Oswego man pleads innocent to killing wife
An Oswego man pleaded innocent Friday to killing his wife and three children, who were found shot dead in their SUV while he wandered the roadside with superficial gunshot wounds.
Christopher Vaughn entered the plea while arraigned during a brief Will County court appearance attended by his parents. They declined comment afterward.
Vaughn, 32, was indicted earlier this week on four counts of first-degree murder. The computer security consultant denies opening fire on his wife and their three children in a June 14 shooting rampage near Channahon.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has not yet announced whether he plans to seek the death penalty if Vaughn is convicted. A final decision may come within the next few months.
Police arrested him June 23 at a St. Charles, Mo., funeral home hours before a memorial service for 34-year-old Kimberly Vaughn and their children, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8.
They were found shot to death last month in their Ford Expedition parked on a service road near Channahon, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, after a wounded Christopher Vaughn flagged down a passing motorist. The husband's 9 mm handgun also was found at the scene.
Vaughn denied killing his family while voluntarily speaking with police during three interviews before his arrest. Prosecutors later charged him with first-degree murder, citing forensic evidence, some of which they said conflicts with his account of what happened.
Vaughn is being held without bond. He does not have a violent criminal history and is next due in court on Sept. 4.