Man accused of killing his family to be extradited to Illinois on murder charges

A man accused of killing his wife and three children in their sport utility vehicle and then shooting himself in the leg and arm agreed Tuesday to be extradited to Illinois on murder charges.

Photo: Man accused of killing his family to be extradited to Illinois on murder charges

Christopher Vaughn, who was arrested at a funeral home just hours before a memorial service for his family, could be transferred as early as Tuesday night and almost certainly will be moved by Thursday.

One of Vaughn's attorneys, David Waltrip, said his client decided to drop his fight against extradition after losing a court hearing on the matter Friday and because any appeal would be time-consuming.

Vaughn, 32, faces eight first-degree murder counts - two for each victim - in the deaths of Kimberly Vaughn, 32, and their children, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8. Their bodies were discovered June 14 in the parked SUV along a service road southwest of Chicago after Vaughn flagged down a motorist.

Vaughn, a computer security consultant, had superficial gunshot wounds in the leg and arm.

Illinois authorities have not mentioned a possible motive for the killings.