U.S. & World News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A man whose wife and three children were found dead of gunshot wounds in their SUV on Thursday says his wife fired the shots, according to a published report.

As WBBM's Mai Martinez reports, no charges had been filed in the case as of early Friday morning, and state police have not said who they believe fired the fatal shots that killed Kimberly Ellen Vaughn, 34, of Oswego and her three children.

Vaughn's husband, Christopher Vaughn, 32, was also shot in the thigh, but he survived. While police are not commenting on the subject, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he implicated his wife. After speaking with investigators for several hours on Thursday, Christopher Vaughn left police headquarters early this morning.

Christopher Vaughn told investigators the family was on a trip when he pulled off Interstate 55 and parked near Frontage and Bluff roads to secure some luggage atop the SUV, according to law enforcement sources that spoke to the Sun-Times.

Vaughn said that when he got back into the SUV, his wife began firing a handgun, the Sun-Times reported. He was shot in the leg, and he fled, he reportedly told investigators. When he returned, his wife and children had all been shot and were dead.

State police would not confirm or deny this chain of events early Friday.

Around 5:30 a.m., state police discovered the bodies inside the family's Ford Expedition, which was parked on a service road to a cell phone tower, just off Bluff Road near Interstate Highway 55 in Channahon Township.

Investigators said Kimberly Vaughn suffered one fatal gunshot wound.

The three children, Abigayle Elizabeth Vaughn, 12; Cassandra Ellen Vaughn, 11; and Blake Philip Vaughn, 8; had all been shot multiple times.

State police talked extensively with Christopher Vaughn on Thursday about the shooting. They said he was cooperative and assisted with the investigation, and is not a person of interest. He left between 1 and 2 a.m.

But police do not believe anyone else was involved in the shootings.

"This event we believe is concentrated to what we have at the scene," Dobrich said. "There is no suspect. We are just trying to get down to the truth as to what actually happened."

A handgun was found at the scene.

Investigators hope forensic evidence collected at the scene will clean up some questions surrounding the shooting.

The Vaughn family moved to Oswego recently and was settling into a dream home there. Neighbors were stunned by the police investigation.

A neighbor helped police remove two dogs from the Vaughn house on Mansfield Court in Oswego, where the family lived for more than a year.

"They was loving and would do everything for the kids," said neighbor Sarmad Faiz.

Faiz, the neighbor next door, saw and spoke to the mother and her children nearly every day.

"They were a great family," Faiz said. "I was shocked when I heard about it. You wouldn't expect something like that out here."

Kimberly Vaughn had just received a degree in criminal justice administration.

Christopher Vaughn is a computer forensic adviser and specializes in missing persons investigations and cyber-crime prevention.

Blake Vaughn had just finished the second grade. He loved baseball and PlayStation. Abigayle's friends said she loved to draw and had just joined a traveling soccer team. Cassandra had just started playing clarinet.

Kimberly's sister told the Chicago Tribune the couple was looking forward to a romantic getaway this weekend to celebrate a wedding anniversary.

The family seemed so perfect, they were featured in a Chicago Sun-Times real estate article, describing their new construction home and the child-friendly Oswego neighborhood.

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