Kevin Fox was eventually released, and the case against him was dismissed. Yet, despite the overwhelming implication of guilt produced by the hearing, a number of troubling questions lurked within the prosecutor's case. At one point an assistant interrupted the presentation by bursting into the courtroom and thrusting a document into Tomczak's hand. WILMINGTON, Ill. -- Five years had passed since the 2004 murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox when FBI Special Agent Lori Warren began working on what she called "the most important case of my. The person behind the mixup, the lawsuit alleges, was Ed Hayes. The questions quickly shift to what Kevin did or didn't do that night. The sheriff's summary report portrays Melissa as expressing doubts about her husband's innocence. Chad Fox looked on the rumors as confirmation that Kevin-still not represented by a lawyer-was a suspect, perhaps the only suspect. ABC Desperate to find out what happened to her daughter, Melissa said she reached out to the detectives every day and that they assured her they were investigating the case thoroughly. Little did he know that a few hours later, he would be waking up to the worst nightmare of his life and that his beloved daughter would be taken away from him forever. After three hours alone, Melissa grew furious. Kevin says he told the detectives that he didn't call 911 because he didn't want to panic prematurely. He looks away. Kevin Fox and his family paid little attention to the politics of the race. He then went home and slept," the prosecutor said. . Life will never be the same for any of us.". He recanted almost immediately, but spent eight months in jail before DNA evidence led to his release. Seventeen years ago, Zellner's client, Kevin Fox, was wrongly arrested and charged with killing his little girl. The Fox 8 Meteorologist gave birth to a son in 2017 alongside her husband Ryan. But it slowly dawned on him that the whole thing-the supposed sympathy of the detectives, the "friendship" of "Scott," the seemingly cordial questioning-had been a ruse. Kaupas acknowledged that the detectives had had no substantial new evidence when they called in Kevin. "When I saw the pictures . He struggles to catch his breath between sobs. The state's attorney, a heavyset man named Jeffery Tomczak, swept into the room, shaking hands and nodding toward a line of police officers who stood stone-faced and imposing near a cadre of assistant prosecutors arrayed around the prosecution table. No. With bond set at $25 million, the family decided, on Zellner's advice, not to try to get Kevin out, but to put their money toward clearing his name. He answered all the questions and even volunteered to give DNA samples if it helped solved his girls murder. Wilmington, IL Baskerville Funeral Home - Wilmington Friday, February 17, 2023 Add Photos Add a Memory MICHAEL R. JOHNSTONE Age 59 of Wilmington, formerly of West Chicago, Illinois, passed. ), Around Wilmington, rumors began to swirl that the Foxes were using money donated to a "Riley fund" for extravagant vacations and luxury purchases. Chad recalls the moment vividly: "Kevin looked at me and said, I didn't do this. "There are some red flags that are making us look at Kevin," Melissa recalls the detective saying. Sun and clouds mixed. Melissa recalls asking, still holding out hope that their daughter was alive. Melissa knew by their faces that the news was grim. "This isn't political," he said. Before putting the girl in the water, he inserted his finger inside her to make it look like she had been sexually assaulted. What's more, investigators would be able to place the car along the route that led to Forsythe Woods, where Riley's body had been found. Glasgow seemed like a fair man, but he had given no indication that he planned to drop charges against Kevin. As to the question of who would confess to a crime so heinous if they didn't do it, Steven Drizin, a leading authority on false confessions, says that is the least mysterious part of the story. ", By now, Melissa's brother had arrived at the jail, as had Kevin's father. Local 630-955-1212 | Toll . [1] After Riley's father was initially accused and then cleared by DNA evidence, paroled convict Scott Eby confessed to the crime and was convicted. In late June, Kevin and Melissa consented to letting the authorities question Tyler. . The DNA had been sent to the state crime lab, not Virginia, and then returned to Joliet. Many of them questioned the confession. Whats even sadder is that the detectives and all parties involved were not interested in finding the real monster who would take such a beautiful innocent child away from their family. 79/63F. The timing of the charges also seemed curious, coming just six days before a tight election for state's attorney between Tomczak, the incumbent, and a bitter rival, James Glasgow. "What did he do when he left? A few hours later, at a reception at the Park Hyatt, Kevin drew on the moment as he stood to toast his brother, Chad, and Chad's new wife, Stacy. Heartwarming that Kevins wife, brother, family, and Ms. Zelner stood by his side. Indeed, he had promised to press ahead with the death penalty. Fox's lawsuit alleges that the meeting was conducted with Tomczak's support and consent. Fox Born: July 26, 1947 in Joliet, IL Died: April 8, 2021 in New Lenox, IL Age 73 of Wilmington, formerly of Joliet, passed away Thursday, April 8, 2021 at Silver Cross. Still, he says, "we had waited so long. Both stations share studios on Shipyard Boulevard in Wilmington, while WSFX-TV's . He took his friend and Melissas brother along while leaving the children in the care of Melissas mother. Dawn has a reported annual income of $10 - 19,999 and a current net worth value of greater than $50,000 - $99,999. Best MatchPowered by Whitepages Premium Best MatchPowered by Whitepages Premium Best Match Kevin Edward Fox Morrilton, AR (previously lived in Wilmington, IL) AGE 40s AGE 40s Kevin Edward Fox They were vacationing in the Ozarks. Once the hearing was under way, Glasgow came right to the point: the DNA resulted in an "absolute exclusion of Kevin Fox as a donor," the prosecutor told the judge. It was now after six in the morning. By the time the state's attorney had finished, Kevin's shoulders were shaking. Kevin even attached a cart to his bicycle, and Riley quickly adopted it as her favorite mode of travel. In the cold, shallow, murky water of Forked Creek, Riley's body floated, face-down. Unfortunately, however, their world turned upside down on the fateful date of June 6, 2004. Kevin Fox, who could have faced the death penalty, was released with all charges dropped. . "They did everything together," recalls Curt Fox, Kevin's dad. Tall and striking, with dark brown shoulder-length hair, Zellner has made a name for herself by winning wrongful conviction cases. The boy weeps. With his help, an investigative team began to re-enact each element of Kevin's statement to test it for plausibility. 81/63F. The boy shakes his head. What's more, Tomczak's father, Donald, second-in-command at the City of Chicago's water department, had just been named in a federal indictment for corruption. And he had no idea how his car wound up on a security tape. Hundreds more turned out the next day for the funeral, many wearing pink ribbons and ties and butterfly pins. "I used to love it," Kevin says of his hometown. But after the initial testing by the state crime lab, with its inconclusive finding on saliva, the DNA had been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, which had a nine-month backlog. They describe a codified series of emotional and intellectual manipulations designed to break down even the strongest of personalities. I knew it wasn't true. Also unbeknownst to Kevin and Melissa, the police were pursuing another lead that might point toward Kevin. Almost a year later, Fox was freed from the Will County Jail, and his murder. "We don't want to lose sight of one of the big tragedies-and major points-of this case," Zellner says, "the fact that, because the wrong man was pursued, a killer is still on the loose. The answer is: far too many people. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. They tricked me.' "He watched everybody search for his child the whole day," one woman, a ten-year resident of Wilmington, told the Chicago Sun-Times. Find a suspect, any suspect, and nail him/her. Another resident told the paper, "It's what a lot of people suspected.". 66F. The only way to dissuade them, he says they told him, would be to take a polygraph test. Then, after calling his estranged wife to tell her about the shootings, he turned his gun on himself and . Teagan healed the tragic past of her mother and father, yet, Melissa claimed that Rileys death and Kevins false arrest was more than the couple could bear to go through. By the end he has answered "no" approximately 178 times. Her hair a tiara of chestnut curls, she wore a snow-white "princess" dress, a gossamer confection of satin and lace over white satin slippers. After the bailiff called the court to order, Tomczak laid out what he called cold, hard evidence of the father's guilt, including a confession. As the day wore on, local merchants pitched in with food and pop. Suddenly, at about three that afternoon, police jumped in their cars and sped off. "You're overcome by grief. The next day, Kevin Fox's DNA was compared with the sample. The Fox family has also pushed for the passage of "Riley's Law," a measure that would expedite DNA testing after child murders. 701 Market St, Wilmington, NC 28401-4646. Beyond that, she says, the details left several obvious questions unanswered. For Tomczak it could also provide a diversion from a new headache that had suddenly surfaced. More than six months later, DCFS reported finding no evidence to support the allegation. Melissa begged her husband, "Please hold me, hold me.". Finally they were brought out into a waiting room, where Curt, Dawn, Chad, and Stacy had already gathered. Zellner says she also was struck by the unwavering belief in Kevin's innocence by the family, particularly Melissa. "Say it was an accident. Guilfoyle's report did not surface until May, seven months after Kevin had been arrested. He was cordial, they recall, but he also insisted that the two be separated. "People would walk by my cell and sit in front and look at me," he says. "He was crying," she recalls. "I hated leaving him there," Chad says. But the sense of betrayal he felt at the hands of the detectives, especially when he learned that he would not, indeed, be "bonded out" to go home and straighten things out, was crushing. "Todd, what the hell! . Still, Pluth pursues her questioning. As for sexual abuse, "I'm not a stupid person," Melissa says. she asks. The Kevin Fox they knew was a wonderful father, devoted to his wife and son and daughter. And that she did not have. Some people still thought he was a murderer. Find a suspect, any suspect, abd mail him/ her. Glasgow would later say he was "shocked" at the results. You don't need your father.'". What more can they possibly want to know? But he agreed with Zellner. Zellner also began looking into an element that seemed to have been forgotten: the DNA evidence taken from Riley. Still, both wept when they learned Melissa was carrying a girl. By Guilfoyle's account, the boy also said things that seem to contradict known facts-that Kevin had dressed Riley in pajamas, for instance. Kevin Fox, Rileys father, was affected a lot as he was still in mourning when he was seen as the prime suspect and even put in jail for the same. 21244 W Highway 113 Rte #113, Wilmington, IL 60481. ", The couple held hands as they made their way across the parking lot to the Will County sheriff's office in Joliet at about 7:30 that night. Three miles away, a Wilmington police cruiser returned to Kevin and Melissa's house. He had suffered threats and the ridicule of guards, according to his lawsuit. When the FBI began its investigation in 2009, it was two years after a jury awarded Fox and his then-wife, Melissa Fox, $15.5 million for the Will County Sheriff's Office investigators' false. Glasgow seized on the charges, suggesting his opponent would be soft on crime. Who would admit to such horrible things if he hadn't really done them? ", Today, Zellner says that what impressed her was Kevin's immediate denial of the crime. I can help this kid if he acts now," the detective quoted the state's attorney as saying. No sign of her. Kevin Fox and his family refused last year to pay $100,000 to Trisha Kiefer, the former girlfriend of Scott Eby, who was convicted of killing 3-year-old Riley Fox. "He kept saying, The DNA will clear me,'" Chad says. "Did he leave the house?" She'd be a great big sister.". Under questioning by Will County detectives, Fox confessed to the crime, but was later exonerated through DNA evidence. ", Kevin says that Swearengen suggested the same "accident" scenario that he had proposed to Melissa nearly nine hours earlier. How solid was the evidence? Three years later, in 2000, with Kevin having found work as a union painter and Melissa as a waitress, the two were married. Kevin's knees buckled. A faded water tower bearing the words "Wilmington Wildcats" overlooks Main Street, and a collection of modest ranch homes, ornamented with basketball courts and large American flags, lie sprinkled along the tree-lined streets. The weeks dragged by. The weekend of June 5 and 6, 2004, Melissa Fox left Wilmington to participate in a breast cancer walk in Chicago. When the FBI began its investigation in 2009, it was two years after a jury awarded Fox and his then-wife, Melissa Fox, $15.5 million for the Will County Sheriff's Office investigators' false. Kevin Corke is an American journalist and is presently a White House Correspondents' Association for Fox News in Washington D.C. Corke has covered four U.S. administrations (Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden). Kevin is a producer and writer, known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), The Negotiator (1998) and Lie to Me (2009). The interrogation and arrest of Fox, the suit alleges, was part of a last-ditch effort by Tomczak to win re-election. The entire time, detective Edward Hayes, who would become the lead detective on the case, watches from the other side of a one-way mirror. But if he could get out on bond, he could straighten this mess out. 31 Largemouth Ln, Wilmington, IL 60481. . He knew he was innocent, he says. Immediately, we both started crying. The original detectives on the murder have been reassigned, the former state's attorney is now in private practice, and the little town where it occurred has suffered a loss of innocence, as well as wounds to its pride that may take years to heal. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store. ", The people of Wilmington seemed to divide into two camps. "He said, I can't find Riley.' The defendants have sought to have the claim dismissed, arguing among other things that prosecutors are immune from such claims. 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