No words, famous ones or not, spell out horror of Vaughn case

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Blake Vaughn, 8; Christopher Vaughn, 32; Cassandra Vaughn, 11; Kimberly Vaughn 34; and Abigayle Vaughn, 12; smile in their Oswego home. Kimberly Vaughn and the three children were found shot to death in the family SUV in 2007. | Submitted photo

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Updated: June 29, 2011 4:21PM

What is it about creeps and dead authors?

For some reason, they like quoting from the most famous of writers, as we’ve seen over the past couple years with our former governor turned clown turned convicted felon.

Rod Blagojevich especially loved to throw out lines from Rudyard Kipling’s “If” or from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses” as a way of comparing himself to others who’ve shown perseverance in the face of cruel and unjust opposition.

If you’re not laughing, it’s enough to make you nauseous.

But if you really want to gag, look no further than the creepiest creep of all — Christopher Vaughn, who stands accused of killing his three beautiful children in June of 2007 while the kids were in the back seat of the family SUV on their way to a water park.

The Oswego man is also accused of killing his wife and trying to stage her death to make it look like she attempted to murder him, as well as the children, before taking her own life.

The evidence against this sicko is as disgusting as it is overwhelming. Newly released court records from Will County show Vaughn spent 30 minutes at a Plainfield shooting range the night before the murder, firing at targets with a gun seized by police from his dead wife’s feet.

Police also found inside his lovely Oswego home a magazine article about staging crime scenes to make them look like suicides.

Adding yet another layer of ick to the case, Vaughn seems to have written a blog entry just weeks before the shooting; I am working on wrapping up a few last things and then I am headed out for the long walk, it reads. I’ve been taking continually longer and more remote trips figuring that when the time comes I’ll be ready.

There’s also an entry that appears to be written from Vaughn through his online persona “dewoodsman,” posted under the heading “Trip up north” that makes your blood curdle.

Here is the quote from Thoreau that describes how I view my plans for a walk in the wilderness:

If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again, if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk.

Of course, the only walk Vaughn’s doing now is the perp walk in Will County. And as much as I believe a man is innocent until proven guilty, this is one man who, with a little help from a jury of his peers, could well become the poster child for advocates trying to bring the death penalty back to Illinois.

That being said, any comparison between Blago and Vaughn stops with their affections for quoting famous writers. (As well as their soon to be shared familiarity with small cells.) As disgusting as the former governor’s narcissistic behavior has been, one thing that seems obvious is his love for family. Indeed, it’s the father in Blagojevich that, if anything, elicits at least a shred of sympathy.

Vaughn, on the other hand, appears to have simply grown tired of the whole family thing. From his blog: I am headed up to northern British Columbia in May for a week of camping, exploring, and general nature communing. Any of you wilderness seekers that would like to come are welcome.

A real nature guy, this dude. Except what he stands accused of doing goes against everything nature intended: A father accused of planning a fun summer excursion for the sole purpose of killing his family.

Imagine telling the kids about the trip, listening to their excited chatter that night, waking them up early the next morning and packing them into the back seat of the car. Imagine en route to the water park pulling the SUV over to the side of the road, turning around and looking into the faces of those sleepy innocents.

The records show his three children — Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8 — were each shot twice.

Records say Kimberly Vaughn, who carried a million dollar life insurance policy listing her husband as the beneficiary, was shot once under her chin.

I rarely if ever quote from famous authors, living or dead. But for this one I’m making an exception:

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. (British novelist Joseph Conrad)