Mourners remember family found dead in SUV

June 22, 2007 (WLS) -- While police try to determine how Kimberly Vaughn and her children were killed, her husband, Christopher, her family and friends are gathering in the St. Louis area Friday. They are attending a visitation for the four victims of last week's shooting near Channahon, Illinois.

The two families involved in the tragedy have been torn apart by violence, and ABC7 has been told that neither has summoned the will to talk to the other about the details of that day.

ABC7 Chicago has also been told that Chris Vaughn has not talked to his in-laws in several days. He was consoled by relatives and friends Friday afternoon as he arrived at the wake for his wife and three children. Local police helped to protect the privacy of the gathering.

The wake was made more emotional by the fact that police say a family member is responsible for the killing, but they have not yet revealed the identity of the person they suspect.

"They're not making any statements relating to who did what," said Joe Jacobson, a family friend speaking on behalf of Kimberly Vaughn's parents. "They're going to wait until the police have finished their investigation, and they're confident that when they're done, they will get to the bottom of what happened."

Chris Vaughn has remained in seclusion at his parents' home in St. Charles, Missouri much of the past week. While friends have come and gone, Christ Vaughn continues to maintain his public silence on what transpired in the rural road last week. He is said to have originally told police that he stopped to adjust a luggage rack when his wife suddenly began shooting, injuring him and killing the couple's three children before turning the gun on herself. Now, new reports say Vaughn claims not to remember what transpired after being shot in the leg.

Those who knew Kim Vaughn say nothing could have driven her to kill her kids.

"Obviously they are aware of the report," Jacobson said. "And it's all news to them. And their feeling is that it's not accurate because if there had been problems at home, it's something that she would have shared with her sisters."

Illinois state police investigators interviewed Kim's family Thursday. They plan on attending the wake Friday and memorial service in Missouri Saturday, which is standard practice when investigating a murder of this kind.

Perhaps lost a bit in the search for answers are the stories of the people who died. Kim is described as a doting and devoted mother, 8-year-old Blake Vaughn was looking forward to being in a gifted program for third graders. He was a Cub Scout who loved baseball. Cassandra was an animal lover who put on plays in the family's basement. Twelve-year-old Abbie liked reading and drawing. They will all be remembered for how they lived Saturday at a surburban St. Louis church, not how they died.

"I have never experienced a kind of tragedy like this," said Rev. Christopher James of New Hope Presbyterian Church.

Those leaving the wake Thursday afternoon say no one is talking about the circumstances of the deaths. They describe it as an incredibly emotional scene with four caskets and no shortage of tears.

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