On a summer evening in August of 1991, in Laurel County, Kentucky, Rodney Vaughn, a male, was at a gathering at a home on White Oak Church Road with ten other adults and five children. An argument erupted between Vaughn and another guest, Robert Foley, which escalated into a physical altercation. Later that same evening, the dispute took a fatal turn when Foley, armed with a. 38 colt snub-nosed revolver he had concealed, shot Vaughn multiple times.
The gunshot wounds to his left arm and trunk resulted in a fatal hemorrhage.
Following the shooting of Rodney Vaughn, his brother, Harry Lynn Vaughn, was also shot and killed. In an attempt to conceal the crimes, Robert Foley, with the help of three other men present at the scene, disposed of the brothers' bodies in Sinking Creek in Laurel County. An investigation into the double homicide led to the arrest of Robert Foley.
Robert Foley was charged with the murders of both Rodney and Harry Lynn Vaughn. He claimed self-defense in the shooting of Rodney Vaughn and accused another individual of killing Harry Lynn Vaughn. However, a jury found him guilty, and on September 2, 1993, the Laurel Circuit Court sentenced him to death for the murders. In addition to the Vaughn brothers' murders, Foley was also implicated in the deaths of four other individuals in a separate case. As of 2018, Robert Foley remained on death row at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.
