A 50-year-old Henderson murder remains unsolved

A confession to the murder of Morris B. Vaughn was obtained during the winter of 1973-74 – but 50 years later he’s still awaiting justice.

His death was a story that had Henderson buzzing in the latter part of October 1972 but the initial coverage in The Gleaner of Oct. 19 was only three paragraphs long. It reported he had been missing since the evening of Oct. 17.

He had left Vaughn Insurance Agency at 315 N. Main St. about 5 p.m. the day he disappeared. “His (black Cadillac) was found in its usual place, but Vaughn has not been seen.”

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A follow-up article appeared Oct. 20, in which Det. Sgt. Hugh E. Stone of the Henderson Police Department conceded investigators had no leads. But Vaughn had been seen at least twice after leaving his office. The first time was at the Howard Johnson Restaurant, where he exchanged pleasantries with friends about 6:30 p.m. A woman also said she saw him get into his car about 30 minutes later at the Post Office and drive north on Water Street.

The next article didn’t appear until Oct. 24, which reported Vaughn’s body had been found by a group of 10 people riding horses in Horseshoe Bend. Discovery of the corpse took place about 5 p.m. Oct. 22.

The group on horseback was composed of Ralph and Alice Skaggs, Gerald Hall, Robert Keeper, Mickie Dill, and Frank and Ella Long and their three sons.

“Their son, Steve, was riding along the road when he saw a man’s hat. He pulled his horse off the roadway and into a soybean field where he found the body lying face up, with glasses still in place. The victim was fully clothed, the elder Long said. The body was several feet off the road in the field.”

There was no weapon at the scene.

The coroner had no trouble ruling Vaughn’s death a homicide, according to information the Kentucky State Police once had on its cold case website but is no longer there. (I had the good sense to copy it and add it to my local history database before it was deleted.)

Vaughn still had $170 in cash, a watch and a diamond ring on his body when it was found. He had been shot at close range in the back of the neck with a shotgun and then shot in the face with a handgun or rifle.

My friend Nibby Priest, current owner of Vaughn Insurance Agency, noted in a blog he wrote in 2009 that Vaughn’s credit cards and heart medication were found in the insurance office safe. He has long had a fascination with the case, and I’d like to acknowledge my debt to him for providing various details.

While Vaughn’s Cadillac was found in its usual parking place, Priest noted, it “was not parked in his normal fashion. Usually, Morris parked the car facing south. This time the car was parked facing north.”

Follow-up stories appeared in The Gleaner both Oct. 25 and 26.

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The first article noted funeral services were planned that day at Tapp Funeral Home.

“Local city and state police are pursuing the investigation that has baffled the community for the past week.” Det. Sgt. Bill Gooch of the Kentucky State Police said “numerous leads” from “various individuals” were being followed.

“The officer said from this maze of information they hope soon to establish a direction for the investigation to take.”

He also asked people to report anything they knew, no matter how insignificant it might seem. “When added with other information they have assembled (it) could help to bring the solution of the case much closer.”

That story also noted that because Vaughn had disappeared from within the city limits, but his body was found in Horseshoe Bend, “it is the responsibility of both law enforcement agencies to investigate.”

The Oct. 26 article reported a $1,500 reward for the capture and conviction of the killer had been posted by an unnamed party. But Gooch said it was “hard to imagine” getting more avenues to explore.

“We have enough leads for several murders,” Gooch said.

Meanwhile, the story said, “the rumors continue to multiply, but all without official verification…. Police are trying to work the leads into a pattern that might produce some results” in the search for the killer.

There were a couple of postscripts in the advertising columns of The Gleaner during the month of November 1972.

The first appeared Nov. 1 and was a notice that the Vaughn Insurance Agency would continue serving customers as usual.

“The agency will continue under the management of E.J. Mabry, who has been associated with the agency for the past 20 years. Mr. Mabry has been a partner in the agency since 1968 and became general manager and president upon the semi-retirement of Morris B. Vaughn about two years ago.”

A few days later, on Nov. 5, The Gleaner carried a card of thanks from widow Jessie C. Vaughn.

“It is with sincere appreciation that I express thanks to all of you in the community that have given of yourselves so freely to help me when I need you most. Your thoughtfulness has sustained me and it will not be forgotten.”

According to Priest, Vaughn met his wife in Columbia where he had his first career as a school principal after graduating from Barret Manual Training High School and then the University of Kentucky.

He was born Jan. 21, 1905; he was 67 at the time of his death. He returned to Henderson in 1935 to join his father’s insurance firm.

Priest’s father, Norris O. Priest, bought the insurance agency from Mrs. Vaughn in August 1974 and decided to retain the Vaughn name for the business.

A matter of weeks later, on Sept. 14, 1974, The Gleaner carried an article about five unsolved murders that had occurred locally since 1971. “In the Vaughn case, Gooch said he has good reason to believe there is a person in Henderson County who could resolve it for us tomorrow.”

Good said no motive had been determined, but he had asked “various people” to take lie detector tests as part of the Vaughn investigation. All of them had refused.

“We had an interesting development in that case last winter,” Gooch said. Police in Gary, Indiana, had picked up a Henderson man for unrelated crimes and he gave a “very convincing” confession to the Vaughn murder but was unable to corroborate significant details of the crime.

“Oh, he tried. He really tried,” Gooch said. “If we hadn’t withheld key points of how Vaughn was killed we might have arrested the wrong man.”

100 years ago

A group of young businesswomen calling themselves the Hikers Club crossed the Ohio River on the Second Street ferry to trek to Evansville, according to The Gleaner of Oct. 19, 1922.

“Passing motorists, with side glances at the fair hikers, offered lifts, but they were declined. Hikers is the name of the club and hikers they would be.”

75 years ago

The Fairmont Club, located on Old Corydon Road about two miles south of the city limits, was destroyed by fire about 1:40 a.m., according to The Gleaner of Oct. 17, 1947. No one was in the building at the time.

The nightclub was on the city water system but there was no hydrant nearby. The pumper truck went to fill its tank but by the time it returned the building was beyond saving.

Owners of the building were “Buck” Barton of Evansville and R.W. Gibson. Losses were estimated at $30,000, including various musical instruments owned by the Eddie Shoulder band of Evansville.

The building originally was a dwelling, part of which had been constructed of hand-hewn timbers. Its age was estimated between 75 and 100 years. During World War II the upstairs had been converted into eight apartments, but only three were occupied at the time of the fire.

25 years ago

A lack of planning and zoning regulations caused Webster Circuit Judge Tommy Chandler to rule Webster Fiscal Court did not have the authority to require large chicken-raising houses to be at least 600 feet from any existing residential or commercial structure, according to The Gleaner of Oct. 21, 1997.

The ordinance passed two months earlier had made violations of the requirement a criminal offense, punishable by up to a year in jail for every day a violation occurred. The county maintained it had been exercising its power to control animals and abate public nuisances.

Hudson Foods Inc. (now Tyson) and 28 chicken growers had challenged the ordinance. General Manager Doug Hester said it affected 80 to 100 poultry houses in Webster County.

“It was an illegal ordinance,” he said. “It shouldn’t have been passed in the first place.”

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com or on Twitter at @BoyettFrank.

This article originally appeared on Henderson Gleaner: 1972 slaying of Morris Vaughn of Henderson, Kentucky, remains unsolved