His defense team argues that his wife shot their children before turning the gun on herself. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Those experts testified that they believe Paul was standing about five inches into the feed room when he was first shot in the chest. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). This story originally appeared in the June 27, 2011 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times: A magazine article about staging crime scenes and making the death appear to be a suicide was taken by police from the home of Christopher Vaughn after the June 2007 shooting deaths of his wife and three children, newly released court records show. Jurors began the day with a visit to the crime scene, where a pool reporter said at least one of them carefully inspected the door frame of a storage closet where Paul Murdaugh was standing when he was killed. A Drug Hit. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), The entrance to the house at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C.. No purchase necessary. The key piece of evidence connecting Alex Murdaugh to the killings is a video Paul Murdaugh shot from the kennels about five minutes before he last used his cellphone. Their hour-long field trip to the Moselle hunting estate in South Carolina came shortly before closing arguments began in what has been dubbed the trial of the century by local media. Crime scene visits by juries are relatively rare but have occurred in a number of other high-profile prosecutions, including the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Earlier on Wednesday, jurors went to the scene of the crime that has been detailed throughout the six-week trial. Following the trip, court is expected to resume around 11 a.m., at which point the attorneys will argue charges for how the jury will be instructed to deliberate. Police were called about the first shooting at around 12:30 a.m. at the Family Dollar store on Hemphill Street. Matthew Vaughn is an English film director, producer and screenwriter born in 7 March 1971. WebChristopher Vaughn is an American man convicted of the murder of his wife, Kimberly, and the couple's three children in June 14, 2007. Got a tip? Will county prosecutors and Vaughns public defenders declined to comment Monday on the dewoodsman entries found online. WebThe Scene of the Crime Around 5:20 a.m. on June 14, 2007, a man driving to work along the frontage road of Interstate 55 south of Joliet, Illinois encountered Christopher Vaughn, 32, One early morning in June 2007, the Vaughn family left their home to drive to a water park in Springfield, Illinois. The pressures on this man were unbearable. No questions can be asked and no talking will be allowed on the trip. He was born in a log cabin on the frontier in Texas and began his career as a lawman when justice was often meted out by the barrel of a gun. Waters said Alex Murdaugh has been lying for years to cover up his opioid addiction and theft of money from his law firm and clients, so it would be easy to lie about being at the kennels and killing his family, and to lie while testifying in his own defense last week. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Maggie was shot about 12 steps away from where Paul fell. Another Osage, Henry Roan, was shot in the back of the head. Testimony ended Tuesday in the South Carolina double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, as the court prepared to bring jurors on Wednesday to the scene where But there was no blood spatter linking the killings to Alex Murdaugh or anyone else, and prosecutors didnt spend much time laying out how they think Murdaugh could have killed his family, cleaned himself up, disposed of the clothes and weapons, and composed himself in the 15-minute window before GPS data shows he left the property to visit his ailing mother. Once closing arguments are finished, the jurors will get their instructions and begin deliberating what they learned during a trial that has included more than 75 witnesses and lasted more than six weeks. Murdaugh's fear that his decade-long theft would be exposed and his desire to maintain his lofty standing in the community led him to make sure his wife and younger son were at the family's Colleton County home on June 7, 2021, so that he could kill them as part of a clever plan aided by his knowledge of how criminal cases are constructed, prosecutor Creighton Waters told jurors. 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Jurors have heard evidence about Mr. Murdaugh, 54, his familys Like other Chicagoans, we have ideas about what the next mayor should do. The murder made people in a fairly safe town feel imperiled. However, it was determined that the light would not have turned red for her unless a vehicle was present on the intersecting road. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), Dog kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. Unlike the bloody murder scene described in court, the feed room on Wednesday had no visible signs of trauma after appearing to be redone with paint and new plywood. I am working on wrapping up a few last things and then I am headed out for the long walk. Although the weapons used to kill the victims haven't been found, an expert testified that the markings on the bullet casings found near Maggie Murdaughs body matched those found on casings at a shooting range on the family's property. Vaughn Yanko, a 22-year-old white male from West Chester, PA, was charged with Criminal Attempted Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, and Recklessly Endangering Another Person. Web"The Vaughn family's dogs, a golden retriever and schnauzer, were taken Thursday afternoon to an animal shelter, next-door neighbor Susan Stasinos said. + five extra copies (six total) + one copy of the Kickstarter Exclusive Cover. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), Several vehicles leave at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. However, following an intensive investigation and a nationwide search for them, she confessed on November 3, 1994, to letting her car roll into nearby John D. Long Lake,[9] drowning them inside. They asked for jurors to be allowed to visit the property in order to help them understand how small the storage room is where Paul Murdaugh was killed and the distance between the two bodies. Kate Rossmaniths micro-documentary, Unnatural Deaths, can be seen on The Guardian. They will be able to review about 800 documents, photographs, videos of police interviews of Alex Murdaugh and other exhibits while deciding on a verdict. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen as soon as next week, Houston rap royalty Bun B on returning to Rodeo for another Takeover, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban, W&P Porter bowl review: A container that makes office lunch easy, Why the Texans should take Bijan Robinson with the No. And who drives way off the highway to a frontage road when a passenger begins to feel ill? In the early 20th century, the members of the Osage Nation became the richest people per capita in the world, after oil was discovered under their reservation. The reporter who went to the feed room after the jurors left noted that the back window had large bullet holes. One early morning in June 2007, the Vaughn family left their home to drive to a water park in Springfield, Illinois. Then they began to be mysteriously murdered off. Why in the world would an innocent, reasonable father and husband lie about that? degree in 1682. Jurors have visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son. I can see how both sides can benefit from a jury seeing that, Nettles said. Vaughan was born On Oct. 3, 1954 in Dallas, Texas. The jury in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh -- who is accused of killing his wife and younger son at the family's property in 2021 -- will travel to the site of the brutal killings on Wednesday ahead of closing arguments. Testimony concluded on Tuesday after more than 75 witnesses took the stand over about five weeks. This has been a tough job, Waters said. Oilmen, such as J.P. Getty and Frank Phillips, would bid in the shade of a stately tree, which became known as the Million Dollar Elm. The lawyer W.W. Vaughan, with his wife and several of their children. But Waters disputed that too, noting that Murdaugh was comforted by officers in his initial police interview. It permits a 3D appreciation for what has otherwise been a two-dimensional presentation in court, said Benjamin, a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. + one copy of McCandless & Company: Insecurities - The Special Edition. Always have to literally beg, borrow and steal for over a decade to have the truth from being exposed, Waters said. "[14] The defense's theory of the case was that Smith drove to the edge of the lake to kill herself and her two sons, but her body willed itself out of the car. The tour of the crime scene happened before jurors were to head back to court in Walterboro to hear closing arguments in the closely watched murder trial. Kimberly Vaughn was shot once under her chin, the records say. Eventually, though, cracks began to appear in his story. Jurors on Wednesday visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son, Someone had planted a bomb under her sisters house that killed everyone inside, including Rita. Fearing his years of stealing from his law firm and clients would be exposed and hoping to maintain his lofty standing in the community, Murdaugh killed his wife and younger son in the hopes it would make him a sympathetic figure and draw attention away from the missing money, prosecutor Creighton Waters told jurors. Jurors began the day with a visit to the crime scene, where a pool reporter said at least one of them carefully inspected the door frame of a storage closet where Paul Murdaugh was standing when he was killed. 2023 Atlas Obscura. 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