Post by daisy on Jun 7, 2007 20:18:54 GMT -5
Attorney dies in apparent suicide pact
Family friend finds Vaught, wife in car in garage
By Jennifer Menster - Record Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Hickory, N.C. - It was not uncommon to find Curt Vaught doodling.
But the longtime Hickory attorney wasn’t drawing circles, flowers or his name.
Whenever he had rare idle time,
Vaught would doodle algebraic equations,
said fellow attorney Scott Reilly.
On Sunday, March 18, 2007
a family friend found Vaught dead. Vaught and his wife were in a vehicle in their garage. They died in an apparent suicide pact.
Sheriff David Huffman said there is no indication of foul play in either death.
The car was enclosed in a garage in their northwest Hickory home.
Huffman is waiting to hear from the medical examiner the official cause of death. Huffman said the couple left a note, but would not elaborate.
This is the first double suicide Huffman recalls in his 25 years.
It’s procedure that law enforcement investigates all unattended deaths, Huffman said. An autopsy is likely.
Stephanie Gilliam, a paralegal at Curt J. Vaught and Associates, said Mary Vaught was ill. She also said
Vaught had some financial issues,
but she didn’t know the extent of the problem.
The state bar said there had been no disciplinary action
taken against the 60-year-old attorney.
Gilliam said fellow employees wish they had more answers.
“He loved the practice of law. He thoroughly enjoyed the work he did,” Gilliam said, who worked for Vaught for two years.
“He was a loyal friend and a hard worker.
He was a happy man.”
Gilliam said more than anything Vaught loved his wife.
She doesn’t know why the double suicide happened, but says
it was out of love for each other, not hatred or murder. For lack of a better term, Gilliam said it was a Romeo and Juliet story.
“They couldn’t live without each other,” she said.
“His biggest enjoyment in life was making her happy.”
Scott Matthews partnered with Vaught for about eight years.
He was shocked to learn of Curt and Mary’s death. Although, he said, it wasn’t a surprise the two went together.
Vaught was a mentor for Matthews
when Matthews became a lawyer.
Vaught began his career
working as an intern with Matthews’ father,
according to a May 11, 1979, Hickory Daily Record article.
Vaught later shared a law practice with Matthews’ father.
“I looked to Curt early in my career and still considered him
a valuable resource,” Matthews said.
“He could remember statutes as they applied to law
off the top of his head. He was a great resource,
he was also kind and polite.”
Matthews said Vaught was a great conversationalist.
He was up-to-date on sports and politics.
Vaught also loved to talk mechanics and construction.
Vaught was a civil engineer major at N.C. State University. Matthews said the two shared a friendly rivalry,
with Matthews a Tar Heel fan
and Vaught cheering for the Wolfpack.
“I’m going to miss him,” Matthews said. “He was a close friend.
This is a huge loss.”
Vaught was a former Marine, spending a year in Vietnam.
He received his law degree from Wake Forest.
In 1981, Vaught was elected as
the Catawba County Democratic chairman.
He met Mary Teague in college at N.C. State University.
The two married in 1972.
They loved horses and dogs, Gilliam said, and had no children. Mary was active in the community before she became sick.
Investigators are still looking into the preliminary details of the case. No funeral arrangements have been announced.
So, they wait. People who knew the Vaughts
wait with heavy hearts and teary eyes. And at the least
one will miss the guy in the courtroom doodling equations.
jmenster@hickoryrecord.com | 322-4510 x5409 or 304-6916
www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/Page/HDR_SectionFront&c=Page&cid=1035488815570
___
Family friend finds Vaught, wife in car in garage
By Jennifer Menster - Record Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Hickory, N.C. - It was not uncommon to find Curt Vaught doodling.
But the longtime Hickory attorney wasn’t drawing circles, flowers or his name.
Whenever he had rare idle time,
Vaught would doodle algebraic equations,
said fellow attorney Scott Reilly.
On Sunday, March 18, 2007
a family friend found Vaught dead. Vaught and his wife were in a vehicle in their garage. They died in an apparent suicide pact.
Sheriff David Huffman said there is no indication of foul play in either death.
The car was enclosed in a garage in their northwest Hickory home.
Huffman is waiting to hear from the medical examiner the official cause of death. Huffman said the couple left a note, but would not elaborate.
This is the first double suicide Huffman recalls in his 25 years.
It’s procedure that law enforcement investigates all unattended deaths, Huffman said. An autopsy is likely.
Stephanie Gilliam, a paralegal at Curt J. Vaught and Associates, said Mary Vaught was ill. She also said
Vaught had some financial issues,
but she didn’t know the extent of the problem.
The state bar said there had been no disciplinary action
taken against the 60-year-old attorney.
Gilliam said fellow employees wish they had more answers.
“He loved the practice of law. He thoroughly enjoyed the work he did,” Gilliam said, who worked for Vaught for two years.
“He was a loyal friend and a hard worker.
He was a happy man.”
Gilliam said more than anything Vaught loved his wife.
She doesn’t know why the double suicide happened, but says
it was out of love for each other, not hatred or murder. For lack of a better term, Gilliam said it was a Romeo and Juliet story.
“They couldn’t live without each other,” she said.
“His biggest enjoyment in life was making her happy.”
Scott Matthews partnered with Vaught for about eight years.
He was shocked to learn of Curt and Mary’s death. Although, he said, it wasn’t a surprise the two went together.
Vaught was a mentor for Matthews
when Matthews became a lawyer.
Vaught began his career
working as an intern with Matthews’ father,
according to a May 11, 1979, Hickory Daily Record article.
Vaught later shared a law practice with Matthews’ father.
“I looked to Curt early in my career and still considered him
a valuable resource,” Matthews said.
“He could remember statutes as they applied to law
off the top of his head. He was a great resource,
he was also kind and polite.”
Matthews said Vaught was a great conversationalist.
He was up-to-date on sports and politics.
Vaught also loved to talk mechanics and construction.
Vaught was a civil engineer major at N.C. State University. Matthews said the two shared a friendly rivalry,
with Matthews a Tar Heel fan
and Vaught cheering for the Wolfpack.
“I’m going to miss him,” Matthews said. “He was a close friend.
This is a huge loss.”
Vaught was a former Marine, spending a year in Vietnam.
He received his law degree from Wake Forest.
In 1981, Vaught was elected as
the Catawba County Democratic chairman.
He met Mary Teague in college at N.C. State University.
The two married in 1972.
They loved horses and dogs, Gilliam said, and had no children. Mary was active in the community before she became sick.
Investigators are still looking into the preliminary details of the case. No funeral arrangements have been announced.
So, they wait. People who knew the Vaughts
wait with heavy hearts and teary eyes. And at the least
one will miss the guy in the courtroom doodling equations.
jmenster@hickoryrecord.com | 322-4510 x5409 or 304-6916
www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/Page/HDR_SectionFront&c=Page&cid=1035488815570
___