ROCK HILL, S.C. — The murder trial for a former Chester County deputy accused of killing a retired police officer was delayed at the last minute Monday morning.
Evan Hawthorne has been out of jail on bond ever since he was accused of murdering retired Rock Hill Police Lieutenant Larry Vaughn back in 2021.
Channel 9’s South Carolina Reporter Tina Terry was in court Monday morning as Hawthorne’s trial was set to start, but it didn’t go as planned. Vaughn’s family members will wait one more day for the trial to start.
Four years ago, detectives say Vaughn was murdered in his downtown Rock Hill apartment. Investigators arrested Hawthorne and say he followed Vaughn to his apartment from a nearby bar, where both of the men had reportedly been drinking.
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Detectives said Hawthorne could be seen leaving an hour later, covered in blood.
Hawthorne’s family said this is a case of self-defense.
But there was no word on what caused the delay in jury selection Monday morning. We also expected a pre-trial motion from the defense Monday afternoon, but that ended up not happening. Channel 9 learned that both will take place Tuesday morning.
We’re staying on top of the trial, and will bring you updates on the case when they’re available.
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