Speaker 1: Murder in Illinois is a production of iHeartRadio. The words
Speaker 1: the pen is Mightier than the Sword were first written
Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty nine by an English novelist and playwright.
Speaker 1: It's an interesting concept, the power of words to defend,
Speaker 1: to inspire, or to wound, especially now in a time
Speaker 1: in which technology enables us to fire off texts, shoot
Speaker 1: each other emails, and attack one another on social media
Speaker 1: or online posts. It's something I thought of often as
Speaker 1: I set out to write this podcast. The Vaughan family
Speaker 1: had already experienced written outrage in many forms after Chris's arrest, trial,
Speaker 1: and verdict. As we neared the release of our first episode,
Speaker 1: potential response weighed heavily on everyone involved. The first article
Speaker 1: about this podcast to go live was the local Patch
Speaker 1: website in Shanahan where the tragedy occurred, and with it
Speaker 1: came reader comments like these Jim from Joliet, lock me
Speaker 1: in his cell with him. He'll remember who did it
Speaker 1: real quick. Wally, also from Joliet. Unless the Vaughan family
Speaker 1: is saying Chris is guilty, they really need to shut up.
Speaker 1: And Phil from Wheaton, Illinois reference is another man convicted
Speaker 1: of killing his family in his post. Let's lock him
Speaker 1: up with Chris Watts and they can swap stories of
Speaker 1: how they each murdered their children and wives while we
Speaker 1: slowly burn down the place. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, and
Speaker 1: this is murder in Illinois, okay you. After Chris Vaughn's
Speaker 1: wife and three children were found dead, speculation as to
Speaker 1: Chris's guilt started immediately on message boards and reader comments
Speaker 1: beneath news articles. Here's Gail's sister Rose.
Speaker 2: Passing judgment on people hiding behind a screen and putting
Speaker 2: words and texts on the Internet without knowing truths, not
Speaker 2: knowing whole story, only seeing parts that have been manufactured
Speaker 2: in a lot of different areas.
Speaker 3: That's a hard one.
Speaker 1: There's a lot, and it's billed over in person on
Speaker 1: a deeply personal level.
Speaker 2: When this all took place, even though I don't live
Speaker 2: anywhere near Missouri, but this is where our original family started,
Speaker 2: I had to put my children of protectiveness.
Speaker 1: At their school.
Speaker 2: So I had two middle schoolers and I had to
Speaker 2: go and talk to the principal because there were parents
Speaker 2: that were just being I was stocked. I had people
Speaker 2: in our driveway constantly. I had reporters. We have a
Speaker 2: long driveway, like a three quarter of a mile driveway,
Speaker 2: and there were people parked everywhere. I called the police,
Speaker 2: but the police wouldn't do anything.
Speaker 1: After Chris's arrest, many viewed the extended Vaughan family as
Speaker 1: guilty too. By relation. Gail Vaughan was particularly targeted as
Speaker 1: the woman who mothered the man accused of killing, the
Speaker 1: mother of his three kids and his children. Some were
Speaker 1: even motivated enough to express their thoughts in calls or
Speaker 1: letters they mailed to her home.
Speaker 4: Oh pretty much, How could you be the mother of
Speaker 4: a killer?
Speaker 5: Why did you even give him birth?
Speaker 4: There was a gentleman that texted and said that in
Speaker 4: his opinion, Chris was guilty and he needed to be
Speaker 4: stripped and sent to Canada in the middle of the
Speaker 4: winter and see if he can survive there. And just
Speaker 4: a lot of why Chris was even here, Why are
Speaker 4: you defending your son?
Speaker 1: He did it?
Speaker 6: And we received that stuff, but there again, our lawyers
Speaker 6: told us not to speak the public, so we never
Speaker 6: even gave a comment to any media person at all.
Speaker 1: The letter started coming shortly after the tragedy.
Speaker 5: It seemed like it was about a week. The letters
Speaker 5: started coming after the funeral I got a number of
Speaker 5: hate mail that just said vile things. I got a
Speaker 5: couple letters from religious people that wanted to save Chris's soul.
Speaker 5: Many of them were very, very hateful.
Speaker 1: Here's an excerpt from one that she's capped for fourteen years.
Speaker 5: There was no return address, it has been typed, it
Speaker 5: was not signed, and it's dated June twenty sixth, twenty seven.
Speaker 5: Mister and missus Vaughan, as a resident of Aswego, Illinois.
Speaker 5: I am sickened at the news of the heartless, cruel
Speaker 5: act your son inflicted on his wife and beautiful children.
Speaker 5: Following the news story from the moment it broke, I
Speaker 5: had no doubt in my mind of your son's guilt.
Speaker 5: His story made absolutely no sense from the very beginning.
Speaker 5: What kind of sick mind would put two bullets through
Speaker 5: each one of his children's bodies at such close range
Speaker 5: and then kill his wife. I can't even begin to
Speaker 5: imagine the scared thoughts running through those children's minds as
Speaker 5: this punk riddled their bodies with bullets. Matter of fact,
Speaker 5: Chris is such a coward he couldn't even put a
Speaker 5: bullet through his own head, which is where it belongs.
Speaker 5: We are delighted in the fact that he was arrested,
Speaker 5: and now Kim and his precious children may rest in
Speaker 5: the comfort of God's peace. It would have been highly
Speaker 5: unfair for the souls of those murdered that Chris be
Speaker 5: given the opportunity to attend their burial. Congratulations to the
Speaker 5: law enforcement personnel who made his arrest early in the morning.
Speaker 5: We are now left with having to playing to our
Speaker 5: little children why the dad of Kim's three children killed them.
Speaker 5: The children in this community do not understand, and frankly,
Speaker 5: neither do the adults. Chris thought he was so cool
Speaker 5: that he could get away with this horrific crime. I
Speaker 5: look forward to the day he is found guilty for this.
Speaker 5: Only a cold hearted, psychopathic mind would kill his children
Speaker 5: and wife, and I would be disgusted and ashamed of
Speaker 5: my son. May the souls of Kim, Abby, Sandy and
Speaker 5: Blake rest in peace. Hell awaits those so cruel.
Speaker 1: Written things would also play heavily and to the time
Speaker 1: Galen Rose spent cleaning and clearing out the Vaughan family's
Speaker 1: os we Go home after the tragedy. In Chris's office,
Speaker 1: Rose discovered a written list on his desk.
Speaker 3: In his office.
Speaker 2: He had an amazing book collection that was right next
Speaker 2: to where he sat, and you could tell that he
Speaker 2: used them quite often because there were markers and napkins
Speaker 2: whatever marking places. And the books were amazing to me
Speaker 2: because these are all my loves, David Throw, Walt Whitman, Emerson,
Speaker 2: Edgar Allan Poe. There were just amazing books that he had,
Speaker 2: and they weren't like they were on the top shelf.
Speaker 2: They were right next to his desk, and because we
Speaker 2: were cleaning everything out, they would take out annie markers
Speaker 2: or names or anything like that. I took out a
Speaker 2: piece of paper that was in one of those and
Speaker 2: it looked like it was newer than later older, and
Speaker 2: it struck me because the note was I'm looking at
Speaker 2: my notes. It was a new Year's resolution list from
Speaker 2: Chris written in his hand, and what it said on
Speaker 2: it was he wrote about being a better reader, a
Speaker 2: better listener. Nothing on the list was selfish or one sided.
Speaker 2: Everything he wrote was about being better to be better
Speaker 2: for others, and I think that speaks mountains with his demeanor.
Speaker 1: In Abigail's room, Gail would discover a journal with a
Speaker 1: single handwritten entry. It offers tender and revealing insight into
Speaker 1: a young girl's life and family. Later, when we would
Speaker 1: meet in person, Gail would share it with me.
Speaker 5: This is what Abbie wrote, Read that, I mean it's touching.
Speaker 3: Today was Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1: My box won the contest on the best Valentine's Box.
Speaker 1: That's how I got this notebook and all the other stuff.
Speaker 1: I like the stickers best. I got a lot of
Speaker 1: candy today. I'm going to try to save it. I
Speaker 1: want Sandy and Blake to be jealous because I have
Speaker 1: more candy than them, but probably going to eat all
Speaker 1: of their candy in like two seconds. Sometimes Sandy saves
Speaker 1: hers two sometimes she eats it. Blake, well, he eats
Speaker 1: his in five seconds and then he complains to Mom
Speaker 1: that we have more candy than him. He can be
Speaker 1: whiny sometimes, and Sandy can be bossy. I don't know why,
Speaker 1: but pain is only a four letter word. Pain seems
Speaker 1: like it should be a bigger word. Everybody hates pain,
Speaker 1: so why is one big thing so darn stinking small.
Speaker 1: It seems like it should be a seven or eight
Speaker 1: letter word, doesn't it. I don't think I've ever written
Speaker 1: this far before, but I just don't write, but I
Speaker 1: know I figured out it is the only way to
Speaker 1: express my feelings without getting mad. I am an artist.
Speaker 1: I am cursed with the gift of art. Unfortunately it
Speaker 1: came with a couple of extra things. Anger, frustration, patience.
Speaker 3: And of course a gazillion other things.
Speaker 1: I just picture the thing I'm drawing in my head
Speaker 1: and draw. Here comes the bad part. I always mess up,
Speaker 1: like make mistakes, not just in drawing, but in other
Speaker 1: things too. I have to have everything perfect. I have
Speaker 1: a neatness problem. It's crazy, is it not. But think
Speaker 1: of all the great artists you know of all of
Speaker 1: them went through a lot of anger and frustration that
Speaker 1: they made their mistakes.
Speaker 7: Right.
Speaker 1: Well, that's how I am.
Speaker 3: I am always angry.
Speaker 1: When I think it's going to be a good day
Speaker 1: and it's nice and sunny out, I always get angry
Speaker 1: because of people yelling or fighting. I don't get why
Speaker 1: I have to be like this. I am. I don't
Speaker 1: want to be. I want to write more, to have
Speaker 1: more stuff to tell you, but I'm so tired. It's
Speaker 1: like when you're breathing and you want to breathe in
Speaker 1: all the way, but you just can't. It's like part
Speaker 1: of your breath is lost in some other dimension where
Speaker 1: no one else but you have the key for. But
Speaker 1: the bad part is you lost the key, lost the
Speaker 1: key to your breath. I'm really tired now. I've written
Speaker 1: for like five pages so far.
Speaker 7: Weird.
Speaker 3: I think mom might be in my room again.
Speaker 1: I'm really really tired. I don't know why, though, it
Speaker 1: seems like my eyelids are begging the top ones to
Speaker 1: come down together. Well, I think that's enough writing for now. Anyway,
Speaker 1: I have a headache.
Speaker 7: Abby.
Speaker 4: What's the data that it is the February the sixth.
Speaker 1: February fourteenth, two thousand and six.
Speaker 5: I mean, that's pretty profound for that's but the.
Speaker 1: Subject of pain and the fighting and the hollering. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I always say that's what I picked up. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: always get angry because of people yelling or fighting. And
Speaker 1: this is interesting too. I think my mom might be
Speaker 1: in my room. I think my mom might be in
Speaker 1: my room again. I was there, so I don't know,
Speaker 1: but that was just eerie. Now, I do know that
Speaker 1: Kim told Chris he could not go into those girls'.
Speaker 6: Room, any of the kids rooms, any of their rooms.
Speaker 1: I reached out again to Abigail's closest friend at the
Speaker 1: time of her death, Alexa and shared the journal entry
Speaker 1: with her. Here are her thoughts.
Speaker 8: Yeah, after reading it, it seemed like she was kind
Speaker 8: of I wouldn't I don't know how to say, like
Speaker 8: crying out for help a little bit, or she was
Speaker 8: in pain, but she was trying to figure out how
Speaker 8: to navigate through it while writing, like she was wise
Speaker 8: beyond her words or her years, like when she said, so,
Speaker 8: why is this big thing? So darn's tinking small? It
Speaker 8: seems like it should be a seven or eight letter word,
Speaker 8: doesn't it. And then she started going into just reading,
Speaker 8: writing and being tired, and it kind of opened my
Speaker 8: eyes to seeing like maybe there were problems or issues
Speaker 8: going on that she was not talking to everybody about.
Speaker 8: Maybe she wrote about her kept to herself.
Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting. I viewed it the same way.
Speaker 1: And I have to say, having now mothered adolescents in
Speaker 1: addition to having been one at one point, I do
Speaker 1: feel children are like mood rings, very much manifest the
Speaker 1: dysfunction that they are around. And it's as if she
Speaker 1: couldn't articulate the real issue, the real problem, But she
Speaker 1: felt that there was one.
Speaker 8: Yes, I agree, and she was trying to get it
Speaker 8: out through her writing.
Speaker 3: Did you find anything odd? She does reference I think
Speaker 3: my mom's in my room Again.
Speaker 9: I was trying to decipher what that, what that meant.
Speaker 8: It seemed like it was like, seems like she's been
Speaker 8: in my room going through my things, or she's in
Speaker 8: my room.
Speaker 3: I couldn't.
Speaker 8: I couldn't decipher between the two.
Speaker 1: That just struck out. I remember getting a little bit
Speaker 1: of a chill the first time I read that, because
Speaker 1: it's it's what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 9: Like, what's what's really going on?
Speaker 8: That kind of made me think, like what what did
Speaker 8: she mean by that? Does she mean she'd been going
Speaker 8: through things? Did she mean she'd you know, been through
Speaker 8: her room straightening? No idea what that.
Speaker 1: Meant, But that made it sound like it had happened before.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And she said.
Speaker 1: Again yeah, and that it was something that that wasn't
Speaker 1: a good thing necessarily, It was something that seemed like
Speaker 1: it was she was conflicted about it.
Speaker 8: Yeah, kind of like she had been, you know, going
Speaker 8: through her things. It kind of made me remember like
Speaker 8: a moment that we all had.
Speaker 9: I remember being us.
Speaker 8: All being in the car going to one of Blake's games,
Speaker 8: and everyone was talkative and laughing and joking, all the
Speaker 8: kids and whatnot. And then both mister and Missus Vaughn
Speaker 8: got in the car and everything was just silent and
Speaker 8: it was tense, and it was like you could hear
Speaker 8: a pin drop on the carpeting in the floor of
Speaker 8: the car, you know what I mean. Like the music
Speaker 8: was playing really really low, you could really hear it, but.
Speaker 3: No one was talking. That's interesting.
Speaker 1: So their dynamic altered the atmosphere in the car, I.
Speaker 3: Would say so. And we were literally laughing joking.
Speaker 8: I remember, like Casandra said something about Blake sucks or
Speaker 8: them being dirty and he never watches, you know, just joke,
Speaker 8: you know, like playful banter with kids and us laughing.
Speaker 8: And then all of a sudden, it was just like
Speaker 8: we all are just quiet and silent, you know, sit
Speaker 8: up straight.
Speaker 3: Don't say anything dumb.
Speaker 8: I remember, just sitting in the car. It was a
Speaker 8: like a switch, almost like a flip of a switch.
Speaker 1: At this point, Christopher Vaughn and I had been communicating
Speaker 1: regularly via email for about six months, and I was
Speaker 1: making progress into gleaning increasingly more insight into the complicated
Speaker 1: marital problems and dysfunctional dynamics. He and Kim shared during
Speaker 1: his trial. Something Vaughn had said during his initial interrogation
Speaker 1: the day of the tragedy was held against him, that
Speaker 1: divorce was not an option. Here's an excerpt from an
Speaker 1: email I sent him. Also, another question which was made
Speaker 1: over the comment attributed to you that divorce was not
Speaker 1: an option? Would you expand on it and what would
Speaker 1: it have meant to you? It resonated with me because
Speaker 1: it's actually something I've said many times to my husband
Speaker 1: of almost twenty four years. I don't mean it or
Speaker 1: hear it as a threat, but more a principle. I'd
Speaker 1: be interested in your thoughts. That appears to have struck
Speaker 1: a chord with Chris. Here's his response, Lauren, I attempted
Speaker 1: to answer your question regarding my comment about divorce and
Speaker 1: quickly found I was unable to do it within the
Speaker 1: limits of the email character count. Context is really needed.
Speaker 1: I neglected to provide it then, and my comments were
Speaker 1: seriously misinterpreted. He then expressed he'd write in letter form
Speaker 1: and send it to my home address. That letter would
Speaker 1: never arrive. Instead, Chris went radio silent for more than
Speaker 1: two weeks. I worried that Chris was pulling back, that
Speaker 1: COVID restrictions were easing, and I'd soon be sitting with
Speaker 1: him in person. We were getting closer to the questions
Speaker 1: I'd plan to ask him from the first moment I'd
Speaker 1: learned about this case. Chris might not remember everything about
Speaker 1: the way in which his family died that day, but
Speaker 1: he's sure as hell would have remembered planning it. I
Speaker 1: was going to ask Chris if he ever intended to
Speaker 1: kill his wife and children. Gail and I began to
Speaker 1: exchange concern texts and emails. He'd gone radio silent with
Speaker 1: them too, for more than two weeks.
Speaker 3: Have you heard from him from Chris?
Speaker 10: Yes?
Speaker 3: Yes, Oh, thank goodness. I was worried.
Speaker 1: So when did you hear from him?
Speaker 9: Let's see Wednesday?
Speaker 5: Yesterday, Wednesday.
Speaker 9: My week is all confused now because he sent us
Speaker 9: a letter, and what he has in the letter is
Speaker 9: something we don't know how to handle. But I wish
Speaker 9: you to read it. It's five pages, okay, and I'd like
Speaker 9: to send it to you some way and see how
Speaker 9: it impacts what we're doing.
Speaker 6: Me.
Speaker 7: It's all good, okay.
Speaker 9: How it'll be taken.
Speaker 1: So you know, probably the quickest way to do it
Speaker 1: would be to just take a picture of each page
Speaker 1: and text it to me.
Speaker 9: Okay, because once you read it, it's something I really
Speaker 9: can't explain over the phone, and you have to actually
Speaker 9: read it to take it in, and I don't know
Speaker 9: how people are going to respond to it, so it's like,
Speaker 9: oh my gosh, so I don't know what to do
Speaker 9: with it to tell you the truth?
Speaker 3: Do you want to send it to me and I'll
Speaker 3: read it right away and call you back.
Speaker 1: Gail would first try to text images of the letter.
Speaker 1: They were too blurred to read. I waited, stomach nodded
Speaker 1: as she scanned, and email them after reading the letter.
Speaker 1: When I called Gail back, my fingers suddenly seemed too
Speaker 1: large for the keypad.
Speaker 3: Are you there?
Speaker 9: Yes, Yes, we are.
Speaker 3: Here, okay. I had to compose myself.
Speaker 9: I know I couldn't have read it to you.
Speaker 1: My next call was to Bill Clutter, Are you sitting down?
Speaker 7: Yes?
Speaker 1: I am sitting down, okay, because you might lose your
Speaker 1: legs on this one. I just got off the phone
Speaker 1: with Gail and Pierre. I have been waiting to get
Speaker 1: a letter from Chris because I asked him to explain
Speaker 1: what he meant by the expression that divorce was not
Speaker 1: an option. I hadn't heard back, and Gail had reached
Speaker 1: out to me concerned because she hadn't heard back from Chris.
Speaker 1: On Wednesday, she received a five page letter from Chris.
Speaker 1: He remembers that morning. Oh my god, he remembers everything.
Speaker 1: After hearing nothing from Chris for two weeks, his parents
Speaker 1: finally received a letter. It was likely prompted by my
Speaker 1: question about the dynamics and his marriage leading up to
Speaker 1: the tragedy. Pierre agreed to read the letter Chris sent.
Speaker 6: Mom and dad. When Lauren showed interest in my case,
Speaker 6: I truly thought she would go the way of the
Speaker 6: others before. She still seems intent on telling the story.
Speaker 6: I know I have not been forthcoming, approachable, or even
Speaker 6: cooperative in talking about what happened. My standard deflection to
Speaker 6: any question is that I do not remember. It has
Speaker 6: been easier not to talk about the kids and more specifically,
Speaker 6: what Kim did. I have been really hopeful that I
Speaker 6: wouldn't need to talk about that morning. Ever, again, I
Speaker 6: don't know why now should be any different. I don't
Speaker 6: know if it would be better just to leave everything
Speaker 6: as is. I don't believe anything will change my being
Speaker 6: locked up. I'm sure talking now will only get things
Speaker 6: stirred up for everyone. But I am also thinking that
Speaker 6: Lauren has already started, that you have been with me
Speaker 6: through all of this. I cannot even begin to express
Speaker 6: how truly grateful I am. If I am going to
Speaker 6: fill in the blanks, it will be for you first.
Speaker 6: Perhaps that will be enough, and it will be of
Speaker 6: any real value to give Lauren this. Just leave it
Speaker 6: as is. I did not know how to or want
Speaker 6: to deal with what happened that morning, so I lied
Speaker 6: about not remembering how kimberly shot my kids then killed herself.
Speaker 6: This is what happened. We drove to the water park,
Speaker 6: as Kim and I had talked about the night before.
Speaker 6: Kim told me she felt sick. I pulled over and
Speaker 6: got out to give her a minute. When I was
Speaker 6: around the back of the truck, heading back towards my door,
Speaker 6: it sounded like the inside of the truck was exploding.
Speaker 6: I opened my door, saw the gun Kim was holding,
Speaker 6: and jumped in my seat to grab it. Kim fired
Speaker 6: at me. I fell back out the door, preparing to
Speaker 6: make another attempt. Kim looked at me and said, you
Speaker 6: will not take my kids. You killed them. She then
Speaker 6: turned the gun on herself and fired. I got back
Speaker 6: in to check the kids. Nothing can be done. I
Speaker 6: thought to drive the truck. Kim was slumped, so I
Speaker 6: tried to buckle her. My hands shook badly. I couldn't
Speaker 6: buckle the belt. I couldn't drive the truck. I got
Speaker 6: to the road to get help. I was and am
Speaker 6: deeply ashamed that I failed to protect the kids. I
Speaker 6: am ashamed that I drove Kim to do something so horrible.
Speaker 6: I am ashamed that had she not shot herself, I
Speaker 6: would have taken the gun and shot her myself. I
Speaker 6: did not want to deal with what happened. I was
Speaker 6: completely unequipped to do so. I did not want to
Speaker 6: discuss why Kim did what she did. I did not
Speaker 6: want to repeat what she said to me before she
Speaker 6: killed herself. So I lied, saying I did not remember.
Speaker 6: I was certain that the investigation would make clear what happened.
Speaker 6: How could it not. During the interrogation, I was back
Speaker 6: and forth between admitting my lie and continuing on. The
Speaker 6: more questions the police asked. The deeper I got and
Speaker 6: the harder it was to explain my lie. I told
Speaker 6: myself that it wasn't going to going to matter because
Speaker 6: the investigation itself would provide the truth. When I got
Speaker 6: a defense team, I believe they would piece it together.
Speaker 6: Any involvement for me would only hinder their efforts and
Speaker 6: show my lie. I was convinced that being caught lying
Speaker 6: would have me convicted without further consideration, regardless of the evidence.
Speaker 6: As I waited for the trial, I realized that it
Speaker 6: really did not matter that I had not fired a shot.
Speaker 6: I failed the kids. I drove Kim to do what
Speaker 6: she did. What she said was true. I was responsible.
Speaker 6: I would let the judge decide what my punishment would be.
Speaker 6: I am sorry for so many things. I have a
Speaker 6: lot of time to go back over a lifetime of mistakes.
Speaker 6: Some made little difference and others considerable. Saying that I
Speaker 6: did not remember the owning of the tragedy was a mistake,
Speaker 6: and I am sorry. Not taking responsibility was a mistake,
Speaker 6: and I am sorry. I hope that, after waiting all
Speaker 6: this time to talk about it does not prove to
Speaker 6: be a mistake. Also, love you both, Chris.
Speaker 1: Many things about this case stood out as odd to
Speaker 1: me from the very beginning, but the claims of dissociative
Speaker 1: amnesia were the hardest to accept. Not only was it
Speaker 1: the largest hurdle in trying to find the truth about
Speaker 1: that day, but something about its duration seemed off. When
Speaker 1: I spoke to neuroscientist James Fallen, he conveyed his opinion
Speaker 1: that even if Christopher Vaughan had initial gaps in his memory,
Speaker 1: the likelihood was they wouldn't have been permanent.
Speaker 11: The sausative amnesia occurs in about one percent of people
Speaker 11: after trauma, but it's short lived, and it's not very
Speaker 11: common in males, and it's temporary. The idea of this
Speaker 11: being some sort of long lasting thing, I you know,
Speaker 11: look at the litterature in the past ten years shows
Speaker 11: that this very rarely happens.
Speaker 1: The letter also called to mind something Chris's sister in
Speaker 1: law had shared. Rachel also mentioned that she thinks that
Speaker 1: Chris blamed himself for what happened and blamed himself for
Speaker 1: not protecting the kids. It is a manager revelation That
Speaker 1: letter provided insight into how Vond's blood could have gotten
Speaker 1: onto Kim's retracted seat belt. His droplets on the passenger
Speaker 1: side and how Kim's blood transferred to the back of
Speaker 1: his jacket. But it also raised questions as to what
Speaker 1: he remembered and when.
Speaker 9: So I wasn't sure how this would affect your podcast.
Speaker 1: No, it doesn't, because there's still a lot of work
Speaker 1: that needs to be done. What I've said from the
Speaker 1: beginning was the only thing that could make this horrible
Speaker 1: tragedy more of a tragedy is if the person sitting
Speaker 1: in prison for the murders of the family didn't actually
Speaker 1: commit it. It is, and he's been punishing himself for
Speaker 1: the fact that he feels he drove her to it
Speaker 1: with his actions and that he didn't protect the kids.
Speaker 9: Yep, that's it. Yeah, I'm not sure how it I mean,
Speaker 9: does it help us or does it hurt us because
Speaker 9: he lied?
Speaker 3: Pierre, what did you think when you read it?
Speaker 10: Well, kind of what we knew all along, but we
Speaker 10: just didn't know how it would get brought out. I
Speaker 10: just don't know.
Speaker 11: What to do with it.
Speaker 10: And you know what the public's reaction is going to
Speaker 10: be to it. Are they going to say, well, you
Speaker 10: lied then, or you lie up there? Do you make
Speaker 10: up the story and lie about it now? People are
Speaker 10: very cynical.
Speaker 1: Well, this is a huge development now if you look
Speaker 1: at a man who had been through that horror and
Speaker 1: was internalizing that guilt and that shame. Of course he
Speaker 1: pushed away the pictures. Okay, this doesn't change anything. This
Speaker 1: makes it that much more important. I think that that's
Speaker 1: why he didn't want to get on the phone with me.
Speaker 3: I think he knew we were going to figure it out.
Speaker 9: And he had such a faith in the system that
Speaker 9: they would figure it out and this wouldn't have happened
Speaker 9: in going to prison.
Speaker 3: And this is why he wanted to see me in person.
Speaker 10: Right.
Speaker 1: Having spent fourteen years trying to piece together what happened
Speaker 1: in the Vaughn SUV seemed sincerely in shock as he
Speaker 1: tried to reconcile his knowledge of the crime scene with
Speaker 1: Vaughn's version of events.
Speaker 12: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I'm just trying to wrap my head around that.
Speaker 1: He got back in after she shot herself because he
Speaker 1: was going to drive the car to get help.
Speaker 13: That's how her blood's all over, Yeah, all over the
Speaker 13: back of his jacket, opens the door he's leaning in
Speaker 13: to get in, that's when she shoots.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'm just trying to so With this version, she
Speaker 7: shoots the kids first, and then.
Speaker 3: Well, he was in the back.
Speaker 1: When I was around the back of the truck heading
Speaker 1: back towards my door, it sounded like the inside of
Speaker 1: the truck was exploding. I opened my door, saw the
Speaker 1: gun Kim was holding, and jumped in the seat to
Speaker 1: grab it.
Speaker 3: Kim fired at me.
Speaker 7: Oh, okay, so he is in the car.
Speaker 1: When that's happened, I fell back out of the door,
Speaker 1: preparing to make another attempt. I got back in to
Speaker 1: check the kids. Nothing could be done. I thought to
Speaker 1: drive the truck. Kim was slumped, so I tried to
Speaker 1: buckle her, so she was slumped over the console. He
Speaker 1: tried to buckle her, so she took her belt off,
Speaker 1: and he tried to buckle it again. That explains the
Speaker 1: confusion over the blood transfer and his blood over her.
Speaker 1: My hands shook badly. I couldn't buckle the belt, I
Speaker 1: couldn't drive the truck. I got to the road to
Speaker 1: get help.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 3: What do we do with this?
Speaker 1: Because if Chris is still in the mindset that he
Speaker 1: deserves to be punished, he might not even want to
Speaker 1: be helped.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is the first version that makes sense for
Speaker 1: the first time in fourteen years, Clutter had plausible explanation
Speaker 1: as to why and how Christopher Vaughan's blood got on
Speaker 1: the retracted safety belt of his dead wife, droplets on
Speaker 1: her side of the car, and how her blood was
Speaker 1: transferred onto the back right of the fleece he was wearing.
Speaker 1: A scenario of the tragic events of June fourteenth, two
Speaker 1: thousand and seven that could now be used to create
Speaker 1: a crime scene reconstruction that could possibly vindicate Christopher Vaughan.
Speaker 1: The reconstruction, while expensive and complicated, would be necessary.
Speaker 12: That letter, I don't know that that would succeed with
Speaker 12: any claim of accel innocence. You know, they would argue
Speaker 12: at self serving, which is the big hurdle.
Speaker 3: What do you make of his use of the word
Speaker 3: lie in this letter.
Speaker 7: I don't know that lie as an accurate description of
Speaker 7: holding back the details of what he witnessed. It's more
Speaker 7: of no mission and not wanting to reveel that information.
Speaker 7: And that's what was motivating him, is not wanting to
Speaker 7: portray his wife as the killer of his children. And
Speaker 7: you think about it, I mean, it's completely consistent with
Speaker 7: a person who's actually innocent. If the states theory was correct,
Speaker 7: that he stages this and is able to pull it off,
Speaker 7: or he's able to line up the shots to make
Speaker 7: it look like she shot the children, and his intent
Speaker 7: is to get away with murder. He would be blaming
Speaker 7: her once they give him that opportunity in time after
Speaker 7: time after time. I can't see Kim doing this. I
Speaker 7: can't see her shooting the kids.
Speaker 1: I think that that expression is really telling, and the
Speaker 1: fact that he uses it constantly. I can't see her
Speaker 1: shooting me. I can't see her hurting the kids. I
Speaker 1: can't see her doing this. That is something I think
Speaker 1: he's struggling with in real time during that.
Speaker 3: Interrogation, right, right, absolutely, And I think he's still struggling
Speaker 3: with it, right.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 3: He needs he needs to be evaluated.
Speaker 7: Yeah, and it has to be someone that can do
Speaker 7: a forensic interview and to explain psychologically the unwillingness to
Speaker 7: be forthcoming. I mean that's really a more accurate description this,
Speaker 7: his unwillingness to be forthcoming with the truth.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that first and foremost, we really need to
Speaker 1: test the version of events he presents in that letter.
Speaker 7: Right.
Speaker 1: But here's the thing, he has never admitted guilt but
Speaker 1: he's also never shared what happened that day. This is
Speaker 1: the first time, and I think that it's because just
Speaker 1: a little bit of chipping away. I think he was
Speaker 1: convinced that I would just disappear like all the others
Speaker 1: who had expressed interest in telling the story.
Speaker 7: Well, now you've got to get in to see him.
Speaker 3: That's yeah.
Speaker 1: The second it's possible I will, But who knows when
Speaker 1: that's going.
Speaker 7: To be well, absolutely by May.
Speaker 1: If anything, though, I think that this is a huge breakthrough.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that it is.
Speaker 1: That letter offered insight that could be used amount of
Speaker 1: post conviction case that could possibly clear Christopher Vaughan, But
Speaker 1: that would also entail Chris going through another trial and
Speaker 1: possibly returning to Joliet and the Will County States Attorney.
Speaker 1: That thought weighed heavily on us all.
Speaker 9: I mean, I don't think he's done feeling bad. I
Speaker 9: don't think he's going to quit that, but he still
Speaker 9: doesn't think he's paid the price for it. I don't
Speaker 9: know if she will go through an appeal.
Speaker 8: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Our initial optimism about that letter would be replaced by
Speaker 1: something else. As Chris again went silent before sending me
Speaker 1: this email, Lauren, I am sorry to have wasted your time.
Speaker 1: I am done with the podcast. I let my parents
Speaker 1: drag me into something I was not comfortable with and
Speaker 1: something I did do not want to do. I've mentioned
Speaker 1: before that I do not believe it is remotely possible
Speaker 1: to get back into court. I am not willing to
Speaker 1: pay what it would take to try. With the outcome
Speaker 1: of the court being all but predetermined, I am not
Speaker 1: willing to go through another trial. My letter to my
Speaker 1: parents was very difficult. I want to make sure you
Speaker 1: understand this is in no way personal. Thank you for
Speaker 1: your compassion and your willingness to help. I wish you
Speaker 1: all the best. Chris, I can't. I'm just open.
Speaker 3: Father right, you are not through the lame.
Speaker 1: I'll never leave with them.
Speaker 8: Dam stee we dream Hello, Yes, a dream steal we algy.
Speaker 1: Dream Love. On the next murder in Illinois, Chris's parents
Speaker 1: struggle to get him back on board.
Speaker 7: It's an incredibly difficult case. Having this cooperation that's.
Speaker 1: Essential, and he gains a powerful supporter in the world
Speaker 1: of criminal justice reform. He didn't believe that he could
Speaker 1: be wrongfully convicted, which is why he didn't really mount
Speaker 1: a defense. And another in the realm of defense.
Speaker 11: I've tried about over five hundred murder jury cases, and
Speaker 11: I think it's a case that needs to be reevaluated.
Speaker 1: Murder in Illinois is a production of iHeartRadio. Executive producers
Speaker 1: are Lauren Bright Pacheco and Taylor Chacoye. Written by Lauren
Speaker 1: Bright Pacheco and Matthew Riddle, story editing by Matthew Riddle,
Speaker 1: editing and sound design by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chackoyine
Speaker 1: featuring music by Cicada Rhythm with new compositions engineered and
Speaker 1: mixed by Evan Tyre and Taylor chackoin. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you can at the stories that matter to you.