hand,

1005
00:48:54.679 --> 00:48:58.039
I have no sympathy for Chris because I believe from

1006
00:48:58.079 --> 00:49:00.440
everything that we've talked about so far that he killed

1007
00:49:00.440 --> 00:49:03.679
his family. So yeah, arrest him. But at the same time,

1008
00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:06.159
you're innocent until proven guilty, so it does seem a

1009
00:49:06.199 --> 00:49:06.880
little weird that.

1010
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:08.920
They didn't seem like it was a little bit of

1011
00:49:08.960 --> 00:49:09.960
a rush to judgment.

1012
00:49:10.159 --> 00:49:10.440
Yeah.

1013
00:49:10.559 --> 00:49:13.920
Oh, this case, the evidence was I think pretty held

1014
00:49:14.280 --> 00:49:17.039
tightly held until the trial, so we don't know how

1015
00:49:17.119 --> 00:49:20.119
much evidence they had compiled at this point. The grand

1016
00:49:20.199 --> 00:49:24.280
jury did indict him, but they did cross state lines

1017
00:49:24.360 --> 00:49:27.639
to arrest him, so he would have to be extradited later.

1018
00:49:27.840 --> 00:49:28.239
M hmm.

1019
00:49:28.559 --> 00:49:30.840
I do have sympathy for the rest of Chris's family

1020
00:49:30.880 --> 00:49:33.719
because once he was arrested, I'm sure his parents and

1021
00:49:33.760 --> 00:49:37.480
his other relatives knew, and I think they deserve to grieve.

1022
00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:40.920
Yeah, I'm why they wouldn't have just waited till after

1023
00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:41.440
the funeral.

1024
00:49:41.760 --> 00:49:43.400
I can see the other side of it too, that

1025
00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:45.679
he shouldn't be allowed to grieve at the funeral.

1026
00:49:45.800 --> 00:49:49.119
Yeah, it's a tough call. Investigators believed that they had

1027
00:49:49.159 --> 00:49:52.360
probable cause for Chris's arrest after the reports came back

1028
00:49:52.360 --> 00:49:55.639
from the state lab. The nine millimeter handgun found in

1029
00:49:55.639 --> 00:49:58.320
the SUV was determined to be the murder weapon and

1030
00:49:58.440 --> 00:50:02.239
had only Chris's fingerprints. Chris was detained in the Saint

1031
00:50:02.320 --> 00:50:06.159
Charles County Detention Center in Saint Charles, Missouri. The attorney

1032
00:50:06.199 --> 00:50:09.440
he hired after his arrest, David Waltrip, said his client

1033
00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:13.039
would fight extradition and that the decision was appropriate within

1034
00:50:13.119 --> 00:50:16.679
his legal rights, but fighting extradition within the United States

1035
00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:19.480
is really a losing battle. Vaughan was held on a

1036
00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:22.639
one million dollar cash only out of state fugitive bond,

1037
00:50:22.679 --> 00:50:26.039
which was later revoked when authorities realized bond should not

1038
00:50:26.079 --> 00:50:29.800
be offered in capital cases where there is an extradition treaty.

1039
00:50:30.280 --> 00:50:33.199
The two states tried to expedite the extradition, but a

1040
00:50:33.280 --> 00:50:36.960
judge gave Vaughan's attorneys thirty days to file emotion contesting

1041
00:50:37.039 --> 00:50:41.360
the move. Will County DA James Glasgow said, quote, it

1042
00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:44.519
remains an absolute certainty that mister Vaughan will be returned

1043
00:50:44.519 --> 00:50:47.599
to Illinois to stand trial on charges of first degree murder.

1044
00:50:48.119 --> 00:50:51.679
Glasgow dropped four of the eight charges against Christopher. The

1045
00:50:51.760 --> 00:50:54.760
remaining four charges were murder with the intent to kill.

1046
00:50:55.159 --> 00:50:58.760
The four drop charges were intent to cause great bodily harm.

1047
00:50:59.039 --> 00:51:01.360
By July third, he gave up the fight and was

1048
00:51:01.440 --> 00:51:05.119
returned to Illinois to defend himself. His lawyer said he

1049
00:51:05.159 --> 00:51:07.239
was sent to the will County Jail and put under

1050
00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:10.760
suicide watch. He was removed from watch a week later,

1051
00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:14.159
but remained in protective custody and given a private cell.

1052
00:51:14.760 --> 00:51:16.960
I imagine that he was not very popular with the

1053
00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:17.760
other prisoners.

1054
00:51:18.199 --> 00:51:21.719
No, I would think not. At his arraignment, Vaughan pleaded

1055
00:51:21.760 --> 00:51:25.840
not guilty. By October, Chris had lost forty pounds, bringing

1056
00:51:25.840 --> 00:51:28.760
his weight from one eighty to one forty, and he was.

1057
00:51:28.719 --> 00:51:30.760
Only like five foot eight or five foot nine. He

1058
00:51:30.760 --> 00:51:31.480
wasn't a big guy.

1059
00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:34.320
A hearing was held to determine if there should be

1060
00:51:34.320 --> 00:51:38.360
any intervention, but he was determined otherwise healthy. People who

1061
00:51:38.440 --> 00:51:42.639
knew the Vaughan family felt Chris was likely guilty. Melissa Tovar,

1062
00:51:42.719 --> 00:51:45.880
a friend of Kim's, said quote, everyone is elated. I

1063
00:51:45.880 --> 00:51:49.400
think a lot of people had suspicions. During the funeral

1064
00:51:49.440 --> 00:51:52.960
proceedings in Missouri, the heartbroken community of Oswego held a

1065
00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:56.639
candlelight vigil outside the Vaughan's home and mounted a memorial

1066
00:51:56.719 --> 00:52:00.159
on their front lawn with four large white crosses the

1067
00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:04.119
names Kim, Abby, Sandy, and Blake written on them in

1068
00:52:04.159 --> 00:52:07.599
a child's printing. In honor of the Vaughan family, children

1069
00:52:07.639 --> 00:52:12.679
planted Evergreen Saplings. Oswego Schools offered counseling for students.

1070
00:52:13.039 --> 00:52:15.960
This case must have been so devastating to the community

1071
00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:16.719
and the children.

1072
00:52:17.480 --> 00:52:19.840
Yeah, it's such a I mean it's a massive loss

1073
00:52:19.960 --> 00:52:23.000
with you know, three kids, eight children, and Kim. It's

1074
00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:25.159
not a huge community either, right, so I'm sure it

1075
00:52:25.199 --> 00:52:26.239
affected a lot of people.

1076
00:52:26.760 --> 00:52:31.159
Doctor Larry Blum performed the autopsies. Abigail was shot twice

1077
00:52:31.239 --> 00:52:34.280
below the right eyebrow and in the right lower chest.

1078
00:52:34.679 --> 00:52:37.440
There was stippling near both of her wounds. The wound

1079
00:52:37.480 --> 00:52:40.639
on Cassandra's head had stippling, but the wound to Blake's

1080
00:52:40.679 --> 00:52:44.400
head had little stippling. Blake was also shot on his

1081
00:52:44.559 --> 00:52:47.880
left under arm, indicating that his hands were raised in

1082
00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:51.559
a defensive motion. It breaks my heart, like, think about

1083
00:52:51.599 --> 00:52:53.880
what is happening here. So likely, you know, if you

1084
00:52:53.920 --> 00:52:56.679
believe Chris was the murderer, he shot Kim first, so

1085
00:52:56.920 --> 00:53:00.480
she couldn't defend herself. She could have been sleeping, really sure,

1086
00:53:00.599 --> 00:53:03.760
but I think the kids were sleeping. So Abigail was

1087
00:53:03.800 --> 00:53:07.880
shot first and she was probably sleeping, and then Cassandra's

1088
00:53:07.920 --> 00:53:11.800
probably just you know, rousing. Yeah, and then by the

1089
00:53:11.880 --> 00:53:14.039
time it gets to Blake. Blake's like, what's going on.

1090
00:53:15.159 --> 00:53:16.199
It's so horrible, horrible.

1091
00:53:17.159 --> 00:53:20.519
Yeah. The one gunshot to Kim was an angle gunshot

1092
00:53:20.519 --> 00:53:22.800
wound meeting that the muzzle of the gun was in

1093
00:53:22.880 --> 00:53:26.400
direct contact with her chin. Kim died quickly after the

1094
00:53:26.440 --> 00:53:29.000
shot was fired. It was estimated that all of the

1095
00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:32.480
gunshots were eighteen to twenty four inches from the victims,

1096
00:53:32.519 --> 00:53:34.960
but the shots to their heads were from three to

1097
00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:38.440
twelve inches. The trajectory of one of the bullets that

1098
00:53:38.519 --> 00:53:41.159
hit Sandy in the chest clearly showed that it came

1099
00:53:41.280 --> 00:53:44.599
over the left shoulder of the passenger seat. The trajectories

1100
00:53:44.639 --> 00:53:47.599
of the other bullets were less clear. A bullet found

1101
00:53:47.599 --> 00:53:50.159
on the driver's side door of the forward expedition had

1102
00:53:50.199 --> 00:53:53.800
fibers adhering to it that matched Chris's clothing. There were

1103
00:53:53.840 --> 00:53:57.719
some unidentified prints on the gun, but all the identifiable

1104
00:53:57.760 --> 00:54:01.280
prints belonged to Chris. The files on Chris Bahn's laptop

1105
00:54:01.360 --> 00:54:05.239
were protected by encryption, but Lisa Calaisi of the Illinois

1106
00:54:05.239 --> 00:54:08.119
State Police was able to decode the device with the

1107
00:54:08.159 --> 00:54:12.800
help from Chris's employer. The laptop uncovered Chris's dissatisfaction with

1108
00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:16.360
his career, life and marriage, as well as his secret

1109
00:54:16.400 --> 00:54:20.519
online persona who had plans to rebuild a new life

1110
00:54:20.559 --> 00:54:25.079
in Canada. Investigators discovered that Chris rented a storage unit

1111
00:54:25.119 --> 00:54:29.199
that was filled with camping gear and wilderness survival equipment, tents,

1112
00:54:29.360 --> 00:54:34.719
sleeping bags, pots and pans, tin cups and plates, boots, tools, whiskey,

1113
00:54:34.800 --> 00:54:38.239
and even peanut butter. The newly built Von Holme had

1114
00:54:38.360 --> 00:54:42.599
a large unfinished basement. Why would Chris need to rent

1115
00:54:42.599 --> 00:54:46.000
a storage unit Because Chris traveled so much, the couple

1116
00:54:46.039 --> 00:54:49.159
often emailed. Kim's emails to Chris and the weeks before

1117
00:54:49.199 --> 00:54:51.480
her death revealed that she was not only suffering from

1118
00:54:51.480 --> 00:54:55.400
anxiety and migraines, but she indicated that she was having

1119
00:54:55.639 --> 00:54:59.440
quote a big personality change. Kim confided and her sister

1120
00:54:59.480 --> 00:55:02.599
in law Ring a phone conversation that on a recent weekend,

1121
00:55:02.920 --> 00:55:05.960
she and Chris went away to Jeep Jamboree. Kim had

1122
00:55:05.960 --> 00:55:08.559
a panic attack when she couldn't gain access to the

1123
00:55:08.599 --> 00:55:11.639
internet to turn in a school assignment. She said in

1124
00:55:11.679 --> 00:55:15.719
retrospect she had overreacted and she was embarrassed. Did Kim

1125
00:55:15.800 --> 00:55:19.880
feel Chris slipping away? Her computer searches included ways to

1126
00:55:19.920 --> 00:55:23.280
spice up a marriage and how to save a failing marriage.

1127
00:55:23.599 --> 00:55:26.480
Chris was spending more time away from her and the children.

1128
00:55:27.199 --> 00:55:29.400
In defense of Kim, I don't think that there was

1129
00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:33.000
a more stressful time in my life. When our kids

1130
00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:37.599
were younger. They had one hundred different activities and you

1131
00:55:37.760 --> 00:55:40.320
traveled a lot. So I feel like I kind of

1132
00:55:40.400 --> 00:55:43.320
understand where Kim was kind of at in her life.

1133
00:55:43.480 --> 00:55:45.760
Just she's going to school and she's trying to make

1134
00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:48.960
a little extra money by doing a couple of jobs,

1135
00:55:49.000 --> 00:55:50.920
and it's just a really stressful time.

1136
00:55:51.000 --> 00:55:53.079
Yeah, I can totally understand how she was feeling.

1137
00:55:53.360 --> 00:55:56.280
Chris's lawyer fought to prevent Kim's email from being entered

1138
00:55:56.280 --> 00:55:59.320
as evidence. They portrayed her as a sweet, loving wife

1139
00:55:59.400 --> 00:56:02.679
and proud. In one email to a friend, she called

1140
00:56:02.760 --> 00:56:05.559
Chris her hero. There were no signs that she was

1141
00:56:05.599 --> 00:56:09.400
suicidal or had an ounce of outrage towards her husband.

1142
00:56:09.800 --> 00:56:12.079
She had talked to her doctor about changes she was

1143
00:56:12.079 --> 00:56:16.119
feeling and didn't mention feeling suicidal or aggression towards others.

1144
00:56:16.159 --> 00:56:20.000
Her medical record show. Two weeks after Kim's death, Chris

1145
00:56:20.039 --> 00:56:22.599
tried to collect on her one million dollar life insurance

1146
00:56:22.639 --> 00:56:24.800
policy that was taken out in two thousand and four.

1147
00:56:25.159 --> 00:56:28.800
The policy's suicide clause expired in two thousand and six.

1148
00:56:29.519 --> 00:56:32.440
The people who defend Chris and think he's innocent point

1149
00:56:32.480 --> 00:56:36.039
to Kim and say that she was under stress, her

1150
00:56:36.079 --> 00:56:40.480
marriage was crumbling, she was angry at Chris for having

1151
00:56:40.679 --> 00:56:44.639
this affair, and there's this mounting evidence that Kim is

1152
00:56:44.800 --> 00:56:48.039
becoming unhinged. I really don't see that.

1153
00:56:48.440 --> 00:56:51.960
No, I don't either. I see troubles, right, I mean.

1154
00:56:52.039 --> 00:56:54.880
Obviously trouble. She was a pretty happy person.

1155
00:56:54.880 --> 00:56:57.400
Right, But the fact that she was searching for how

1156
00:56:57.400 --> 00:56:59.679
to spice up my marriage and things like that, So

1157
00:56:59.719 --> 00:57:03.840
she was obviously feeling insecure or troubled about the state

1158
00:57:03.880 --> 00:57:07.320
of the marriage for whatever reason. But that doesn't that

1159
00:57:07.360 --> 00:57:09.159
could be just as much of a motive for him

1160
00:57:09.199 --> 00:57:11.400
to kill her as for her to kill him. Right.

1161
00:57:11.599 --> 00:57:14.800
Well, and he's the one who is talking about living

1162
00:57:14.840 --> 00:57:18.000
on his own in Canada. Yeah. Well, as you probably guessed,

1163
00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:21.679
we're at the end of part one and part two,

1164
00:57:22.039 --> 00:57:24.159
we're going to find out a lot more about their

1165
00:57:24.199 --> 00:57:27.920
marriage and Chris and Chris's possible motivations.

1166
00:57:28.119 --> 00:57:30.400
Yeah, I mean that to me, like his whole dream

1167
00:57:30.440 --> 00:57:33.519
of starting a new life. That's very typical of the

1168
00:57:33.559 --> 00:57:36.800
family annihilators like this, Right, they have this vision of

1169
00:57:36.840 --> 00:57:39.639
themselves in a new life, whether it's with a new woman,

1170
00:57:39.880 --> 00:57:41.840
or whether it's going to Canada and living in the

1171
00:57:41.840 --> 00:57:44.440
wilderness or whatever. Like, he had this picture in his

1172
00:57:44.480 --> 00:57:46.599
mind of a whole new life, and he couldn't have

1173
00:57:46.599 --> 00:57:49.960
that life if he was still tied down to a family, right.

1174
00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:53.119
Yeah, you nailed it. In my opinion, people like that

1175
00:57:53.239 --> 00:57:56.400
are never going to be happy. Like, if you're always searching,

1176
00:57:56.440 --> 00:57:58.280
you think, oh, if I get to Canada, I'm finally

1177
00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:00.679
going to be happy. Oh if I or my wife,

1178
00:58:00.679 --> 00:58:02.760
I'm finally going to be happy. If I can be

1179
00:58:03.000 --> 00:58:06.119
dating a woman that's twenty years older and you know,

1180
00:58:06.320 --> 00:58:10.199
a natural blonde, I'll be happier. You know. There's just yeah, always,

1181
00:58:10.199 --> 00:58:12.400
if they're always searching for something, you're never going to

1182
00:58:12.480 --> 00:58:12.880
be happy.

1183
00:58:13.039 --> 00:58:13.960
Completely agree.

1184
00:58:14.199 --> 00:58:16.840
I have some questions for you before we wrap up.

1185
00:58:17.360 --> 00:58:21.079
Remember when investigators during the interrogation told Chris, we have

1186
00:58:21.159 --> 00:58:25.400
some footage from this cell phone tower. Why didn't he

1187
00:58:25.440 --> 00:58:27.400
act nervous? He was like, show me, I'd love to

1188
00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:27.800
see it.

1189
00:58:28.599 --> 00:58:30.559
It's a good question. I mean. The first the first

1190
00:58:30.559 --> 00:58:32.719
thing that that would tell you is that, Oh, maybe

1191
00:58:32.719 --> 00:58:35.320
he was innocent because he really did want to find answers.

1192
00:58:35.360 --> 00:58:38.800
But at the same time, I feel like he probably

1193
00:58:38.840 --> 00:58:40.679
knew that was the right way to act, right if

1194
00:58:40.719 --> 00:58:43.079
he was trying to act like he was innocent, that

1195
00:58:43.159 --> 00:58:45.880
he should be excited about it. And honestly, if there

1196
00:58:45.920 --> 00:58:48.760
really was footage, it was gonna you know, that was

1197
00:58:48.800 --> 00:58:50.719
going to be the end anyway, So why not act

1198
00:58:50.760 --> 00:58:52.159
like you were enthused about it.

1199
00:58:52.400 --> 00:58:56.239
I think Chris definitely a smart person. I think he

1200
00:58:56.280 --> 00:58:58.440
went there. I think he's he did the drive. I

1201
00:58:58.440 --> 00:59:00.599
think he scoped it out. I think that he knew

1202
00:59:00.599 --> 00:59:01.400
that there wasn't a camera.

1203
00:59:01.480 --> 00:59:02.400
I wondered about that too.

1204
00:59:02.480 --> 00:59:05.360
Yeah, as far as I can tell, Chris wasn't given

1205
00:59:05.400 --> 00:59:07.920
a polygraph. Why do you think that could have been?

1206
00:59:08.480 --> 00:59:11.800
I don't know. I mean, polygraphs are really interesting. We

1207
00:59:11.840 --> 00:59:15.000
talk about it a lot, but I do wonder that, like,

1208
00:59:15.039 --> 00:59:17.880
why wouldn't they have given him a polygraph or asked

1209
00:59:17.920 --> 00:59:18.599
him to take one?

1210
00:59:18.920 --> 00:59:21.400
Yeah, I wonder if it was because he was so expressionless.

1211
00:59:21.559 --> 00:59:21.960
M hmm.

1212
00:59:22.519 --> 00:59:25.199
Maybe they thought that he would be able to pass it.

1213
00:59:26.440 --> 00:59:30.800
If Kim asked Chris to stop because she was feeling queasy,

1214
00:59:30.800 --> 00:59:34.000
wouldn't she get out of the suv? Yeah, and get

1215
00:59:34.039 --> 00:59:37.199
some fresh air. The kids were still sleeping, and if

1216
00:59:37.239 --> 00:59:39.599
she was feeling nauseous and she needed to throw up,

1217
00:59:39.639 --> 00:59:42.280
she would have gotten out of the suv. Right, That's

1218
00:59:42.320 --> 00:59:46.199
what made me think he stopped in this little driveway

1219
00:59:46.239 --> 00:59:48.920
area and that's when he shot her when she was

1220
00:59:49.039 --> 00:59:49.880
probably sleeping.

1221
00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:51.679
Yeah. And the fact that they left the house so

1222
00:59:51.760 --> 00:59:53.760
early that they would have gotten to the water park

1223
00:59:53.800 --> 00:59:56.239
two hours before they opened, that sort of seems to

1224
00:59:56.280 --> 00:59:58.679
tie in with that, Like if he knew how much

1225
00:59:58.679 --> 01:00:00.320
time it would have taken to get to where he

1226
01:00:00.360 --> 01:00:03.199
wanted to stop and do this, and he probably knew

1227
01:00:03.199 --> 01:00:05.679
she would still be sleeping by them because it was

1228
01:00:05.679 --> 01:00:06.719
so early in the morning.

1229
01:00:06.960 --> 01:00:09.960
Well, he left that time because the sun wasn't quite

1230
01:00:10.039 --> 01:00:12.039
up yet, right, and he knew it was still dark.

1231
01:00:12.199 --> 01:00:12.519
Yeah.

1232
01:00:12.559 --> 01:00:15.239
There were other exits that if Kim wasn't feeling well,

1233
01:00:15.239 --> 01:00:17.800
like there was a McDonald's or a breast area, but

1234
01:00:18.159 --> 01:00:21.239
he chose this more desolate area. He said it was

1235
01:00:21.239 --> 01:00:24.840
because Kim was shy and he just thought, you know,

1236
01:00:24.840 --> 01:00:26.440
if she was going to get sick, she wanted to

1237
01:00:26.599 --> 01:00:27.760
be private.

1238
01:00:27.920 --> 01:00:29.079
Yeah, that seems unlikely.

1239
01:00:29.559 --> 01:00:32.639
Also as a reader. Kim brought two books. And I

1240
01:00:32.679 --> 01:00:35.280
think that Chris was implying that she took the gun

1241
01:00:35.320 --> 01:00:37.280
out of his closet in the morning and that she

1242
01:00:37.519 --> 01:00:40.079
was going to, you know, kill him and the kids.

1243
01:00:40.519 --> 01:00:42.360
But why would she have brought two books with her.

1244
01:00:42.480 --> 01:00:45.440
Yeah, it's a minor detail, but yeah, it's it's one

1245
01:00:45.519 --> 01:00:47.960
hundred percent right, Like, yeah, she would have had to

1246
01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:50.119
have been planning this ahead of time to bring the gun.

1247
01:00:50.400 --> 01:00:52.119
So yeah, she wouldn't have brought two books.

1248
01:00:52.400 --> 01:00:54.840
And you don't wake up one morning and say, I

1249
01:00:54.840 --> 01:00:56.679
mean some people do, but you know, she that just

1250
01:00:56.800 --> 01:00:59.760
wasn't her personality. She hadn't had a history of mental

1251
01:00:59.800 --> 01:01:02.000
illness or depression. So I don't think that she woke

1252
01:01:02.079 --> 01:01:04.880
up that morning and was like, I'm gonna kill everyone. No,

1253
01:01:05.760 --> 01:01:08.679
you know that I grew up not far from this area.

1254
01:01:08.719 --> 01:01:10.639
It was like an hour away, and so it was

1255
01:01:10.679 --> 01:01:13.679
really surprising to me that he wanted to drive three

1256
01:01:13.719 --> 01:01:16.559
hours to go to a water park. Yeah, like that's nuts.

1257
01:01:16.800 --> 01:01:18.519
And I looked up the water park. It looks like

1258
01:01:18.559 --> 01:01:21.079
a fine water park, but not one that you would

1259
01:01:21.159 --> 01:01:23.840
drive three hours too. Okay, So I grew up like

1260
01:01:23.960 --> 01:01:26.360
near the Rockford area and there. I don't think you

1261
01:01:26.400 --> 01:01:28.599
ever went there, but uh, it's called it was called

1262
01:01:28.639 --> 01:01:32.199
Magic Waters, it's something else now, and it's a really

1263
01:01:32.280 --> 01:01:35.000
nice park, and it was an hour away. And they're

1264
01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:37.400
in the Chicago metro area, like there's a lot of

1265
01:01:37.440 --> 01:01:40.760
other water parks. So just the fact that he wanted

1266
01:01:40.800 --> 01:01:42.880
to drive three hours and fifteen minutes when they had

1267
01:01:42.880 --> 01:01:46.840
to be back by four or five for Abby's soccer practice.

1268
01:01:46.639 --> 01:01:47.760
Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.

1269
01:01:48.360 --> 01:01:48.559
Sense.

1270
01:01:48.639 --> 01:01:50.360
It's a really good point too, because, yeah, if he

1271
01:01:50.440 --> 01:01:52.480
was planning to do this, you wanted to get them

1272
01:01:52.480 --> 01:01:55.360
into a desolate location, so that would be the only

1273
01:01:55.400 --> 01:01:58.079
reason that he might pick a water park that far away.

1274
01:01:58.679 --> 01:02:01.360
He said that he was to McDonald's and you heard

1275
01:02:01.400 --> 01:02:04.679
two people talking about this water park in Springfield, and

1276
01:02:04.719 --> 01:02:06.840
he was asking him about it. That's how he heard

1277
01:02:06.840 --> 01:02:09.000
about the water park. But as early as a week

1278
01:02:09.079 --> 01:02:12.280
before the murders, he had searched the water park. When

1279
01:02:12.320 --> 01:02:14.559
he was being questioned by police, he said, I don't

1280
01:02:14.559 --> 01:02:18.800
know what time it opens, but he went to their website.

1281
01:02:18.400 --> 01:02:20.440
Right, Yeah, don't doesn't add up.

1282
01:02:20.679 --> 01:02:22.920
When police pointed out that the water park didn't open

1283
01:02:23.000 --> 01:02:24.920
until ten am, he said, oh, we were going to

1284
01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:27.039
get there, and we were going to go to breakfast,

1285
01:02:27.119 --> 01:02:29.039
and then we were just going to drive around until

1286
01:02:29.079 --> 01:02:32.679
the park opened. Okay, And remember he's still wearing the

1287
01:02:32.679 --> 01:02:35.760
clothes that he had on the day before, his jeans

1288
01:02:35.760 --> 01:02:38.679
and his beloved cowboy boots. Why do you think he

1289
01:02:38.679 --> 01:02:39.800
didn't change his clothes.

1290
01:02:40.199 --> 01:02:42.599
I don't. I guess I don't really know why he didn't.

1291
01:02:43.000 --> 01:02:44.800
It's odd. It doesn't make any sense why he was

1292
01:02:44.800 --> 01:02:48.199
wearing this warm clothing on a ninety degree day. Well, oh,

1293
01:02:48.199 --> 01:02:49.760
he was shooting the day before at.

1294
01:02:49.639 --> 01:02:52.280
The shooting, Yeah, and so he wanted to be able

1295
01:02:52.320 --> 01:02:57.639
to say, oh, I had a gunshot residue because I yeah.

1296
01:02:57.400 --> 01:02:59.280
That makes that makes sense. You're one step out of

1297
01:02:59.320 --> 01:03:00.119
me as usual.

1298
01:03:00.599 --> 01:03:04.159
If I've researched this case for two weeks. So yeah, well,

1299
01:03:04.199 --> 01:03:12.800
please come back for part two. If you had to

1300
01:03:12.840 --> 01:03:15.039
shoot yourself, where would you shoot yourself?

1301
01:03:15.480 --> 01:03:19.000
You mean where geographically? Or where will my body? That's

1302
01:03:19.199 --> 01:03:20.000
what you're asking.

1303
01:03:20.599 --> 01:03:22.400
Well, you can answer both, but I met where on

1304
01:03:22.440 --> 01:03:22.800
your body?

1305
01:03:22.880 --> 01:03:24.800
Okay? So you're saying, if I wanted to shoot myself

1306
01:03:24.840 --> 01:03:27.039
and make it look like somebody else had shot me,

1307
01:03:27.400 --> 01:03:30.880
but I didn't want to injure myself fatally. Yes, I

1308
01:03:30.960 --> 01:03:33.159
mean somewhere probably eighty.

1309
01:03:32.840 --> 01:03:34.840
Part of your thigh is a really good place.

1310
01:03:34.960 --> 01:03:36.920
Yeah, although I know there's a risk of a major

1311
01:03:37.000 --> 01:03:39.480
artery down there somewhere, and I don't really know exactly

1312
01:03:39.480 --> 01:03:41.760
where it is. Oh, I would be afraid to do that.

1313
01:03:41.800 --> 01:03:44.159
I'd probably I'd probably google it first, but yeah, I

1314
01:03:44.159 --> 01:03:46.039
would think sort of like, yeah, one of the fleshy

1315
01:03:46.079 --> 01:03:48.519
parts of your leg or your arm would be probably

1316
01:03:48.519 --> 01:03:49.239
the most likely.

1317
01:03:49.599 --> 01:03:55.239
Yeah, I agree. So so far you are like Chris's Yeah,

1318
01:03:55.320 --> 01:03:57.320
if you don't see a way that Kim was the.

1319
01:03:57.360 --> 01:03:59.800
Murderer, not really. I mean I suppose that there's a

1320
01:03:59.800 --> 01:04:02.599
little possibility, but so far, to me, everything fits in

1321
01:04:02.800 --> 01:04:04.920
with Chris being the murderer.

1322
01:04:05.360 --> 01:04:08.239
If you were going to escape your life, I don't

1323
01:04:08.280 --> 01:04:11.800
know for what reason, because you have such a wonderful,

1324
01:04:11.880 --> 01:04:14.239
loving wife, and where would what would you want to do?

1325
01:04:14.280 --> 01:04:14.960
Where would you go?

1326
01:04:15.239 --> 01:04:17.159
I mean, this is really hard for me because I

1327
01:04:17.159 --> 01:04:19.440
have not thought about it at all until now. But

1328
01:04:19.480 --> 01:04:23.400
I would go. No, I don't know, I have no

1329
01:04:23.480 --> 01:04:25.599
idea where I would go, but I would if I

1330
01:04:25.679 --> 01:04:27.679
was going, if I really wanted to escape my life,

1331
01:04:28.039 --> 01:04:31.039
I would come up with a new identity for myself.

1332
01:04:31.320 --> 01:04:34.199
I would plan very far in advance. I would put

1333
01:04:34.239 --> 01:04:38.239
money aside in a bank account somewhere. I would have

1334
01:04:38.400 --> 01:04:41.440
a new identity made like really well done. You know,

1335
01:04:41.519 --> 01:04:44.599
passport and ID card and things like that. Make you

1336
01:04:44.639 --> 01:04:48.480
put no, I haven't, but I'm just saying that's what

1337
01:04:48.519 --> 01:04:50.119
I would do. I would not Where would you go, though,

1338
01:04:50.519 --> 01:04:52.920
I don't know. It's a good question. Probably somewhere out west,

1339
01:04:53.039 --> 01:04:55.840
like you know, Wyoming, or somewhere out in the middle

1340
01:04:55.880 --> 01:04:56.679
of nowhere where.

1341
01:04:56.519 --> 01:04:58.119
There's going to get some cowboy boots.

1342
01:04:58.159 --> 01:05:01.639
Maybe I would get some maybe get a few cattle

1343
01:05:01.760 --> 01:05:04.039
or something like that. I don't know, but that's probably

1344
01:05:04.079 --> 01:05:06.480
I'd probably just work as a short order cook and

1345
01:05:06.559 --> 01:05:07.400
a diner.

1346
01:05:10.920 --> 01:05:11.239
I don't know.

1347
01:05:11.239 --> 01:05:13.519
It's just like, again, I haven't thought this through, but

1348
01:05:13.639 --> 01:05:16.440
that's just my initial reaction. How about you, where would

1349
01:05:16.480 --> 01:05:19.000
you What would you do if you were trying to

1350
01:05:19.320 --> 01:05:20.159
start a new life.

1351
01:05:20.639 --> 01:05:24.960
You know, I'm not really sure. I think this is

1352
01:05:24.960 --> 01:05:27.760
gonna sound really bad, but I think you would understand.

1353
01:05:27.760 --> 01:05:30.440
I think most people understand. Sometimes I do think, gosh,

1354
01:05:30.480 --> 01:05:34.719
it would be really nice to live by myself. I mean,

1355
01:05:34.760 --> 01:05:36.960
I loved being a wife, and mom. But it's just

1356
01:05:37.960 --> 01:05:40.159
a it's a twenty four seven, three hundred and sixty

1357
01:05:40.199 --> 01:05:43.159
five day a year job, and sometimes it's just like

1358
01:05:43.880 --> 01:05:48.159
I'm just tired of worrying about everyone else. And it's

1359
01:05:48.199 --> 01:05:50.920
gotten easier because our kids are It's understandable.

1360
01:05:50.920 --> 01:05:52.920
But I didn't ask you if you wanted to, I would.

1361
01:05:53.000 --> 01:05:53.920
I asked you where.

1362
01:05:54.000 --> 01:05:56.960
I would have just rent a studio apartment, like an

1363
01:05:57.000 --> 01:05:57.599
hour away.

1364
01:05:57.679 --> 01:05:59.440
It's an hour away.

1365
01:05:59.840 --> 01:06:02.280
Just to just to have some time for myself.

1366
01:06:02.400 --> 01:06:04.960
Yeah, that sounds pretty good. I would probably start driving

1367
01:06:04.960 --> 01:06:05.880
a motorcycle too.

1368
01:06:06.119 --> 01:06:10.079
Just you would not you were you?

1369
01:06:10.159 --> 01:06:12.760
Really would you kind of if you're gonna like start

1370
01:06:12.800 --> 01:06:14.679
a new life, you gotta kind of change things up.

1371
01:06:14.719 --> 01:06:16.679
You got to become like a new person. So that

1372
01:06:16.719 --> 01:06:19.079
would be you know, that's how I picture myself. I'd

1373
01:06:19.079 --> 01:06:22.440
be working as a short order cooking a diner, ride

1374
01:06:22.440 --> 01:06:23.920
my motorcycle to work every day.

1375
01:06:24.239 --> 01:06:30.119
Like a season of Dexter opens. Isn't that like the

1376
01:06:30.119 --> 01:06:33.239
the Dexter you know, the New Genesis.

1377
01:06:32.679 --> 01:06:34.440
Of That's where I got this from.

1378
01:06:34.519 --> 01:06:38.639
Wow, gosh, what other secret do you have? I mean,

1379
01:06:38.639 --> 01:06:40.880
I would probably sounds. I mean, I like I would

1380
01:06:40.880 --> 01:06:42.679
say I would like go to Hawaii or something and

1381
01:06:42.760 --> 01:06:45.000
just let us live out of a backpack. But you

1382
01:06:45.039 --> 01:06:48.119
and I both know that I would miss my shoes.

1383
01:06:48.519 --> 01:06:49.440
Picture you doing that.

1384
01:06:49.559 --> 01:06:52.559
Yeah, Before we go, we want to thank everyone for

1385
01:06:52.760 --> 01:06:55.719
supporting us. For the month of January, we made a

1386
01:06:55.760 --> 01:06:59.719
donation to the World Central Kitchen, which is a charity

1387
01:06:59.760 --> 01:07:03.280
that started by a chef named jose Andre. It's been

1388
01:07:03.320 --> 01:07:05.960
around for about fifteen years. They do amazing work in

1389
01:07:06.000 --> 01:07:10.239
the United States and around the world. During the California wildfires,

1390
01:07:10.280 --> 01:07:15.280
they really just jumped into help and they provided a

1391
01:07:15.280 --> 01:07:19.159
lot of meals to victims and the firefighters. And then

1392
01:07:19.280 --> 01:07:23.639
during the plane crash recently in DC, they jumped right

1393
01:07:23.679 --> 01:07:26.000
in there and they provided a lot of meals and support.

1394
01:07:26.199 --> 01:07:28.440
I just think it's a great organization and we couldn't

1395
01:07:28.440 --> 01:07:31.920
do it without you and your support, especially from our

1396
01:07:31.920 --> 01:07:34.800
Patreon members. Thank you so much.

1397
01:07:35.320 --> 01:07:37.639
Yes, we truly appreciate all of you. And if you

1398
01:07:37.639 --> 01:07:40.440
would like to join us on Patreon, go to patreon

1399
01:07:40.480 --> 01:07:43.599
dot com slash love Mary Kill. We have one tier

1400
01:07:43.760 --> 01:07:46.400
five dollars a month. You get early ad free access

1401
01:07:46.679 --> 01:07:49.039
and a monthly bonus episode. So you can listen to

1402
01:07:49.480 --> 01:07:51.400
part two of this episode right now.

1403
01:07:51.440 --> 01:07:54.880
If you'd like, and later we are going to record

1404
01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:57.440
our Patreon episode for the month. Is it a good one?

1405
01:07:57.639 --> 01:07:58.639
I think it's a good one.

1406
01:07:58.840 --> 01:08:01.599
And you guys, if you could give us a review,

1407
01:08:01.760 --> 01:08:04.559
a five star review, that is the best way to

1408
01:08:04.639 --> 01:08:08.320
support the podcast, and I think we haven't had many lately,

1409
01:08:08.480 --> 01:08:12.079
so please rate, review, follow and subscribe, find us on

1410
01:08:12.159 --> 01:08:16.000
social media, or send us an email at lovemarykilat gmail

1411
01:08:16.119 --> 01:08:19.600
dot com. Until next time, don't kill your wife and

1412
01:08:19.640 --> 01:09:02.680
don't kill your husband.