Morristown Grandmother's Killer Won't Have Prison Term Shortened

Eleven years after shooting and killing a Morristown woman and wounding another, James Vaughn’s plea for a shortened prison term won’t be granted after a ruling in Superior Court Monday.

The Irvington man, who was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years, will continue to serve that term, according to nj.com. The report said Vaughn’s public defender requested his client’s sentenced be reduced to the minimum of 30 years.

Vaughn is currently 62-years-old.

Vaughn was convicted of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend in Essex County in 1980, the report said. In the 2003 murder of Maxine McCaden of Morristown, Vaughn was committing a burglary when the shooting occurred, the report said.

He was also found guilty of attempted murder when he turned the gun on Ruth Bernadette Kennedy, McCaden’s daughter, with whom he had a relationship with, nj.com reported.