Thirty two year old Patty Vaughan went missing on Christmas Day, 1996, from her home in La Vernia, Texas. Her family needs to know what happened and if she’s no longer alive, to find her body and lay her to rest. Someone knows what happened and together, we might be able to convince them to come forward. 

Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!

This is Season 4, Episode 46. Our case this week is the case of Patty Vaughan. Even after nearly 27 years, this case is still solvable. So let’s investigate and share all over the state of Texas and the world.

Lying on the south bank of Cibolo Creek, La Vernia Texas is a small town near San Antonio. 

Patty and her husband Jerry Ray “J.R.” Vaughan had been separated for a couple of months. 

Patty told friends and family that she had grown increasingly frustrated by JR’s controlling behavior. They claimed that Patty told them he didn’t allow her work and was verbally abusive. Some suspected there was physical abuse as well when they spotted bruises that Patty couldn’t explain.

Authorities in Patty’s case say there is circumstantial evidence, but not enough to charge anyone. That’s where we can help. A lot of people from the great state of Texas listen to this podcast. I hope you will all share it with your friends who live in the San Antonio area, or who did back in 1996 when Patty went missing. Sometimes all it takes to break a case wide open is one piece of information. Hearing about a cold case may stir up memories for people, or even a desire to share information they were once afraid to disclose. So let’s share with friends, share on social media, and try to get some more answers for Patty’s family and maybe even some justice.

 Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

In Patty’s case, I firmly believe there are people who have lost their voices, figuratively speaking. They know what happened. Patty cannot speak for herself, so it’s up to someone else to stand up for her right to have justice done. If you are that person, you don’t need to worry that speaking up may get someone in trouble. It’s a person’s actions that do that, not the reporting of those actions. 

Police and prosecutors can only work with the information that is available to them. You can’t finish putting a puzzle together if you don’t have all of the pieces. You might be able to say with certainty what picture the puzzle makes, but you still aren’t done. Patty’s case isn’t done. It’s still missing a few pieces. If you have any of them, look in the show notes for how you can contact authorities to tell them what you know.

Someone, and maybe more than one someone, has literally gotten away with murder. While they’ve been free, who knows how many other people they may have hurt. Patty’s family certainly still hurts. Let’s do all we can to help them now.

I’d love to know what cases or topics you’d like to see on the podcast in 2024! Send me an email a [email protected] or message me on social media. Don’t shy away from hard topics. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!

Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at [email protected]. 

If you have information about Patty’s case, you can call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-TIPS or 210-335-6000.

You can also call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).

Submit a tip online to the Texas Department of Safety

Read the articles from News4 San Antonio, nbcnews.com, and The Charley Project

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