Chris Vaughn Murder Trial Jury Picked

On the first day of jury selection eight men and four women were chosen to decide whether Christopher Vaughn walks free or spends the rest of his life behind bars.

Six alternate jurors must still be selected. Will County Judge Daniel Rozak set a 9 a.m. Tuesday start time to pick the alternates.

Vaughn has been locked up in the since June 2007 on charges he murdered his wife and children.

Vaughn, his wife Kimberly, 34, and children Blake, 8, Cassandra, 11, and Abigayle, 12 were heading from their Oswego home to a Springfield waterpark when he pulled off Interstate 55 and stopped on the frontage road outside Channahon.

Christopher Vaughn then gunned down his wife and children as they sat in the family's minivan, according to police and prosecutors.

But Vaughn told detectives it was actually his wife who shot their children, put a bullet in his leg as he fled for his life, then turned the pistol on herself and committed suicide.

Christopher Vaughn reportedly explained to detectives that he had confessed to his wife about an extramarital dalliance and that was what led to the unhinged Kimberly Vaughn's killing spree.

Vaughn also told investigators that the medication his wife was taking for migraine headaches contributed to her becoming both homicidal and suicidal, officials said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys asked many jurors if they suffered from migraines or depression and what medications they take. Quite a few answered yes to one or both questions.

One potential juror—who did not make the cut—was apparently reluctant to report for jury duty. The man, a lawyer licensed to practice in Illinois and Indiana, was informed about the possibility of his being arrested if he did not make his way to the courthouse in Joliet, Rozak said.

Another potential juror was rejected by prosecutors for saying she has young children and could not render an unbiased opinion against Vaughn.