Most important, Kevin says, he trusted the detectives' motives. Kevin Fox was initially charged with his daughter's June 2004 murder. A father of two, he made a failed run for Congress in 1994, but in the 2000 race for Will County state's attorney, the Republican Tomczak beat the incumbent Democrat, James Glasgow. Experts on interrogation and false confessions say that's not uncommon. She was wearing the same "princess dress" she had picked out and worn as a flower girl in Chad and Stacy's wedding. The Fox family wanted Kevin's immediate release. For the first time publicly, Kevin and his wife, Melissa, talk about their ordeal, an account of pain, mystery, and undying faith, wrapped around an enduring tragedy. Back to Top. Pluth pursues. "That night she asked me to her homecoming," Kevin recalls with a laugh. A preliminary report indicated no signs of foreign DNA-with one possible exception: a test for saliva in her vagina came back "inconclusive.". (Lyons did not return calls seeking comment.). 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. "And you'd have to have hit her on the head with a hammer to get the effect" Kevin described in the interrogation. Ultimately the detectives went with a far less experienced examiner-Richard C. Williams, a Cook County detective who, according to the Fox lawsuit, had conducted only about 90 tests. 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. Seventeen years after the murder and abduction of three-year-old Riley Fox from Wilmington, Illinois, a new two-hour "20/20," featuring reporting by Anchor David Muir, has newly obtained recordings and documents that reveal shocking new details about the case.The two-hour program reports on how the mystery unraveled, including how authorities mistakenly zeroed in on Riley's father, Kevin . Beyond that, she says, the details left several obvious questions unanswered. She adored her father. Kevin Wayne Fox, 52, of Bunker Hill, WV, passed away December 18, 2020. In addition, the family has upped its reward to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Riley's killer. Suddenly, at about three that afternoon, police jumped in their cars and sped off. People wonder: who would do it? Will County sheriff's detectives had taken charge, assuming jurisdiction because the crime scene was in a forest preserve. We thought, This is the night. By now, hundreds of townsfolk were clawing through brush and woods. I said, What are you talking about?'" He would eventually become such a fixture that the family would refer to him simply as "Scott.". Will County detectives spent considerable time and effort establishing that other local owners of dark Ford Escapes were not in sight of the video camera that morning. He turned to Lyons, incredulous that the detective hadn't told him earlier. As for the long-awaited DNA evidence originally taken from Riley, the news was not good for Kevin. To the people who knew Kevin Fox, the hearing seemed unreal. Eighteen of those children were stolen from the home. How do they sleep at night? Judge James Carroll Fox, 90, of Wilmington, NC, passed away March 23 rd at home surrounded by his loving wife and family. The FBI would be returning the DNA evidence within a week, he said. Facebook gives people the power to share. 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. Finally, after more than an hour of interrogation, Pluth reaches for a box of tissues and thrusts it at Tyler. At one point, Chad received a call from a friend watching the Cubs game. "He changed more diapers and fed and bathed the kids way more than the average father.". Some questioned why a reward had never been offered. Ruettiger straddled Kevin's legs, pressing his testicles into Kevin's knees. Date Posted: Sunday, February 26th, 2023. The story seemed preposterous. An appeals court Wednesday agreed with a federal jury's 2007 finding that Will County police framed Kevin Fox for the rape and murder of his 3-year-old daughter Riley, but reduced the damages . It was now after six in the morning. "Spend it with my wife and son," he said, something he had dreamed about "every day, every single day" since the ordeal had begun. "The state's attorney's office at that point needs to get involved and say, Wait a minute. Melissa, describing her husband as a wonderful father, made it clear immediately that she believed he had been railroaded. For all his initial trepidation, Kevin took to fatherhood in a way that surprised even his closest family. Zellner filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Foxes in November 2004, in U.S. District Court in Chicago, claiming a violation of due process, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, and defamation. Her mouth had been covered with duct tape, and adhesive residue on her arms led authorities to surmise she had been bound. On Feb. 9, the Wilmington City Council held a special meeting at Wilmington High School. (Through his attorney, Gerald Haberkorn, Hayes denied any allegations of impropriety. The Fox family had called Wilmington home for generations. The few clues that might have pointed to other suspects were either discounted or ignored. God Bless and stay safe. On the outside, the stress of trying to free Kevin weighed heavily on the Fox family, especially Chad. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. She was three years old at the time of her death. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store. According to the sheriff's summary, this is what he said: He came home at about 1:30 a.m., ate a snack, and then watched television, including an adult video. Suspicion hung over her family as time went by. 28, 2008. But Kevin knew he was meant to be with Melissa. More than 6,000 people attended the wake-nearly 1,000 more than the entire population of Wilmington. On October 26th, Swearengen called Kevin Fox to say, by Kevin's account, that there was news about the case and that the Foxes should come to the police station that night. ", The couple, however, have moved out of Wilmington. Melissa, who was also told that Kevin had failed, demanded to see the results. High 24F. Also added were the polygraph examiner, Richard C. Williams, Pluth, Kaupas, and a jail guard. By Guilfoyle's account, the boy also said things that seem to contradict known facts-that Kevin had dressed Riley in pajamas, for instance. The aftershocks of his arrest, however, reverberate in the form of a lawsuit he and his wife have brought against Will County authorities. Kenneth J. Reaching into a tiny white basket, she doled red rose petals along the aisle like a pixie spreading fairy dust. We found 59 records for Kevin Fox in Wilmington, IL. He recalled that his father "took Riley somewhere" during the night. "But I lost so much there. And he had no idea how his car wound up on a security tape. Nonetheless, the family members were deeply hurt by the TV report, as well as by the realization that people in town were gossiping about them. Virtually none of the principals involved in the case has gone untouched. At one point an assistant interrupted the presentation by bursting into the courtroom and thrusting a document into Tomczak's hand. The questions started out easy, but quickly became pointed. He claws his sweatshirt hood over his head. "I'm asking leave to file same." "He was crying," she recalls. A copy of the tape has not been released to the public, but Zellner has viewed it and she claims Kevin's manner is vague and halting. To those who didn't know Kevin Fox, the hearing seemed to offer a shocking solution to a terrible crime . Kevin knew virtually nothing about such statistics or the theories of interrogation techniques. (Williams refused to comment because of the pending litigation. As the day wore on, local merchants pitched in with food and pop. Next. As often as not, the town's dozen full-time police officers are looked on less as faceless authorities than as neighbors and friends and former high-school classmates. she quotes him as saying. 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. But when she looked for confirmation from two detectives who stood in the room-including Todd Lyons, a burly, bald Wilmington investigator to whom Kevin had delivered papers when he was a boy-they "just stared at us," she says. He shakes his head one final time. "What's happened?" Riley Fox Riley Fox (March 31, 2001 - June 6, 2004) was a 3-year-old girl from Wilmington, Illinois, who was murdered on June 6, 2004. "There are some red flags that are making us look at Kevin," Melissa recalls the detective saying. He duct-taped his daughter's mouth and bound her wrists together with tape. How solid was the evidence? Still, he says, "we had waited so long. "We were not happy about [Fox's release]," says Pat Barry, spokesman for the Will County Sheriff's Office. Finally, Kevin claims in the suit, he was shown pictures of his dead daughter, her mouth still covered with duct tape, nude from the waist down, taken moments after she had been pulled from the creek. 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. Go home now on bond.". NewsBreak provides latest and breaking Wilmington, IL local news, weather forecast, crime and safety reports, traffic updates, event notices, sports, entertainment, local life and other items of interest in the community and nearby towns. Dawn's current home is located at Wilmington, IL. Almost a year later, Fox was freed from the Will County Jail, and his murder. There, the couple gave birth to another daughter, Teagan, in 2006. "I guess we were going out on a limb, but it turned out she was the one.". Hope they find some peace. ), The detectives then took Kevin back to the interrogation room and resumed the questioning, according to the lawsuit. Kevin Fox, who could have faced the death penalty, was released with all charges dropped. Kevin says he told the detectives that he didn't call 911 because he didn't want to panic prematurely. He grabbed the back of Kevin's shirt and pulled his face close. Among the allegations was that the father had made illegal contributions to his son's campaign. June 6, 2004: Kevin Fox of Wilmington reports his 3-year-old daughter, Riley, missing about 8 a.m. Hikers find her body about 3:30 p.m. in nearby creek after massive search. "Your family doesn't love you," he shouted. . Find a suspect, any suspect, and nail him/her. "That door was paper thin," Zellner says. 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. Riley Fox story: '20/20' unveils new details in Wilmington girl's death Braidwood mayor charged with DUI after 3-car crash Victim ID'd in deadly crash on I-55 near Wilmington ", In the sorrow-filled twilight of their little girl's death, in the aftermath of an ordeal that could have sent Kevin Fox to death row, Kevin and Melissa have searched for meaning in their anguish. He was cordial, they recall, but he also insisted that the two be separated. "We put all our faith in them. "She is in pain and needs closure. By the afternoon, more than 500 people were scouring the area, some on horseback, others on bicycles or all-terrain vehicles. The detective surmised that Kevin had applied the duct tape and committed the sexual assault to make it look as if the little girl had been kidnapped. "If I finish the sheet, you are being charged with first-degree murder with 30 years to life. Subscribe to one or more of our free e-mail newsletters to get instant updates on local news, events, and opportunities in Chicago. A few years later, Kevin and Melissa became proud parents of baby Riley, and the family seemed to be quite happy. The media played a role in this suspicion. But Bode, insisting on following protocol, said they'd have to wait for the final report. Glasgow seized on the charges, suggesting his opponent would be soft on crime. Melissa Mack (right) with her husband Ryan and newborn baby Jett Myers Like their father before them, Kevin and his older brother, Chad, were born here, rode their bikes here, fished here and graduated from the town's only high school. Melissa was seen getting a fancy haircut at the mall. More often than not, the detectives would instead question Kevin and Melissa. . Even though the court paid Kevin and his wife $15.5 million (later reduced to $8.5 million) as compensation for the ordeal, Kevin said he could never recover his reputation in the town. "I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful sight," he says. Greater Philadelphia. When it was over, Williams told Kevin that he had failed. The lab had found a man's saliva-just enough to extract a full DNA profile. They were vacationing in the Ozarks. The Will County Sheriff's Office defends its detectives' handling of the case, including the 14 1/2-hour interrogation that led to Fox's confession. For Chad, the fight to clear his kid brother's name became a crusade. The Tribune quickly threw its editorial support to Glasgow, saying on October 22nd that he didn't "carry the burden of doubts about the ethical conduct of his campaign.". When Judge Dan Rozak dismissed the case, the courtroom exploded into applause and cheering. She initially hired Ernie Rizzo, the big, blustery, and controversial private eye. 31 Largemouth Ln, Wilmington, IL 60481. . the cops, the judge, the seeming confidence of the state's attorney, and, most of all, the confession. Still, both wept when they learned Melissa was carrying a girl. Kevin and Melissa have visited it many times, as they have Riley's grave in Wilmington's Oakwood Cemetery. Riley's pediatrician has said there was never a hint of prior sexual abuse. Parenting takes a level of intelligence and refuse to pass laws that require logical IQ before they become a parent. he recalls saying. Get your help from the State's Attorney so you can go home to your family. Many of them questioned the confession. Why would Tyler say Kevin had walked out during the night with Riley? Heartwarming that Kevins wife, brother, family, and Ms. Zelner stood by his side. 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