Forensic Astrology: Patty Vaughan

Mommy Disappears On Christmas Day

From Find Patty Vaughn:

The mystery of what happened to Patty Vaughan began on Christmas day 1996. Patty Vaughan was separated from her husband of 12 years J R (Jerry Ray) but was expecting his visit to see their 3 children, Brittany, Ray and Tyler.

The evening before, on Christmas eve at a family gathering, Patty expressed her concerns and fears and had even asked for help in filing a restraining order against JR. Plans were made to file the following week right after Christmas. She never got that chance.

During the day Christmas, Patty spoke briefly with a family member who thought she had been crying, she abruptly had to go as JR ordered her off the phone. That is the last that anyone in the family spoke with Patty.

According to JR, they had a terrible argument in which he was “madder than he’d ever been” and that she had simply got in her van and vanished sometime between 6 and 9PM. She had driven away from her children on Christmas. THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. One resounding statement that is echoed by all who knew Patty is that should would have never ever left her children anytime in that situation let alone Christmas.

Patty had recently rekindled a relationship with an old boyfriend and had received a heart shaped diamond necklace from him on Christmas eve. She was the happiest the family had seen her. She was also terrified. Her new boss at the electric company she began working for stated that she had been harassed by her estranged husband, on the phone and in person and had to leave several times to avoid conflict.

Over the next 24 hrs is when her family realized something was terribly wrong. She had plans with her cousin Cathy and would have never not called nor shown up. After several attempts to contact Patty, JR, friends and other family members, the decision was made to contact the police. JR contacted Cathy at 7:14 PM on Dec 26th. We know this is what time it was because his first words to her were “what time is it?”. Then he stated that she was missing and that her van had been found on the side of a road. When Cathy explained to him that she had already contacted the police he shouted that it was too soon, she should have waited, that he would handle things.

JR was questioned briefly and then retained a criminal defense attorney, he refused lie detector nor any help in the search. After preliminary Luminol tests were done in the home which showed strong blood reactions, particularly in the bedroom, master bath and master closet area.

A search warrant to obtain blood samples for the children and JR had to be obtained due to his refusal to cooperate. In the subpoena, it is stated that “enough blood evidence has been found in the home at 152 Oak Park Rd. to believe a murder was committed”. All DNA evidence proved that all blood found was that of Patty Vaughan. On the walls, floor, baseboard, wipe marks, swipe marks, shoe prints, in a bucket and on a mop. Also, in JR’s apartment was a shirt with Patty’s blood on it.

JR had moved into his own apartment in Oct 1996 when they separated. He had turned in his notice to vacate due to “a life and death situation” on Dec 13th. He moved back into the family home on the 27th, 2 days after Patty vanished and changed the home phone message machine which had Patty’s voice on it the same day.

Also a note of interest is that Patty’s van was found 20 miles from her home and 5 miles from her office. Her right front tire had been intentionally deflated and her carpet freshly shampoo’d. The carpet was still wet but crime lab tests found small amounts of Patty’s blood behind the drivers seat and various other places in the van.

It has been 10 years since Patty vanished. JR long ago, took the children and moved away. Patty was (by JR) declared legally dead and an attempt to collect her life insurance was made by JR but was blocked by Patty’s mother, sisters, brothers, cousins and aunts and uncles to ensure the education of Patty’s children. Patty’s family has come to terms with the fact that Patty would not be found alive but would like to have closure and a proper, respectful burial that she deserves. Not “buried under a wood pile with feces all around” as JR said in his only statement to the police.

It seems surreal that someone as loving and wonderful as Patty could just vanish without a trace. It is the hope of Patty’s family that someone somewhere knows something and would come forward and do the right thing. Can you help us find Patty?

This case made me really mad when I read about it. I was emailed the case by a reader who wanted me to look into it and once I saw it I realized that someone had gotten away with murder. For all purposes, this looks like her husband did this; blood evidence, lack of cooperation, a history of anger and abuse. I mean, really. Why wasn't this man ever charged? If I could scream on a blog I would. Why on earth would I bother looking at a case that is so obviously "solved" but not closed? If her husband did it he has gotten away with it and nothing I find will change that.

But I did balance myself and set about doing this chart for a number of reasons. One, if I can see where he put her, at least her family can bury her and get some closure. Also, I might see that someone else was actually guilty or that someone else was involved. Perhaps some of this might help find Patty or bring someone to justice for this horrible crime.

First of all, doing a chart for that evening showed me a few key aspects. Venus was close to Pluto and the Moon was opposing a Mercury-Jupiter conjunction. That looks like a good start for a jealous rage and the stubborn belief that one is right even when it's obvious one is not. This is a good night for a big, raging fight that cannot be resolved. Might makes right. That's the theme.

I did charts for the times that were given and I saw that Cancer was rising at 6 pm and Capricorn was falling. The Moon is in the first house and Saturn is in the tenth. A strange combination occurs in the chart for this night. Saturn rules the Descendant and is disposed of by Mars in the fourth. In turn, Mars is disposed of by Mercury right at the Descendant and Mercury is disposed of by Saturn. This is a sort of loop that creates a web involving the Descendant and Descendant ruler. It looks like the person she is with is planning something out and trying to make it happen.

At 6 pm the Moon is moving to an exact opposition to Mercury. Mars is in the fourth house. For one thing, Patty is still alive and she has not left the house, as her husband claimed. In fact, it looks to me that he is the one who has started a fight. Almost as if he had planned to start a fight. Saturn is in the tenth house so he does this right out in the open where everybody in the home can see him. The Moon is in the first house so Patty is also right out in the open. They are not in a room with a closed door or outside in the garage or anything else. They are right there, in the living room. The fifth house ruler, Pluto, is in the fifth house so the kids are there.

At 6-30 pm I see that Saturn has slipped into the ninth and Mars is in the third. They are in an "out of sign" opposition. In other words, they are only a few degrees apart in opposition but from the cusp. Mars is in the last few degrees of Virgo and Saturn is in the first degree of Aries. This indicates an outburst or act of violence. The interesting thing is Saturn in the ninth with Mars in the third, it looks like a tool or utensil to me. He grabs a hammer or a fork. With the Moon opposing Mercury almost exactly at the first-seventh house axis, this is a real fight. They will never agree and both of them will hold out to prove they are right.

Look at the cluster of planets in the seventh house. There are a lot of people involved in their relationship and not for the best. He has friends who are critical of her and not afraid to say so. Although they are divorced and live apart, they share children and possibly possessions. His marker being Saturn indicates that he was cold, controlling, critical, restrictive and bossy. Moon as her marker shows her to be emotional, sensitive, overly caring, motherly, nagging, needy and unwilling to let go. Cancer and Capricorn are the quintessential parents of the Zodiac. They were doing everything for the children. They were together this day doing their parental duties and barely tolerating each other.

The thing that grabs me in the chart for 7 pm is how the Moon just moved into the twelfth. It just looks to me that sometime between 6:30 and 7 she has gone into another room, hiding. Perhaps she is hiding because she is afraid. I do not see death aspects. I do not believe she is dead nor do I think he's actually hurt her yet. In fact, his marker, Saturn, is still in the ninth and Mars is in the third. Mars co-rules the fifth house so I'm thinking he's outside with the kids. Pluto, the co-ruler, is in Sagittarius in the fifth house in a close trine to Saturn. They are outside tossing a football or playing a game. They are having a good time with daddy and they like daddy. Good feelings with a trine like that. Mom, on the other hand, has been struck or is just frightened and hiding.

And then at 8 pm Leo takes over the Ascendant and the Sun is in the fifth. Patty is in the kids' room. She definitely has not left the house, so his story is bogus. Uranus now rules the Descendant and is placed in the sixth. Jupiter rules the fifth house and is now in the sixth. Daddy is with the kids in another area of the house. Because this is the sixth house, I'm thinking it's the bathroom. Neptune is right there next to Jupiter, so I think he gave the kids drugs of some sort; cough medicine, NyQuil, some kind of nighttime sleepy stuff I think. I doubt he gave them Heroin. However, he drugged them with something. They went to sleep and stayed that way.

Mars is on the midheaven so he is running the show. He starts the argument, it escalates, he explodes and grabs a tool to smack her with. And then at 9 pm a death pattern emerges. I think he hit her back at 7 pm or thereabouts and left her in the kid's room, hidden. I think she was knocked out and dieing. And I think she died around 8 pm, while daddy was drugging the kids and putting them to bed. I don't believe he thought she might die right yet, that he had finished the job or why would he need to drug the kids? Perhaps he was afraid that if he left with her they would awaken. Either way, he is putting them to bed and during this period Saturn enters the eighth while the Moon still lingers in the twelfth. The Sun now rules the Ascendant and is still in the fifth house. I am just not seeing a smoking gun in these charts. There is no mystery killer and she never left the house at the time he said she did. It played out differently.

Just after 10 and also at 11 the charts show that the fifth house ruler is Saturn and it is now in the seventh house. What does this mean? It means he has put the kids to bed in their mothers room. And you know what? Saturn is disposed of by Mars in the first house. He killed her to get the kids. His whole purpose was to get her out of the way and take the children. THEY were the reason he killed her. And then at 10 pm I see clearly that he is in the kids room again, with his wife. Virgo is rising and Pisces is falling. Neptune and Mercury are close together in the fifth house, on either side of Jupiter. Jupiter rules the fourth house. He is worried about the house. About the condition of the house? He is thinking he can't leave her here.

Nothing much happens in these charts until 12:20 am, when it looks like he sneaks around and puts her in the car. Aries rules the Descendant and Mars is in the twelfth house, right aligned with the Ascendant. He is hiding himself and being careful not to be seen. It actually looks like he's sneaking up on her but I also see her in the car. Venus is in the third, close to Pluto. The Moon has passed it's opposition to Jupiter so the argument is over. I am feeling that he put her in the car and she wasn't dead yet. Like she woke up or something and he came up behind her and struck her again. I can't swear on this but that's how it looks. The weird thing I see is the Node right at the Ascendant closely opposed to Saturn. This another "destiny" point, describing this whole event as "fated". I won't go into it more than that.

In this chart you can clearly see three planets lined up closely conjoined in the fourth house. Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune. These are their three children, at home. Venus, her marker, is in the third, putting her in the car. And then, between 1 and 1:30 am I see he pushes her out of the car. She is Venus in Sagittarius conjunct Pluto. This puts her near horses, possibly a stables or farm nearby. This is a wooded area with horses and also a marsh or wet area also close in the area. There may be cesspools or standing water near the stables and overall there is a nasty smell. This area is northeast of her home. He was being very careful to hide her and I am sure she was buried or sunk into the muck. He buried her not far from the hayracks and if there is a chicken ranch in the area, it could be somewhere between the two.

And then I will again attempt to describe this person, who everyone is sure is her husband. I think it may well have been considering it was someone who was in the house with her the entire day and spent a lot of time with the children. This man was possessive of his children and no new boyfriend of hers was going to play daddy. Not on his watch. Saturn in Aries describes a man who is argumentative, controlling and difficult. He would be rather bony looking with a long, thin face. He may have had large, deep set eyes of a light color. He would also have a prominent nose and the look of a "ruler" personality, like he is in charge, no questions asked. He has to win every argument, no exceptions. He may have also had problems with his teeth and his teeth might be in bad shape. This man would have thin lips that slant downwards when he smiles or simply droop a lot of the time, making him look miserable. He may have had olive colored or dusky skin. He seems tortured most of the time, hardly ever happy. Now, remember, that not every single item in this outline will be true. In the appearance of individuals, it is usually two or three items that are exact. They are meant to be guidelines and not exact portraits.

The man that I saw killing Patty appeared to be her husband. He has, none the less, not been found guilty of this crime nor has he been charged. He is no longer a "person of interest". Her husband, who now has her children, has claimed that she simply "ran off". Probable or not, it is to be considered possible that she may be still alive. In the interest of finding her, please look closely at her picture and commit it to memory. If you believe you have seen her, know anything of her disappearance or have reason to believe you know where she is, please contact the San Antonio Police at: