1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: Murder in Illinois is a production of iHeartRadio. Nine days 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: after they were killed, Christopher Vaughan was arrested for the 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: murders of his wife and three children. Vaughn's arrest occurred 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: at seven point fifty am once he arrived at a 5 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: Missouri funeral home to bury his family. For investigator Bill Clutter, 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: that timeline and the decisions driving the events is telling. 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 2: I mean, they charged him so they believed he was guilty, 8 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 2: and then just to rub salt in his wounds, they 9 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 2: snatched him away right before he's to attend the funeral 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 2: of his children, his wife. And that's a pretty harsh 11 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: sentence right there, just punishing him before he's actually convicted. 12 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: Do you think that was intentional? 13 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 3: Sure it was. Yeah. They could have waited. 14 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 2: They could have They were decent human beings, they would 15 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 2: have waited until after the funeral, pulled him aside and 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 2: then put. 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: Him into hand and cuffs, just in terms of the 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: message that it would have sent the media and the public. 19 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: Do you think timing was intended? 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 4: Oh? 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was also the thing that's part of the 22 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 2: media show voting is because the media was right there 23 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 2: prepared to cover it. 24 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: Many at the time, watched the arrest unfold in real 25 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: time on the news. 26 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 3: Well, I mean, what a perfect state. And maybe they didn't. 27 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 2: Tip off the media that he was going to be arrested, 28 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 2: but they knew the media was going to be outside the. 29 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 3: Fumor because it's a high profile case. 30 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 2: It's part of the theatrics of the publicity, and there 31 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 2: was no presumption of innocence. They decided they would punish 32 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: him before he's even tried or convicted, and. 33 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: To go back to that earlier point because they knew 34 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: the press would be on hand. They also knew that 35 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: they could arrest him quite publicly. 36 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and they did. And that's what happened. 37 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Brett Pacheco and is murder in Illinois. 38 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 5: Calloy guy afty. 39 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 6: Gay You fear. 40 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 4: The ground, hay hay. 41 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: The Once arrested, the prosecution made it clear Chris Vaughn 42 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: was likely facing the death penalty. At this point in time, 43 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: in Illinois, a death penalty case was advantageous in terms 44 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: of defense because of what's ref to as heightened due process. 45 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: Individual death penalty cases were provided hundreds of thousands of 46 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: dollars from the state for top tier lawyers, experts, investigators, 47 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: and anything needed to provide the accused with a proper 48 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: legal team and fair defense. But Christopher Vaughan's public image 49 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,519 Speaker 1: was under scrutiny from the start, and his guilt seemed 50 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: presumed from the beginning. Bill Clutter recalls seeing the initial 51 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: stages of the case on television. 52 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 2: This was a high profile case. It was in the media, 53 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 2: was in the state drone register, and it was on 54 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 2: the news. I did CNN covered it live. They flew 55 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 2: helicopters over the crime. 56 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 7: Scene at the time, so I was aware of the case, 57 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 7: and my initial impression, just based off the news coverage 58 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 7: was that this is probably a sensing case rather than 59 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 7: a guilt Innison's phase. 60 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: The media immediately began to to Chris's background in history. 61 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: What they uncovered didn't paint the best picture and only 62 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: served to solidify his increasingly unflattering image to the public. 63 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: Christopher Vaughan was not a perfect husband or father. 64 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 8: Once detectives started questioning him, at one point saying that 65 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 8: he didn't remember what had happened in the suv now. 66 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 8: While in the emergency room after the shootings, he reportedly 67 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 8: was upset about blood on his cowboy boots. 68 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 2: I mean, right off the bat, the media reports, and 69 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 2: this happens in so many cases where a person is 70 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 2: really tried and convicted in the media before they even 71 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: hit a courtroom. The media reports picked up on some 72 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 2: sensational facts. 73 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 9: Vaughn frequented strip clubs in Chicago and the suburbs. Months 74 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 9: before the murders. He told one of the strippers he 75 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 9: was single. 76 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 2: And he made two visits to a strip club and 77 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 2: spent an enormous amount of money I think over four 78 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 2: thousand dollars. And of course this is a guy who 79 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 2: was making I mean he moved to Chicago to take 80 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 2: a job that was paying him almost two hundred thousand 81 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 2: a year, which there's very few people that make that 82 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 2: kind of salary. Those things really, I think turned public 83 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 2: opinion against him. 84 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 6: Lots up theirs, visits to strip clubs and plans which 85 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 6: did not include his family, and. 86 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 9: As many as four exotic dancers are expected to testify. 87 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: The media's salacious covering of those strip club visits and 88 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: other extramarital activities would later prove detrimental to Chris at 89 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: his trial. 90 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: Up to that point, they had the first major lead 91 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 2: was the strip club. 92 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 3: The interviewed the dancer. 93 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 2: At Scores, so that was in between his initial interrogation 94 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 2: and the arrest. 95 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 3: Before the funeral. 96 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 2: They had that, and then they discovered the email cats 97 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 2: with Steve Willett in Canada, and so. 98 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 3: That became ability. 99 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 2: He's aha mobids, He's wanted to hike into the Yukon 100 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 2: and leave his family. 101 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 3: That's why he killed them. And so, which is all 102 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 3: really weak. 103 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: We'll revisit those strip club and wilderness fantasies later in 104 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: greater detail. 105 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 2: There's no stronger compelling probable cause that he did. And 106 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 2: then it was Bob Dieal's report where he interpreted that 107 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 2: the large satury blood on the passenger's seat belt had 108 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 2: to have been from her bleeding onto it while the 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 2: seat belt was. 110 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 3: Buckled, I mean, nathological explanation. 111 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 2: But then after the DNA comes back that no, that's 112 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 2: not how it happened. 113 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 3: But they ran with that and lost in. 114 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 2: Sergeant Lawson, who was the case agent who deal disagreed 115 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 2: with used that as evidence that he staged the crime scene. 116 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 2: He unbuckled the passenger seat after Kim was killed, and 117 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 2: that didn't happen. 118 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: The prosecution's initial theory, which was based on the initial 119 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: crime seen investigator Bob Deal's observations and report, hinged on 120 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: the fact that the retracted passenger side seat belt, once extended, 121 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: revealed sections that were saturated with blood. The prosecution's original 122 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: theory was that Kimberly Vaughn was wearing that safety belt 123 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: when she was shot, and that Christopher Vaughan unbuckled it 124 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: to stage the crime scene by making it appear she'd 125 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: removed it to enable turning around to shoot the children 126 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: over her left shoulder. The problem what investigators didn't know 127 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: at the time of Chris Vaughn's arrest was that the 128 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: blood on the retracted safety belt didn't belong to Kimberly Vaughn. 129 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: It belonged to Chris. This will prove significant as we 130 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: dive deeper into the investigation and the way in which 131 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: it was handled. Bill Clutter believes tunnel vision, largely based 132 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: on that initial theory, was firmly in place even before 133 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: the crime scene was properly analyzed. 134 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 2: Sergeant Gary Lawson was driving that bus, but it heads 135 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 2: with Bob Deal, the crime scene investigator, who pointed out 136 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 2: all the flaws of this theory that he had that 137 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 2: Christopher Vaughan did it and never conducted a complete investigation, 138 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 2: never delved into him state of mind. Of course, later 139 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 2: the FDA would issue its findings regarding the medication she 140 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 2: was taken. 141 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: There were safeguards that were meant to be in place 142 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: to protect people from that rush to judgment. Yeah, did 143 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: that work out for Chris No. Not. 144 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 2: The recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Capital Punishment. That report, 145 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 2: I think was released in April of two thousand and two, 146 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 2: and that's the report that retrospectively studied the innocent people 147 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 2: who had been wrongfully convicted. 148 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 3: And put on death row. 149 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 2: And one of the recommendations of that Governor's Commission was 150 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 2: that law enforcement agencies need guard against tunnel vision. And 151 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 2: they defined what tunnel vision is, and it's this rush 152 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 2: to judgment and you disregard other evidence, you know, such 153 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: as Bob Deal's point was the bullet trajectories all support 154 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 2: a murder suicide, and they do. And our crime scene 155 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,199 Speaker 2: investigator Katie Hartman, who's reviewing deals work, so he concurs 156 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 2: with that and points to that as strong evidence of 157 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 2: supporting a murder suicide. 158 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 3: But none of that was done. It was a rush 159 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 3: to judgment. 160 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 2: They had their suspect and they were going to forge 161 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 2: the facts to fit their theory, which is what Bob 162 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 2: Deal's deposition describes. It's classic tunnel vision. And that was 163 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 2: one of the things that the Governor's Commission warned was 164 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 2: that at play in many of these wrongful convictions that 165 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 2: sent innocent people to death row. And of course, at 166 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 2: the time Chris is facing the death. 167 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: Penalty, that tunnel vision, coupled with the emotional bias the 168 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: media was fully projecting, became a significant challenge in defending Vaughn. 169 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 3: In so many cases. 170 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 2: And there's that initial outrage, especially once you make the 171 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 2: accusation that he did it, and oh my god, what 172 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 2: an awful thing to kill your own these adorable children 173 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 2: who were innocent to any of the marital conflict that 174 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 2: they might have had. 175 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 3: That's the part of it that people have a. 176 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 2: Hard time understanding the emotion of that, and the media 177 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 2: really ramping up and pointing the finger at him. 178 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 3: He really had no chance. 179 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: Clutter believes that outrage proved an insurmountable hurdle. 180 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 2: You know, people can get caught up in the emotion 181 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 2: of a crime and forget about the same guards that 182 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 2: we are supposed to have the guardrails to protect an 183 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 2: innocent person from being thrown into the meat grinder of 184 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 2: the justice system. 185 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: And do you feel that that's what happened to Chris. 186 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 3: That's absolutely what happened to him. 187 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: Chris and his family started putting together a legal team 188 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 1: with John Rogers, a defense attorney from Saint Louis. Rogers 189 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: brought on Bill Clutter as one of the investigators for 190 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:16,559 Speaker 1: the case. 191 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 2: I received a phone call from John Rogers that he 192 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 2: was getting involved, you know. I asked if I would 193 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 2: be interested if it looked like they were pursuing the 194 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 2: death penalty. A few weeks later that I traveled up 195 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 2: to Joliet and had a meeting with Jerry Killian, who 196 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 2: was the local council, and John Rogers. That was the 197 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 2: first time I had worked with Kerry Killy and I 198 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 2: had worked with John Rogers on another case that attempted 199 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:48,959 Speaker 2: murdered case in which our client had poisoned his girlfriend 200 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 2: with dallium. It's a rat poison that had been banned 201 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 2: years ago, so we had worked before. 202 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: Because of their history, I was interested in Clutter's thoughts 203 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 1: on Rogers. 204 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:06,079 Speaker 3: He's a very thorough attorney and very thoughtful and how 205 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 3: he approaches cases. 206 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 2: John has a reputation of being a sought out. 207 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 3: Criminal defense attorney. 208 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 2: Started out, I think as a public defender, went into 209 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 2: private practice, and just enjoyed a very successful law practice 210 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 2: as a criminal defense attorney. By the time we got 211 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 2: together as a defense team, you know, Jerry had gone 212 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 2: through the twenty hours of videotape interrogation of Chris, and 213 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,839 Speaker 2: I just remember in that additional meeting, Jerry had some 214 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 2: doubts about Chris's guild based on what he saw in 215 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 2: the video interviews. 216 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 6: Why would she bring a gun into the car with 217 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 6: the kids? 218 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 10: I don't know why, he said, I can't. I can't 219 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 10: see her doing that. I can't see her shooting me. 220 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 10: I can't see her ever shooting the kids. 221 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 3: I don't know. 222 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 2: When he was given every opportunity to blame her, he 223 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 2: defended her to the hilt. I mean, he never took 224 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 2: that bait that they put in front of him, which 225 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 2: you know, if somebody were guilty, they would jump on 226 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 2: that and be delighted. The police were inviting him to 227 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 2: point the finger at his wife, and he defended her 228 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 2: the entire time. 229 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 11: I don't think she's not capable of of herting somebody 230 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 11: like that. 231 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 6: Then who possibly could have done it one of the kids. 232 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 11: No, I didn't see her do it. 233 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: I don't know, but interrogation tape observations aside. Like most 234 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: of the public, Bill came on to the defense team 235 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: believe Vaughn was likely guilty. And then he met him. 236 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 2: My first meeting with him, I went in with my 237 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,439 Speaker 2: ex wife, who was at the time working as a 238 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 2: mitigation specialist, and I recall going into the Will County 239 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 2: jail being introduced to Chris. 240 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:20,520 Speaker 3: I just was struck. 241 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 2: By how he didn't strike me as as a killer. 242 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 2: I mean, he just didn't. And you know, I have 243 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: many clients who do, and I really was. 244 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 3: It was one of. 245 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 2: Those things where, you know, my initial thoughts of the case, 246 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 2: expecting to meet this cold budded killer who was charged 247 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 2: and facing the death penalty for having killed his family, 248 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 2: and coming away from that initial meeting just there was 249 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 2: an incongruity between the charges he was facing and the 250 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 2: person that I encountered in the Will County jail. I 251 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 2: mean he was very meek, a mild individual, very introverted. 252 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 2: The last personnel prolocu would expect to be facing those 253 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 2: types of charges. 254 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: I asked Bill to describe that meeting and it's setting 255 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: in greater detail. 256 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 2: You know, the initial meeting wasn't subsidient, but it was 257 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 2: more of just trying to make an introduction with the 258 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 2: client and to gather some impromation that would assist with 259 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 2: the fact investigation. 260 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: Bill elicited details about Vaughn's relationship, difficulties behind the scenes 261 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: of his marriage, and some of the issues the couple 262 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: had been struggling with. Based on Christopher's responses, any number 263 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: of recent events within the household could have led to 264 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: the tragedy. 265 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 3: He referred to this as a perfect storm. A lot of. 266 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 2: Things in the relationship with his wife, Kim were reaching 267 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 2: a point where, I mean, he had recently confessed to 268 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 2: her that he had had a relationship when he was 269 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 2: out of the country in Mexico, when he was interrogated 270 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 2: by police, he disclosed that. 271 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 10: But I was trying to make things right. I was 272 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 10: taking her on a honeymoon this weekend. We're going to 273 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 10: go back to Herman where we had her first honeymoon. 274 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 10: Two things all over again. 275 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 11: Who's gonna watch kids? My mom and her sister were 276 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 11: coming up on Friday. 277 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 10: Tahaw, Yeah, there comes in the house to watch the 278 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 10: kids for the weekend. 279 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 11: Kim, and I was surprised. 280 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 10: I didn't want her to have to worry about any 281 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 10: of the details or anything like that. 282 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 12: So I set it up. 283 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 10: And I told her parents. I told my parents to 284 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 10: kind of coordinate the details. 285 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 11: But I'm going to take her. 286 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 6: So your mom and your sister know my mom and 287 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:06,160 Speaker 6: my hands her sister. We're gonna come up Friday. 288 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 3: When were they. 289 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 6: Supposed to show up around you or so maybe something? 290 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 6: And Kim had no idea they were coming. 291 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 11: I was gonna tell her later today, what. 292 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 6: If she would have said a going. 293 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,960 Speaker 11: Ain't gonna happen? Why should have said that this is? 294 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 11: It was gonna be good. 295 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 6: Do you think one weekend sex with your wife is 296 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 6: gonna make her forget that you've been having sex with 297 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 6: all these other women? 298 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 11: You think who wasn't all these other one It was 299 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 11: just one time in Mexico, and it was a start. 300 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: Remember, Vaughan agreed to that interrogation, waving his right to 301 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: a lawyer. 302 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 2: There was just a lot of things going on. What 303 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 2: struck me is is his characterization of this being a 304 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 2: perfect storm. It's really an apt description now that I 305 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 2: know what I know about the case, because she was 306 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 2: under tremendous stress. 307 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 3: She was taking an online. 308 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 2: Class, was hoping to become a private investigator like he 309 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 2: had been in Washington State. That was their goal as 310 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 2: a couple, was to have a business together. That she 311 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 2: would take this online class get her degree in criminal justice. 312 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 2: But in the meantime, she was experiencing a stress related 313 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 2: migraine headaches and was prescribed topamax, which we later discovered 314 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 2: had an FDA warning six months after this had happened again. 315 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: Topamax, or to pyramate, is a medication used to treat 316 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,400 Speaker 1: migraines and sometimes by polar disorder. In two thousand and eight, 317 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 1: a year after the tragedy, the FDA stopped just short 318 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: of issuing a black Boy warning for the drug, their 319 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,399 Speaker 1: firmest guidance against using a medication, and instead released a 320 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: strong warning that people on top pyramid maybe twice as 321 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: likely to experience suicidal thoughts. But we'll come back to 322 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: that now. 323 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 2: Well, that first meeting in Joliet, I just remember going 324 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 2: back to Jerry Killian's office and my ex wife raised 325 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 2: the possibility that he could be innocent. Jerry Killian, you know, 326 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 2: I had watched the twenty hours of the video interrogation 327 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,760 Speaker 2: of Christopher Vaughn, and Jerry gave an example where in 328 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 2: the interrogation the police are telling him that, well, you know, 329 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 2: the vehicle was parked under a cell phone tower, and 330 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 2: because of nine to eleven, we now have cameras on 331 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,879 Speaker 2: cell phone towers, which wasn't true. I mean, they were 332 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 2: lying to them to extract a confession. But the way 333 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,880 Speaker 2: he reacted was genuine and like he wanted to know 334 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 2: what did they show? 335 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 10: Why can't that one guy get the video camera that 336 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 10: he was talking about? 337 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:12,440 Speaker 11: What are you talking about? 338 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 10: I don't know what other detective or sergeants said. He 339 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 10: had a video camera the whole deal, in front of 340 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 10: the truck in some tower, a video camera. 341 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 11: It recorded everything. 342 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: This remains a pretty compelling question. Why would a guilty 343 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,160 Speaker 1: person be so eager for police to provide what they 344 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: claimed was security footage of the crime scene. And this 345 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: began the foundation of the defense's case in support of Christopher. 346 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: The next thing they needed to do was to examine 347 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: the vehicle. 348 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:50,880 Speaker 2: The aha moment was when we inspected the vehicle. It 349 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 2: was at the Joliet prison, the one in the Blues 350 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 2: Brothers in the opening scene where Juliet Jake walks out 351 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 2: of prison with That's where the four exposition was being stored. 352 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:08,199 Speaker 2: We had our bloodstain expert Tom Bevell there and he 353 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 2: was interested in doing a trajectory of one of the 354 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,439 Speaker 2: shots that killed the child that was seated in the 355 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 2: middle Sander. 356 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,439 Speaker 1: That examination of the vehicle became a critical moment for 357 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: the defense. 358 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 2: There was a shot that penetrated the chest and it 359 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 2: went through the back of the seat into the third 360 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 2: seat in the Ford expedition, it's a large vehicle, so 361 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 2: it has two bench seats in the back well. This 362 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 2: trajectory when we asked the crime scene services for the 363 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:47,360 Speaker 2: Wedn Estate Police to lend us a doll rod, and 364 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 2: these are typically used to show the trajectory of the 365 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 2: path of a bullet. When the doll rod was inserted 366 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 2: through the bullet hole in the seat into the hole 367 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:03,400 Speaker 2: where the bullet came to rest and extended that dog bot. 368 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 2: That shot was clearly fired by the person who was 369 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 2: seated in the passenger seat, and that person was Gimbon, 370 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 2: and that was really the ah moment when there was 371 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 2: this realization that this indeed was a murder suicide. 372 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: In Bill's opinion, the bullet trajectory made it impossible for 373 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: Chris to have been the shooter. There was also DNA, 374 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 1: the blood on the retracted seat belt, and other problematic 375 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 1: things about the crime scene and the way in which 376 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,120 Speaker 1: it was handled. For example, the white terry cloth towel 377 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: the gun was stored in was neatly laid out on 378 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: Kimberly Vaughn's left thigh when our body was found. Crime 379 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,680 Speaker 1: scene photos clearly show its placement and that it was 380 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,120 Speaker 1: splattered with blood. For some reason, that towel was not 381 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: saved as evidence. In fact, it was somehow discarded before 382 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:57,639 Speaker 1: the autopsy. This reflects an apparent pattern of evidence not 383 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: pointing at Chris Vaughn as the shooter being discounted. And 384 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: when the initial police crime scene investigator on the case, 385 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 1: Bob Deal, expressed his concern over the investigation's nearly immediate 386 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:14,199 Speaker 1: tunnel vision, he was removed from the case. Deal was 387 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: deposed by the defense in twenty eleven and shared his 388 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,959 Speaker 1: thoughts on the experience. Here's Bill Clutter. 389 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 2: Normally, in Illinois, defense attorneys don't get to take depositions. 390 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 3: But because this was a capital case. 391 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 2: One of the reforms to prevent an innocent person from 392 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 2: facing the death penalty was to allow depositions in criminal cases. 393 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 2: And when we took the deposition of the crime scene 394 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 2: investigator of the Illna State Police, I mean, he described 395 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 2: this rushed to judgment, this tunnel vision. As a matter 396 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 2: of fact, I documented this in a letter to the 397 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 2: office of the Executive Inspector General, and I wanted an 398 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 2: internal investigation when you got to the deposition of Bob Dial. 399 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 2: The crime scene investigator describes this pressure from day one. 400 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 2: He described getting a phone call from the Sowne commander 401 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 2: convinced that Christopher Vaughan committed this crime. 402 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 4: You know. 403 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 2: He described how he was telling this commander that, you know, the. 404 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 3: Evidence didn't support that theory. 405 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 2: That he was looking at both theories, whether it was 406 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 2: a murder suicide or whether it was a crime committed 407 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 2: by Christopher Vaughan. He had all the crime scene evidence 408 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 2: pointed to a murder suicide. And he describes how, you know, 409 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 2: after expressing that opinion, he got taken off the case. 410 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 2: He had no further contact with the investigators. 411 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 3: This is classic tunnel vision. I mean, it really is. 412 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: According to his deposition, Bob Deal received a phone call 413 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: in which then commander of District five, Captain Ken Kalpus, 414 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: told him Vaughn was a criminal mastermind who premeditated the murders. 415 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 1: And this call came before five point thirty pm on 416 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,359 Speaker 1: the same day the murders occurred. And yes, that's the 417 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,400 Speaker 1: same District five where Vaughn was interrogated for twenty hours 418 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: in his hospital gown. Throughout the one hundred and sixteen 419 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: page deposition of the former Illinois State Police crime scene 420 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: investigator Bob Deal, shares multiple and alarming examples of bias 421 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: against Vaughn that started before Deal had even completed the autopsies, 422 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: including an exchange with will County State's Attorney James Glasgow 423 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,640 Speaker 1: at a large meeting just one day after the murders 424 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 1: on June fifteenth. Here's a quote. I got up to 425 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: give my presentation and explained to everyone what was going on. 426 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: And I believed that, and then believed this day that 427 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: at some point Kimberly had that gun in her hand, 428 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 1: and the exact thing in front of everybody was Kimberly 429 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: was an angel and there's no way she could have 430 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,679 Speaker 1: ever held a gun in her hand, And from that 431 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: day on, I was totally dismissed as to anything that 432 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: had anything to do with this case. That tunnel vision, 433 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: along with Bond's apparent memory gaps, presented daunting challenges. Back 434 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:30,879 Speaker 1: to Bill Clutter and the defense team strategy. 435 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, I spoke to doctor Terry Killian. 436 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: Terry Killian as a psychiatrist and not to be confused 437 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: with Jerry Killian, one of the attorneys on the case. 438 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: The defense enlisted him to evaluate Bond's behavior and statements 439 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: during his initial twenty hour interrogation. 440 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,159 Speaker 2: Terry Killian was one of our consulting experts on the case, 441 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 2: and he was looking specifically at the issue of dissociative amnesia, 442 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 2: analyzing the statement that Chris had given. Of course, a 443 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 2: big part of this case when he was indicted was 444 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 2: his inability. 445 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 3: To recall certain details. 446 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 2: Doctor Killian, the thing that stands out is I think 447 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 2: about his report is that he described that Chris had 448 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 2: referred to his family in the present tense when he 449 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 2: was interviewed by police and after he was shown the 450 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 2: photographs of his family and was shown that they were dead, 451 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 2: that he switched and started using the past tense. He 452 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 2: said that that was something that would be very hard 453 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 2: to fake, that nuance of going from present tense to 454 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 2: past tense when referring to his family. So he will 455 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 2: be able to explain issue of dissociative amnesia. Said he 456 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 2: wouldn't be surprised if Chris is unable to recall what 457 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 2: happened even to this day. 458 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: Doctor Kellyan wrote a forty six page report asserting his 459 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: opinion that Chris's condition was genuine. It would later prove 460 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: problematic that doctor Kellian never actually spoke to Chris in person. 461 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,879 Speaker 1: The confirmation of dissociative amnesia and subsequent report was based 462 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,120 Speaker 1: solely on reviewing the hours of interrogation and other reports 463 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: that were provided. The defense then turned its attention to 464 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: the possible effects of the drug Kimberly was taking for 465 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: her migraines. For that, they turned to Keith Altman, a 466 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: principle of his own law firm as well as a 467 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: litigator for the Linto Law Group who specializes in complex 468 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: and scientific cases, including pharmaceuticals. 469 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 13: I've been involved in psychiatric averress events associated with drugs 470 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 13: for some time, including theer Pittman case then at South Carolina, 471 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 13: which was his twelve year old who was charged with 472 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 13: murder for killing his grand parents three days after they 473 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 13: choose the Nola dosage, and several other SSR related cases. 474 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 13: Will Clutter contacted me said Hey, I got a situation 475 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 13: I want to bring in on. I was brought in, 476 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 13: had the conversation with Jerry Tillion, who was his lead attorney, 477 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 13: and then I remember going down to Saint Louis to 478 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 13: meet with Mill and Jerry and some other people. And 479 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 13: I was the one who also brought David Healing, one 480 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,200 Speaker 13: of the top experts in the world on psychiatric adversus 481 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 13: as of drugs, to the equation to see what we 482 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 13: could do here in terms of the evidence personal but 483 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 13: general capacity topomax to cause negative mood and behavioral disturbances. 484 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 1: Keith happened to be ideally suited for the job. 485 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 12: Yeah. 486 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 13: At the time, as I happened to be working on 487 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:55,400 Speaker 13: a to a pyramid suicide case, I was extremely familiar 488 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:01,920 Speaker 13: with the capacity of pad propermax of causing suicidal and 489 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 13: self injurious behavior and the best predictor of homicidal behavior 490 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 13: as suicidal behavior the other way around. That's why you 491 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 13: see so many murder suicides. And then the minute he 492 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 13: said tokamac I said, I know what's going on here. 493 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 13: In fact, in two thousand and nine, there is now 494 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 13: a warning on all of the anti convulsives, including tropomax, 495 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 13: for suicidal behavior. And I was the motivating force behind 496 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 13: that labeling change happening because of another drug I was 497 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 13: working on related to pyramids. I had a lot of 498 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 13: expertise in understanding the address events associate with the drug. 499 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 13: It just hit a nerve ride away as soon as 500 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 13: I heard it. 501 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,959 Speaker 1: A reaction to the medication would have also been the 502 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: best and most plausible explanation for a sudden violent outburst, 503 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: if that's truly what happened. 504 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 13: She had had a dosage change recently, and that appears 505 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 13: to be when there's the greatest risk of a negative 506 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 13: outcome associated with these drugs. It's the same thing as 507 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 13: true to the antidepressants. And you see these you see 508 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 13: these effects, And as soon as I heard that, I 509 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 13: had a strong suspicion. But when I was in Saint 510 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:20,840 Speaker 13: Louis and learned of the ballistic evidence, I was utterly 511 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 13: convinced that this could not could not have been Chris. 512 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 13: For one of the problems is, and it's been Chris's 513 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 13: problem all along, is for people to accept the horrifying 514 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 13: reality that a mother could have killed her three children. 515 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: The assumption that Chris, the father was the killer also 516 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,800 Speaker 1: aligns more comfortably with the sentiments we hold as a 517 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 1: society about maternal nature. Most people find it more difficult 518 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: to accept the notion that a mother could ever kill 519 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: her children, despite a number of cases where this has occurred. 520 00:31:57,960 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 13: But this is not the first time that we have seen. 521 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,240 Speaker 13: Is everybody probably remembers Susan Smith who drowns her children 522 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 13: in South Carolina. This does happen. Mental illness is horrible, 523 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 13: and these drugs can cause these horrific behavioral changes, to 524 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 13: cause people to do things that just are unimaginable, and that. 525 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 1: Would also explain Chris's inability. He reiterated multiple times during 526 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: the interrogation that he did not believe his wife could 527 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 1: have done that. 528 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 13: Absolutely. Brain chemistry is a real thing. These drugs alter 529 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 13: brain chemistry. They don't necessarily know how or why, but 530 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 13: they do make changes, and the changes can be profound 531 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 13: in a very short period of time. And I always 532 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 13: tell anybody I ever know who is going to be 533 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 13: on an antidepressant is make sure that your family watches 534 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 13: you in the week to two weeks after you start 535 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 13: or change the dosage, so that is when the risk 536 00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 13: is most acute. Based on all the evidence that I 537 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 13: have seen, people just had an expectation that and mother 538 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 13: could nevigate us for their children. But I submit that 539 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:14,120 Speaker 13: this was the drug altering her move behavior and I'll 540 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:14,720 Speaker 13: bets you're off. 541 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,800 Speaker 1: And now the defense had their case. Christopher Vaughn's defense team, 542 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 1: now staffed with excellent lawyers and expert testimony, was ready 543 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 1: to make the case that not only did forensic evidence 544 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: at the crime scene not match up with the version 545 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 1: of the events that the police were reporting, but also 546 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: the idea that Kimberly Vaughn may have been experiencing behavioral 547 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: anomalies due to a reaction to her medication. And that 548 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 1: brings us to Randy's stitle and the impact his high 549 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: profile case would ultimately have on Christopher Vaughn's Here's journalist Jojosey, 550 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: editor of the Herald News. 551 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 14: Randy's stitle was convicted of murder in nineteen eighty seven. 552 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 14: It's convicted of murray a couple in Paris, Illinois, which 553 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:06,719 Speaker 14: is downstate southeastern part of the state Indiana. He had 554 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,400 Speaker 14: his co defended Herb Woodlock, were sentenced to death. 555 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 1: Stitle appealed his wrongful conviction for more than a decade, 556 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: and in doing so exposed a trail of lies and 557 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:22,120 Speaker 1: corruption that ran through multiple layers of government and law 558 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:25,920 Speaker 1: enforcement in Illinois. He was freed in two thousand and 559 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: four and charges against him dismissed, citing that exculpatory evidence 560 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 1: had been purposely withheld at trial. 561 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,160 Speaker 14: Stitle had two execution days before he was taken off 562 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:39,279 Speaker 14: death row. He was ultimately freed from prison, ensued a 563 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,799 Speaker 14: number of law enforcement officials in the state's attorney and 564 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 14: was granted a six million dollar judgment. 565 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: At the time of his release, Stitle was the seventeenth 566 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,279 Speaker 1: person to be released for wrongful conviction who'd been on 567 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:56,799 Speaker 1: death row in Illinois, something that resonated and resulted in 568 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: active reform. 569 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 14: There was a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, 570 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 14: and it was later abolished after a large number of 571 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 14: convictions were. 572 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 1: Revealed in twenty eleven. The same year Illinois abolished the 573 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: death penalty, Stitle settled a two point five million dollar 574 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: lawsuit against the Illinois State Police, and in twenty thirteen 575 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:21,919 Speaker 1: settled an additional lawsuit against Edgar County Police for three 576 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,600 Speaker 1: point five million. One of the defendants named in Stitle's 577 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:30,280 Speaker 1: case against the Illinois State Police, Captain Kenkalpus, the same 578 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: commander of District five who called crime scene investigator Bob 579 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,920 Speaker 1: Deal the day the Vaughan family was killed. The arising 580 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: Vaughn was a criminal mastermind who'd premeditated the murders. Stitle 581 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,959 Speaker 1: accused Calpus of working to keep him in prison even 582 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,800 Speaker 1: after it became a parent. There was not enough evidence 583 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: to substantiate his conviction. 584 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,919 Speaker 14: In two thousand and four, ken Copus was brought in 585 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,359 Speaker 14: to investigate. I believe there's a captain went to State 586 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 14: Police at the time. From what I read, he tried 587 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 14: to orchestrate in over here shortly before Stytle was to 588 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 14: be released from prison, and over here with another prisoner 589 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:08,480 Speaker 14: trying to implicate him in the murderer. 590 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,799 Speaker 1: So an over here is that he would have had 591 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:15,279 Speaker 1: another inmate try to tape a confession. 592 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,560 Speaker 14: Yeah, another inmate would wear a wire and try to 593 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,799 Speaker 14: record mister Style saying something that would implicate. 594 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:24,280 Speaker 6: Him in the murder. 595 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: When the death penalty was abolished, Chris Vaughn and other 596 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,560 Speaker 1: Illinois prisoners who were given the benefit of heightened due 597 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: process to prevent a death sentence were stripped of the 598 00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:36,800 Speaker 1: funding and additional money provided for their defense by the state. 599 00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:41,920 Speaker 1: So in twenty eleven, Chris's legal team was defunded and dismantled, 600 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,040 Speaker 1: and he was assigned a public defender for his twenty 601 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: twelve trial. By this point in my research, I'd reached 602 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 1: out to Kimberly's family multiple times, and other than a 603 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,040 Speaker 1: brief initial text exchange with Dell Phillips, her father, received 604 00:36:57,239 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 1: no responses to my requests, established strong connections with Christopher 605 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,760 Speaker 1: Vaughan's parents, Galeen Pierre, and multiple members of his family. 606 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: In addition to gathering the insights of journalists, investigators, and 607 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:14,120 Speaker 1: other experts, I prioritized focusing on the sole survivor of 608 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:20,920 Speaker 1: the Vaughn family murders. Initially, Chris and I corresponded through 609 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 1: mailed letters. My intention was to open a line of 610 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 1: communication before visiting him in person, and then COVID and 611 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 1: lockdown hit. Because Chris felt phone calls were more invasively 612 00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,919 Speaker 1: monitored by both staff and other inmates. We settled into 613 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 1: a steady stream of emails routed through a private company 614 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:44,840 Speaker 1: the Department of Corrections contracts to link incarcerated individuals with 615 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:49,799 Speaker 1: family and friends. While our interactions were screened, we were 616 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:54,280 Speaker 1: able to discuss many intimate details about the murders, Kim 617 00:37:54,520 --> 00:38:00,160 Speaker 1: and their marriage without any overt censorship. While initially awkward, 618 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:04,040 Speaker 1: I slowly cultivated an authentic rapport with Chris and in 619 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,799 Speaker 1: doing so, earned his trust. But it was a sensitive process, 620 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:15,040 Speaker 1: as this early email reflects, quote Lauren, sorry for not 621 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:18,840 Speaker 1: having written sooner. I keep writing, rewriting, and discarding email. 622 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:22,040 Speaker 1: I'm certainly out of practice trying to get my thoughts 623 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:26,759 Speaker 1: expressed and written word Truthfully, I'm a bit apprehensive. I 624 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,799 Speaker 1: have not spoken about this because I was and am 625 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,640 Speaker 1: convinced it will do no good. I was told I 626 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: would be convicted because I was alive. Someone needed to 627 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,960 Speaker 1: be held accountable, and nothing I could do would change that. 628 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:41,840 Speaker 1: I have no reason to believe differently now. 629 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:51,359 Speaker 5: Unquote, as they say, Sama, well married, Tum get four 630 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:58,560 Speaker 5: thoughts till night, bah good, they get fine love. 631 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:02,359 Speaker 4: Tum wimblows gold. 632 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,640 Speaker 5: Do not Duzzy. 633 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 6: I did not play found. 634 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:13,640 Speaker 1: Coming up on the next Murder in Illinois, Christopher Vaughan 635 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: is put on trial. 636 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:19,279 Speaker 13: The prosecutors put up their big shock and awe performance. 637 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:25,600 Speaker 10: They showed pictures of h children lying dead in the seats. 638 00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:28,560 Speaker 13: They showed pictures of Kimberly. 639 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,640 Speaker 1: It was terrible and more damning revelations drop. 640 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,440 Speaker 13: He was lying to people about being married, he was 641 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 13: lying people about having a child. 642 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,680 Speaker 14: When you're in jail for murdering your family and you're 643 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:46,360 Speaker 14: writing poems about a tripper that's probably not a great optic. 644 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,360 Speaker 6: Called this feet to. 645 00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 5: My no nighte fly Dinna. 646 00:39:53,840 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 4: He's swown in up, change in mind, summer, I hope 647 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:06,320 Speaker 4: he foes. 648 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,600 Speaker 5: Disoit to Mark sail. 649 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:30,920 Speaker 12: Toyitima Bright and yahoyitya. 650 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:37,320 Speaker 6: It's what. 651 00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:44,440 Speaker 1: Murder in Illinois is a production of iHeartRadio. Executive producers 652 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:48,279 Speaker 1: are Lauren Brt Pacheco and Taylor Chaqoine. Written by Lauren Bright, 653 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:52,600 Speaker 1: Pacheco and Matthew Riddle, Story editing by Matthew Riddle, editing 654 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:56,400 Speaker 1: and sound design by Evan Tyer and Taylor Chaqoine. Featuring 655 00:40:56,480 --> 00:41:00,160 Speaker 1: music by Cicada Rhythm with new compositions engineered in Mexx. 656 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:05,840 Speaker 1: Evan Tyer and Taylor Chicogne. Archived news reports provided by WGN. 657 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,800 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, 658 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get the stories that matter 659 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:23,080 Speaker 1: to you.