Jury Selection Begins In Vaughn Family Massacre Case
UPDATED 08/13/12 9:17 a.m.
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) -- Jury selection is beginning Monday morning in another high-profile murder trial in Will County.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, the Drew Peterson trial has been underway for weeks at the normally-quiet Will County Courthouse in Joliet. On Monday at the same courthouse, attorneys are starting the process of choosing a jury for the murder trial of Christopher Vaughn.
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Vaughn, 37, is charged with the 2007 murders of his wife and three children.
On June 14, 2007, Vaughn; his wife, Kimberly; and their three children – Abigayle, 12; Cassandra, 11; and Blake, 8, were on their way to a water park in Springfield from their home in Oswego.
Police say Vaughn shot pulled off Interstate 55 in Channahon Township and stopped on the frontage road. Then, authorities say, he shot his entire family inside their Ford sport-utility vehicle.
Vaughn's wife was shot in the head, and each of his three children were shot twice. Vaughn himself suffered minor gunshot wounds in his wrist and leg.
Days later, Vaughn was arrested at the funeral services and charged with murder.
The Vaughn case is expected to overlap with the Peterson case at the normally quiet Will County Courthouse in Joliet, and they could come to a close at similar times – just months before State's Attorney James Glasgow is up for reelection in November.
Prosecutors expect the trial to last six weeks. They declined comment Monday but are expected to tell jurors Vaughn was trying to get $1 million in life insurance money through the deaths of his wife and children.