Christopher Vaughn's Parents File Lawsuit In Son's Murder Conviction

OSWEGO, IL — Christopher Vaughn's parents have filed a federal lawsuit claiming the grand jury was misled by police and prosecutors, ultimately leading to the former Oswego man's conviction in the death of his wife and three children. Vaughn received four life sentences in the slaying of his wife and three children.

When Vaughn was convicted in 2012, a Will County jury needed less than an hour to find him guilty. Prosecutors alleged Vaughn murdered his family so that he could be free to pursue his dream of living in the Canadian wilderness.

He's now serving his term at Pinckneyville Correctional Center after the jury found he intentionally put a gun below the chin of his wife Kimberly, 34, shooting her in the head before turning the weapon on his three children — Abigayle, 12; Cassandra, 11; and Blake, 8 — who were each in the head and torso, Patch reported. Vaughn also sustained gunshot wounds, albeit non-life-threatening, which prosecutors maintained were self-inflicted to bolster his story.

During Vaughn's original trial, his defense argued that it was Kimberly who was the true killer, faking an illness in order to get her husband to pull off the road so she could carry out the murder-suicide plan.

A decade later, his parents, Missouri residents Pierre and Gail Vaughn, filed a 25-page lawsuit that lists four defendants, as well as Will County and the State of Illinois: Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow; former Assistant State's Attorney John Connor; Kelly Krajnic, formerly a forensic scientist with the Illinois State Police; and Gary Lawson, a detective with the state police.

The lawsuit alleges the jury was misled and a "draft" lab report was falsified — removing Kimberly as a suspect — to blame their son for the murder, which occurred off I-55 in Channahon. The lawsuit also claims the "process of DNA evidence reporting was devoid of due process and completely arbitrary at every stage."

"The blood of Christopher Vaughn was smeared onto [Kimberly's] seat belt when he tried to fasten her seat belt to drive them to get help," the lawsuit reads.

Vaughn's parents request relief in two forms: correct the "draft" lab report to remove "draft," and list Kimberly as a suspect.

Vaughn's attorney, Keith Altman, is also looking to file a motion to have his client's conviction vacated.

"We're working in parallel to file a motion to see that Chris' conviction be vacated because the underlying grand jury indictment is corruption," Altman told Central Illinois Proud. "At that point, at the worst, get him a new grand jury and a new trial. At the best, that he's released."

About a year ago, Vaughn's parents also created a Change.org petition asking Gov. J.B. Pritzker to grant clemency. So far, it has garnered just under 5,000 signatures.

"An innocent person should not have to spend their life in prison for a crime they did not commit," the petition reads. "With a stroke of your pen, Governor Pritzker, you can correct this injustice. Allowing Chris to be freed."

The case was again brought back under the spotlight with the 2021 true-crime podcast, "Murder in Illinois," launched by iHeartMedia. The podcast follows the circumstances that led to Vaughn's conviction, as well as the forensic evidence his supporters believe proves his innocence.

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