Cop: Vaughn's wife may have shot children, herself

Christopher Vaughn, 37, is charged with killing his family in their Ford Expedition after pulling off Interstate 55 in Channahon Township on the way from Oswego to a Springfield water park in 2007. His trial is scheduled to begin in August.

By Steve Schmadeke — Chicago Tribune

(MCT) — An Illinois State Police investigator has testified that Christopher Vaughn, charged with killing his wife and three children, may not be responsible for their deaths, a former member of Vaughn's defense team said.

Sgt. Robert Deel, who is no longer a crime scene investigator after prosecutors faulted his work on another murder case, testified that the evidence convinced him that Vaughn's wife might have shot her husband and children before killing herself, the former defenseteam member said. Vaughn suffered minor gunshot wounds in his wrist and leg.

Deel's testimony and some new details in the case are included in a letter sent this month by Vaughn's former private investigator to the state inspector general's office, asking for an outside examination into "issues of serious negligence and or misconduct" by state police investigators.

Vaughn, 37, is charged with killing his family in their Ford Expedition after pulling off Interstate 55 in Channahon Township on the way from Oswego to a Springfield water park in 2007. His trial is scheduled to begin in August.

The letter by private investigator Bill Clutter alleges state police had "tunnel vision" that led them to overlook bullet trajectory evidence and ignore concerns from Deel.

The letter also claims a bullet was fired