Toward the end of the service, which lasted more than an hour, a funeral director approached Kimberly Vaughn's family in the church's front row and told them of the charges. Though it was unclear what the family knew before then--Christopher Vaughn had been arrested more than six hours earlier--they gasped, shook their heads and began to cry. Then they picked up their belongings, hurried outside and were whisked away by waiting cars.

"At this point, we just want to see what further information comes out in the investigation," Nikki Isemann, Kimberly Vaughn's older sister, said later. "We want to know exactly what unfolded on June 14. We need answers."

From the time the bodies were found, authorities declined to label Christopher Vaughn a suspect. But they also said the killer was someone who had been in the Expedition.

Christopher Vaughn suffered minor gunshot wounds in the incident. Sources said that at the emergency room that night, he told police this story:

His family left home before 5 a.m. to go to a Springfield water park. When his wife complained of feeling sick, he pulled their SUV onto a secluded access road in Channahon Township, the account went.

Vaughn got out, noticed that his leg was bleeding and went for help. He told police he could not remember what happened after he was wounded and did not hear any gunshots, the sources said.

When authorities arrived at the vehicle, Glasgow said Saturday, they found Kimberly Vaughn shot once and each child shot twice.