WEBVTT - 3. Family Dynamics 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:06.000 Murder in Illinois is a production of iHeartRadio. Kimberly Ellen 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:10.080 Phillips had an undeniable and immediate impact on the young 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:14.880 Chris Vaughn. Strikingly beautiful and two years older, she likely 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.840 seemed much more sophisticated and mature to the teenaged Vaughn, 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:21.200 who was just out of high school when they met. 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:26.160 Kimberly was raised in Saint Charles, Missouri, the daughter of Dell, 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:30.240 a lawyer, and Susan, a teacher. In high school, she 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:36.080 enjoyed sports, especially volleyball. One of three daughters, Kimberly was 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.920 also an identical twin. It was that identical twin, Jennifer, 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:45.519 who would deliver a victim impact statement after Christopher was 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:50.280 convicted of killing his three children and Kimberly, which means 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.559 Vaughn would face a woman who shared the features of 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:56.560 the wife he was sentenced to life for having murdered. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.600 He had a lot of friends before he met Kimberly. 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.520 Once he met Kimberly, she kind of got in between 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:09.080 him and any friends or oh was she called hard 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.920 sad cases that Chris just wanted to take home and 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:15.640 help him fix their problems. She would get rid of 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:19.399 them somehow, I am not sure how, but she would 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:23.200 make sure that Chris distanced himself between him and his friends. 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.679 According to his family, when Chris and Kimberly first started dating, 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:32.520 she consumed his world, his grades declined, and after she 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:36.039 became pregnant, he dropped out of college. But outwardly he 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:40.360 seemed happy, and as a couple they appeared happy, at 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:46.520 least initially. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco and this is murder 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:50.240 in Illinois, Carrie. 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.880 And now do say good places a. 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:05.040 Fine? 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:13.680 Teach them to. 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:18.120 Listen to this. 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:26.760 Like many marriages and relationships, Christopher and Kimberly Vaughan's union 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.840 seemed relatively unremarkable, but people close to them, Chris's parents 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:36.200 in particular, could see that underneath outward appearances, there was 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:41.280 a complicated core, likely rooted in their very different upbringings. 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:45.680 Most of what we understand about Chris and Kimberly's relationship, 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:50.040 particularly in regards to kim and her family's behavior and 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:54.680 attitudes towards Chris, comes from his family, But we tried 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:58.359 to represent their relationship and marriage based on the information 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:01.919 we were able to obtain. Again, we reached out to 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:06.760 Kimberly's family multiple times, and to date they've declined to participate. 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:11.160 While those close to Chris were taken aback by the 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:14.720 way Chris entered his marriage, they weren't surprised by his 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:19.000 reaction to the situation. Here is his aunt Rose, Gail's 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:19.640 younger sister. 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:22.920 No, I was more shocked that. 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:27.040 He called me and told me that he. 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:27.880 Was going to have a baby. 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:33.120 Talking about Chris, especially as a father, remains very emotional 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:33.799 for Rose. 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:41.880 He actually called and tell me first, and I figured 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:46.080 he would do the right thing, and he did so. No, 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.240 I was not shocked about him getting married. 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:53.480 As we've mentioned, there had already been a number of 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:58.080 awkward interactions between the two families, most notably a few 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:02.640 not too successful dinners. But it was these early interactions 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.640 that started to give Gail and Pierre a glimpse into 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:09.200 what Kim's family was like, and in particular, how they 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:11.760 viewed Chris's family. Here's Gail. 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:13.760 Oh. 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:18.800 The first first time I felt really like something was 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:24.720 wrong with her family in liking us was when I 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:27.960 had invited them over for dinner just to get to 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:31.200 meet them, because we didn't really know these people. And 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.160 this was after the announcement that Chris and Kim were 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.120 going to be married, and I invited her mom and 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.120 dad over to our house and have dinner, and we 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.920 grilled some chicken, and she didn't really touch anything on 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:48.080 her plate, and she just didn't really talk to us. 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:53.560 And afterwards I thought it was a complete failure. I 0:04:55.120 --> 0:05:01.560 had gone in to this dinner to try to figure 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.720 out her family period, you know, get to know somebody, 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:09.919 because these are going to be our family also. But 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.240 she made it quite clear that we were not going 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:17.440 to be her family. And they left and went home 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:23.039 and they didn't come back. We would offer them to 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.120 come over, you know, have dinner or just sit and talk, 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:26.800 and she said no. 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.320 Even at the wedding, there was little warmth between the 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.800 two families. Each side mostly kept themselves. Here again is 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:36.479 Gail's sister Rose. 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:38.240 Oh oh yeah. 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:38.640 Yeah. 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:45.240 Everybody tried to stay distant. Niceties was about all there was. 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.159 There wasn't any overly outgoingness. 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:53.039 It was very awkward, but by most accounts, it was 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:57.320 still a pleasant event, although Kimberly had relayed some unpleasant 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:58.880 issues regarding the planning. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.880 Oh the wedding was beautiful. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.279 Leading up to the wedding though for some reason, her 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.719 mom didn't like any if the choices, and it looked 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.640 like it was going to be more Kim's mom's wedding 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:18.720 than Kimberly's wedding. And I tried to go with Kimberly 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:22.320 to get her stuff that they wished me to get 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:26.680 form like the flowers, you know, and the day before 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:31.239 the wedding or hook soon before the wedding, her mom went. 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:32.800 To the florist and changed everything. 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:37.440 So it was quite a tug of war, and I 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:42.880 tried really hard not to make waves, but it was interesting. 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:48.640 Gail says that dysfunctional dynamic continued after the couple exchanged vows. 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:53.800 When we were doing the pictures after the wedding, Susan, 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:58.440 that's Kim's mom's name, got very upset with I'm not 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:04.119 sure exactly what it was, but her mom, Susan's mom 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:07.680 kind of collered at her and told her to straighten 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.280 out and act right right there in church. And it was. 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:12.640 Interesting too. 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.200 Another memory from the wedding day stands out for the Bonds, 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.880 and it involves a comment that Susan Phillips apparently made 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.840 to Pierre's mother during the reception at the Phillips home. 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.520 Susan said something to my mother in law, which my 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:29.800 mother in law never told me what she said. But 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:33.640 my mother in law went home with us because that's 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:37.320 where she was staying for the wedding, and they left 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.400 with something that had been said between her and Susan. 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.840 That comment was apparently so offensive that Gail's mother in 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:49.400 law not only refused to repeat it, but insisted on 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:51.680 leaving the Phillips home immediately. 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.080 We did find out from her my mom in law, 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.240 that Susan had told her something or said something. 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.600 To her that just hurt her very badly. 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:05.120 She did not want to stay there, so we took 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.920 her home and we never found out what that was. 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.240 Pierre's mother chose to take that comment with her to 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:16.040 her grave. Still, the Vaughans contend they continuously tried to 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.520 forge a good relationship with Kim's family. 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:22.560 The Phillips invited us for dinner and they told us 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.160 to be there at six point thirty, and she says, oh, 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:29.200 take the whole family. Well, Kim told us, I didn't 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.840 talk to Susan, but Kim invited us over to her 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.560 mom's house in dad's house to have dinner. It's going 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:39.120 to be a Chinese restaurant type dinner, and we were 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.839 supposed to bring our other two sons, so it was 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:51.400 a family thing. So that dinner was again interesting. Chris 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:57.120 and kim tried to keep the conversation going and otherwise 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:01.840 it would just just fall Susan just it was either 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:02.920 her way or the highway. 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:06.240 And she asked us about, you know, hunting, and. 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.400 That's just the way our families have grown up through 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:17.240 the generations of going out and shooting a deer or 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:21.319 you know, a rabbit or a squirrel and bringing them 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:26.880 home and making them a dinner. She pointed out quite 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:31.120 a few times through this dinner that we were not educated, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:33.360 so we really didn't have. 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:37.800 She didn't want to take our word for anything. 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:41.480 Because we did not have the paper pedigree that she 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:43.880 thought we were. 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:44.320 Supposed to have. 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:49.080 They're first born, Abigail, came soon after Chris and Kimberly 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:52.680 were married, and not long after, Kimberly was pregnant again 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.719 with a couple's second daughter, Cassandra. 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:57.760 Kim's Baum told her that if you were breastfeeding, you 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:02.800 can't get pregnant. Well, it doesn't exactly shin' true. 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.640 This is when Christopher decided to have a house built 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.440 and use this as an opportunity to make an effort 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.400 to keep the balance between the two families. He gave 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.360 a lot of consideration to the location. 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:16.439 Chris had done a lot of surveying and checking, and 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:20.640 they were exactly the same amount mileage wise between the 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:24.760 two family fans, So he was directly in the middle, 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:30.000 not even a quarter mile more or less, but exactly 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.560 so many miles between two families. 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.080 And then a few years after that, Kevin Chris had 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:39.480 their third child, a son, Blake. 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:42.000 So Sandy was. 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:48.679 Maybe fourteen months thirteen months younger than Abbey, and then 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:51.120 there was a little break there, and then about five 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.160 years later there was Blake. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.040 Interesting, so it's almost like the same age difference between 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:57.640 your boys. 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.760 Yeah, that's gonna hit me. When we had our little grandside, 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.640 I go, how this is amazing. You guys are following 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.520 in our footstep. Needless to say, her parents were not 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.800 happy about that, and. 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:13.600 With Chris and Kim living in their own house separate 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.360 from either of the families, Gallan Pierre were able to 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.520 spend a lot more time with their grandkids. 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:19.439 They were great. 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.679 Chris made sure we would get to see them, you know, 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:28.400 like every other weekend or something. They didn't just stop in. 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.120 We always seemed to have to make an appointment to 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:32.920 get to see them. But when we had them, it 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:37.160 was fantastic. Few were smart little kids. They didn't seem 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.360 to worry about mom and dad going out the door. 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:43.200 We just had a wonderful time. We took them to parks, 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:45.920 We played in our yard. I had a big house, 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.840 so we played, you know, hide and seek, and we 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:53.800 did crafty things for Maddi Grau. We painted masks of 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.760 paper plates and we just had a fantastic time. 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.480 Here they are in home video dying Easter eggs the 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:16.840 year before the tragedy. 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:16.120 Out No Young One. 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:19.280 Chris and Pierre are seated at opposite end of the table. 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.160 Abby and Cassandra on one side, while Blake caulls down 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.960 the other, stretching over the center of the table to 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:31.480 dip his egg as he negotiates for access to the colors. 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:35.480 All involved or smiling and engaged as usual. Gail is 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.320 behind the camera. Blake turns and waves to her with 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:42.440 a goofy grin. I asked Gail to share what she 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.800 remembers about each of the kids. Even with the pain 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:50.440 that accompanies her recollections, you hear her grandmotherly pride and love. 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:53.120 Well. 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:57.480 Abigail had her mom's complexion. She was a beautiful peaches 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:02.760 and cream type complexion with beautiful blue eyes, and she 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:08.120 had an intellect that was unbelievable. She acted a lot 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.160 like her mom, but she was more giving and loving. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:15.800 I mean she hugged and stuff long. And then there 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:19.880 was Sandy. She has a little brunette with sparkly green eyes, 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.479 and we used to call her a Sander the commander 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.880 because she would tell everybody, we're going to have a play, 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.520 and you're going to be Pluto, and you're going to 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.720 be the star, and you know, things like this. She 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:34.640 had a mind of her own, so she was our 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:38.680 little stubborn one. But she I mean, she would walk 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:41.679 out into a room and everybody would light up. She 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:45.120 just had a way about her. And then there was Blake. 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.439 Blake was only eight when he left, but she was 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:54.360 also a very smart little boy, very intelligent. She was 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:58.160 reading books three or four years above his grade level 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.679 and understanding them and he would retain knowledge. And he 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.480 was fantastic with baseball. I mean he could give you 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:11.520 the stats of any player on the Cardinals team, and 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:12.480 he was only eight. 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:14.640 It was remarkable. 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.440 For most accounts, Christopher loved his children and was an 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:22.520 excellent father. Gail shared many photos and home videos of 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:26.320 her son interacting with his children, like this one three 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.080 years before their deaths. Chris is seated as the kids 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:34.720 play the game Hangman with their grandparents outdoors. Cassandra is 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:37.680 running the game on a large drawing pad as Abbey 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:42.080 sits alongside. Blake pops up occasionally from his father's lap, 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:46.000 where he quickly returns to snuggle. Chris welcomes him each 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.480 time with a smile and a pat once the little 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:54.800 boy hops back onto his lap again. We want to 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:59.920 acknowledge that these memories are from Chris's own family, not Kimberly's, 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:03.800 but there is nothing to suggest Christopher would have been 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.360 capable of harming his children. Here's his aunt Rose. 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.280 He was always happy. I mean, he was always goofy. 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:12.720 The pictures that I. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.840 Sent you The photos Rose is referencing covered the lifetime 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:20.960 relationship the two shared. While she's Gail's younger sister, there's 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.960 a fifteen year age gap between the two, which meant 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.120 Rose grew up closer in age to Christopher and more 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:30.800 like his cousin than aunt. The photographs she shared show 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.720 Chris through the years as a toddler, boy, teen, and 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:39.600 young father. They also reflect the Vaughn family's deep enthusiasm 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:44.479 for outdoor sports, camping, and the wilderness on a multi generational, 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:49.080 extended family level. Throughout the range of time the photos represent, 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.400 Chris is more often than not wearing a broad, happy smile, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.520 especially in the photos that show him as a father. 0:15:58.080 --> 0:15:59.760 He's always got a goofy smile on. 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:05.120 He's always just the center of attention, having fun, just down. 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:05.560 To earth fun. 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.240 In one particular photo, he's standing on the beach hoisting 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.560 Abbey Inn, a bouncy infant up towards the camera with 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.760 one arm as he lifts the brim of her sunbonnet 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.400 back with his other hand, revealing the baby's beautiful gerber 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.640 like features. Kim Is standing in the background, arms of 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.400 Kimbo all three or smiling widely. 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:30.000 They were at our house in Winfield, and my husband 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:31.680 and I are like, well, let's go take them to 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.080 Lake Michigan. Let's see what the how the baby reacts 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.120 with the water. Because when I had mine. Whenever her 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:38.880 feet hit the water, she would jump up like a 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.200 little little jumping bean, And so everybody was on board 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.240 with it. So we went up to Lake Michigan, Kim 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:48.280 and Chris and Abby and my husband and I, and 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.360 that's exactly what she did. He tried to put her 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:52.480 little feet in the water, and she jok right back up, 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:54.240 and she would laugh and laugh and laugh. It was 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:56.120 just it was just a great day. It was warm, 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:56.880 it was beautiful. 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.400 Rose sent many other photos of Chris interaction acting with 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:05.560 his children, and they all reflect an engaged, doting father, just. 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:10.240 Love and warmth and amusement. He was highly amused by 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:14.000 the antics of his children, sometimes not remembering that he 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.400 was once like that and did the very same goofy thing. 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:21.640 He just he looked at them like these incredible little creatures, 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:23.800 just just wonderful. 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:28.320 Chris's youngest brother, Adam, also recalls his impression of Chris 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:28.960 as a father. 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:34.080 He was amazing. I still find myself applying some of 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:37.800 the things that I observed him doing with his kids, 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:41.760 I find myself attempting to do with mine. One of 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:45.639 the things that definitely stood out for me is just 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:51.840 how easily he could communicate to children. I mean, obviously, 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.840 I have four children on my own now, and I 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:59.280 am no strangers to the difficulties of parenting, so it 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:02.600 even puts it more into context on how he could 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.159 approach them on their level. He would actually make the 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:11.919 effort to physically neil or sit to where he was 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.040 high level with them and talk with them, and it 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:18.880 was just really amazing to see how how just that 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:25.560 change in altitude really changed the child's demeanor and allowed 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:46.120 them to be a little bit more communicative with them. 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.960 By the time he was twenty five, Christopher Vaughan was 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.480 a father of three. While Kimberly and Christopher seemed to 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.480 be adjusting well to the responsibilities of a growing family, 0:18:56.040 --> 0:19:01.320 their relationship had become strained. Various insecurities plagued them and 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:04.879 started to take root, and the pressure from Kim's family 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:09.680 wasn't making it any easier. According to Gail and Pierre Vond, they. 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:14.960 Both had a problem with their education for insecurities. Yes, 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:22.800 I think Kim figured she would be better respected in. 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:27.199 Her own family, her side of the family if she 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:28.720 got this degree. 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:34.080 So many times we heard them make comments on things 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.600 and the family as a whole would not listen to 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:38.840 Kimberly because she didn't know what she was talking about, 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:42.000 because she didn't have the degrees to go with the conversation. 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:46.920 College degrees or lack thereof, obviously appears to have been 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:49.400 a huge sticking point with both families. 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:54.000 We were just tolerated because. 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:58.399 Because, like we said, they all had college degrees, and 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.399 according to them, if you had a college degree, you 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:06.040 were smarter than everybody else, and it didn't matter what 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:10.600 your degree was in or not. And you know, her mom, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:14.600 her college degree was in language, so she taught German 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:19.879 in school. Her dad was a lawyer, but he was 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:23.000 a jag lawyer in the army or military, and then 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.960 when he came out, he was an ambulance chaser. You know, 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:29.800 if somebody pulled and broke the leg and you wanted 0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:31.280 to sue somebody, he. 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:31.840 Was your guy. 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:36.399 Again, this is the Vaughn's perception, but it seems to 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:40.199 be one that's confirmed by multiple members and generations of 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:44.520 their family. Numerous instances in front of different members of 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:48.399 the Vaughn family that proceved negative judgment to the point 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:52.040 of insult, and it apparently extended to Kimberly. 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:54.159 According to what I understand. 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:57.120 When the family got together for a holiday or then 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:01.320 anything like that, they would exclude Kimberly from their conversations 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:03.720 because she wasn't smart enough, because she didn't have a college. 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:07.840 Degree, and from the Bond's perspective, Kim's and security wasn't 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.280 limited to her lack of a college education. They felt 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:15.040 the years of her mother's controlling influence had shaped Kim 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:19.080 into someone who apparently wanted attention, even at the expense 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:19.800 of her children. 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:24.880 She was almost jealous about their firstborn daughter, Abigail, because 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.720 Chris he was just so proud of her. He wanted 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.320 to take her in a stroller in the mall, and 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.119 Kim got really upset and she wouldn't let him do that. 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:40.000 Even though everybody saw the happy, bully, friendly side of Kimberly, 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:41.160 she was. 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:42.119 A lot like her mother. 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:48.119 More than anybody knows that there was a dark, mean side. 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:51.280 Even the kids called her a monster mommy. 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:56.200 Right when nobody else was around, that dark side would 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:56.600 come out. 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:01.000 The Bonds contend Kim's children were subject to a lot 0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:04.560 of her outbursts, leading to the nickname. They would sometimes 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:08.600 use monster Mommy to describe her when she was angry. 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:11.840 I actually got to witness one of her Monster Mommy 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:17.159 episodes Christmas before this happened. It was crazy because. 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:21.399 It basically happened because Abigail decided she didn't want to. 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:21.960 Take a shower. 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:26.840 Kimberly said, yes, you mus take a shower. Well, she 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:29.040 is an upen age, Yeah, okay, mom's got to tell 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:30.080 their daughters what to do. 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:32.960 Okay, fine, But she took it to a. 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:39.040 Hair pulling, abusive, screaming, rustling type match with her. 0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:40.000 Daughter, Abigail. 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.919 And this was happening upstairs in my house where the 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:49.639 kids were staying at that point, they were visiting. And 0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:51.240 I went up the stairs. 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:56.160 And Sandy and Blake came and says, Monster Mommy doesn't 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:59.440 want to talk to anybody else. You've got to stay 0:22:59.440 --> 0:23:02.240 away from her. Shall hurt you too? And they took 0:23:02.240 --> 0:23:05.720 my hands and we went downstairs. I let the episode 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:09.760 happen upstairs, and I feel guilty about that now that 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:11.080 I didn't step in. 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:18.080 Stressed with the friction between the two families, Kim and 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:21.800 Chris's relationship started to struggle, but Chris was still on 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:24.119 the hunt for better and better jobs to take care 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:27.560 of his family and Eventually he found an opportunity in 0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:29.919 Washington and used it to make things better. 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:34.320 Here's Gail Well it hit him John Chris's career. 0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:36.840 Wherever he had the best job is where he went. 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:40.480 He had a job offer on the coast. 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:43.000 Up there, and he took it. 0:23:43.000 --> 0:23:44.000 It made more money. 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:45.439 He could get a. 0:23:45.440 --> 0:23:48.960 Bigger house and get Kim the vehicles she wanted, and 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:51.280 kids would be happy, and. 0:23:51.560 --> 0:23:56.760 We'll taken care of And he went wherever the job 0:23:56.840 --> 0:23:58.600 took him, he did. 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.160 But also so I think at the time they thought 0:24:02.200 --> 0:24:06.439 that they got away from both of us, they have 0:24:06.560 --> 0:24:08.480 a better chance of. 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:10.159 Keeping their marriage together. 0:24:10.920 --> 0:24:15.720 He originally started out working for a big company as 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:21.200 a forensic computer guy, and then he started his own 0:24:21.240 --> 0:24:24.919 company called stone Bridge, which was the name of the 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:25.840 streets they lived on. 0:24:26.720 --> 0:24:29.399 When Chris got to Washington, he was doing computer and 0:24:29.440 --> 0:24:32.399 tech work for multiple clients as a contractor for a 0:24:32.440 --> 0:24:36.000 company that served other tech companies. Eventually he took his 0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:38.880 skill set and branched out on his own, which leads 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:42.920 up to stone Bridge Consulting. Here again is private investigator 0:24:42.960 --> 0:24:46.160 Bill Clutter, who's been involved with Chris's case since two 0:24:46.200 --> 0:24:47.040 thousand and seven. 0:24:47.960 --> 0:24:54.400 Chris head his own private tech agency and stone Bridge Investigations. 0:24:54.600 --> 0:24:59.240 He was based in Bellevue, Washington, and he really developed 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:03.760