All Episodes

June 22, 2021 3 mins

Trailer 1 - In 2007, Chris Vaughn was arrested during a funeral for his wife and three children. He would be tried and convicted of their murders. To this day he maintains no memory of what occurred that tragic day 14 years ago. Murder in Illinois follows the complicated circumstances that led to Vaughn’s conviction, as well as the forensic evidence his supporters believe proves his innocence-in attempt to answer one question: Who killed the Vaughn family?

 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Why are we having conversations that they should have had
in the courtroom at the day. Illinois is basically their
own little mafia. They're all intertwined, whether it's state lee's,
local police, lawyers, or attorneys. It's been that way since
the thirties when the gangster ran Chicago. We were told

(00:26):
not to talk to any press by our lawyers. We
were not to say anything to anybody. The Vaughan family
was murdered fourteen years ago, a mother and her three
children shot to death and their suv. Many questions remain
as to how and why it happened, and they revolve

(00:49):
around the lone survivor, Christopher Vaughan. Chris is unable to
recall what happened, even to this day. If you're human
and being, you can't wrap your head around that. I
don't know if I ever really want to know how
it's played out in that car. What could you say
to somebody when they lost their whole family within a

(01:10):
matter of minutes. He was supposed to be presumed innocent,
and someone presumed innocent should have the opportunity to attend
his children's general Now we re examine the murders Christopher
Vaughan was convicted of committing The trial was handled poorly.
Evidence was not processed correctly, critical evidence that could have

(01:33):
definitely made this go a complete different direction. In the
weeks leading up to the murders, he's spending time at
strip clubs and dropping not just a little bit of money,
like four grands. Millions of people go to strip clubs.
They don't go home and kill their wife and kids.
I have been working in these clubs for twenty years.

(01:55):
You know how many great husbands and amazing fathers I've
met that has been five dollars on me was not
a question. It just didn't fit to Chris that I knew.
I knew that wasn't the truth of it. We'll revisit
all the existing evidence, viewed through the lens of newly
acquired insight and revelations. These drugs alter min chemistry all

(02:19):
that's you're all. It was one of the first things
that popped up in my head when I first heard
about the murders. He can't be the epitome of evil.
But then you think back to the autopsy photos and
you're like, no, that's pretty damn evil. Chrisms case haunts
me because Chris did not get the sense that his

(02:40):
case demanded are you sitting down? Yes, I am sitting down, Okay,
because you might lose your legs on this one. Oh
my god. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco. Join me from murder
in Illinois who killed the Van family launching July. It

(03:01):
was a strange case. It'll never leave. Get it on
the I Heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you
find the stories that matter to you. You can do
distraussed full happy that shy uh
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

The Burden

The Burden

The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.