Riley Fox -- Found Deceased 6/6/04

Incarcerated sex offender charged in Riley Fox murder

May 27, 2010
By FRANK MAIN and DAN ROZEK Staff Reporters


Riley Fox

A man already behind bars for sexually assaulting a relative has allegedly confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing 3-year-old Riley Fox — but he told investigators he initially intended only to burglarize her family’s home in Will County, sources said Thursday.

Scott Eby, 38, was charged with first-degree murder and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, bringing to a conclusion one of the area’s highest-profile unsolved killings, authorities said.

“Finally there can be justice for Riley,” her parents said in a statement.

In June 2004, Riley was drowned in a creek near far southwest suburban Wilmington and found naked hours later after a massive search. Her father, Kevin Fox, spent eight months in jail on charges of killing Riley after he gave a video confession that he later said was coerced by investigators.

DNA evidence from Riley’s sexual assault and from duct tape covering her mouth didn’t match Kevin Fox’s, and he was freed in 2005. He and his wife, Melissa, were awarded $8 million in a wrongful-arrest lawsuit filed in federal court against Will County officials. A federal appeals court said the evidence against Kevin Fox was weak and ripped Will County investigators for hastily narrowing their probe to him.

A tipster pointed the FBI to Eby, who was not originally a suspect, officials said. Eby, who has given a videotaped confession, was linked to Riley’s killing through DNA, said Fox family attorney Kathleen Zellner, who was briefed about the case by the FBI and Will County authorities. Eby did not have a connection to the Fox family, Zellner said.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said evidence ties Eby to the murder, but would not confirm that a DNA match was made. He did, however, add: “We’re not going to be in the situation we were in before with the DNA.”

Kevin Fox was charged with murder by prior Will County State’s Attorney Jeff Tomczak. But after Glasgow defeated Tomczak in a 2004 election, Glasgow dropped the charges against Fox when tests showed his DNA was not a match.

Although Eby has been in prison since 2005, Glasgow said matching DNA samples wasn’t as simple as punching the evidence into a database and looking for a connection.

“You can’t just plug it in like ‘CSI’ and watch the flashing lights on the hologram,” he said. “That’s not how it works. It’s a five-hour drive with a Q-tip to get the swab [from Eby in prison] and take it to the local crime lab that’s got the sample and do a one-on-one comparison.”

Sources said Eby had tried to break into the home of a neighbor of the Foxes in Wilmington and that Riley’s abduction also began as a burglary of the unlocked Fox home. Eby was living with his mother less than a mile from the Fox home at the time of Riley’s death.

“We have no evidence to show he knew Kevin,” Glasgow said.

In July 2005, about a year after Riley’s slaying, Eby was sent to state prison for the sexual assault of a female relative who is now 27, court records show. Eby was not scheduled to be paroled in that case until 2017.

Eby — who has many tattoos with the words “poison,” “pride” and “mom” as well as a skull — has previously served prison time on three burglary convictions and a forgery conviction. He was on parole for a DuPage County burglary when Riley was killed, officials said.

Thursday’s charges vindicate Kevin Fox and prove he was “victimized” by Will County detectives, Zellner said. The Foxes released a statement Thursday thanking the FBI and Glasgow for the work that led to the “apprehension of the true killer.”

Last June, Glasgow had asked the FBI to help with the Will County investigation. At one point, about 30 FBI agents were involved, he said.

“Today, the FBI and my office feel comfortable in announcing Kevin Fox is innocent,” Glasgow said, adding that he believes the charges against Eby show “the system works.”

“When everybody does their jobs, innocent people will not be convicted,” Glasgow said.

The case has “torn at the very fabric of Will County since 2004,” he said. “It has torn at the hearts of everyone in law enforcement.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/2324742,riley-fox-murder-charges-052710.article#

Melissa and Kevin Fox pose with their children, son Tyler and daughter Riley, in an undated photo. Scott Eby (inset) reportedly told investigators he initially intended only to burglarize the Fox home.

Exclusive: Riley Fox's Parents Speak Out After Alleged Killer Found
Mom of Murdered 3-Year-Old Says Hearing Grisly Details of Slaying Is 'Torture'

June 11, 2010



For the parents of Riley Fox, the 3-year-old girl who was abducted and brutally murdered in the small town of Wilmington, Ill., in the summer of 2004, hunting for her killer has been a painful, six-year nightmare.

Mom of murdered three-year-old says hearing details of slaying is "torture."

"Just to hear those words, 'We caught your baby's killer,' it was pretty emotional," said father Kevin Fox in an exclusive interview to air on "20/20."

Riley was kidnapped from the living room of her own home in 2004 and sexually assaulted, bound, gagged with duct tape and drowned. Her body was found face down in a creek in the Forsythe Woods, a public park about two miles from the Fox residence.

As years passed, the Foxes almost lost hope of finding the real killer. When they learned last month that police had tracked down the man believed to be Riley's murderer, Kevin and Melissa Fox were filled with mixed emotions.

"I'm still in shock. I have no words to even explain how I feel. For almost six years you thought this was going to be like a celebration day and it feels quite the opposite," said Kevin Fox.

Scott Eby, a 38-year-old imprisoned sex offender, was charged on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of predatory sexual assault last month after DNA evidence allegedly linked him to Riley. He is expected to plead not guilty.

Putting Eby's face to the long-unsolved mystery brought the Foxes a sense of vindication, but they said it has also been terrorizing to know the grisly details of how their daughter was murdered.

"He stole something very important from the world," said mother Melissa Fox. "I needed to know what happened to her and what she went through, but now it's kind of like torture. Now, it's like I'm torturing myself with those details. It's not at all what I expected.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/riley-fox-parents-speak-scott-eby-charged-murder/story?id=10878773

Jury Award Cut In Riley Fox Case, But Still $9M

Apr 7, 2010 6:44 pm US/Central
Sun-Times Media Wire

A federal appellate court on Wednesday upheld a 2007 jury verdict favoring the parents of 3-year-old Riley Fox after her father spent eight months in jail before DNA cleared him of her brutal slaying.

In 2007, Kevin Fox and his wife Melissa were awarded $15.5 million in a civil lawsuit against Will County Sheriff's detectives for false arrest and malicious prosecution.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which had previously reduced the award to $12.9 million after an earlier appeal, again upheld the jury ruling, but reduced the compensatory damages by more than $4 million to about $8.9 million.

According to a statement from the Will County State's Attorney's office, the county is now only liable for compensatory damages.

On June 6, 2004, the body of Riley Fox was found in Forked Creek in Wilmington. Five months later, Kevin Fox was arrested by sheriff's police on murder charges following a lengthy interrogation.

Fox spent eight months in jail before being released when DNA found on the girl's body did not match his.

The initial appeal argued police were shielded by "qualified immunity" and should not have been sued because they had probable cause to make an arrest. The appeal also claimed the U.S. District Court improperly excluded critical facts to the case and the damages ere excessive.

The state's attorney's office statement expressed a "mixed" reaction to the decision.

While saying the county was glad to see the award substantialy reduced, "We respectfully disagree with the remainder of the opinion because we believe no finding of liability should have been upheld. We firmly believe these deputies had probable cause to arrest Mr. Fox based upon the information that was known to them at the time."

The state's attorney's office is evaluating the Appellate Court opinion and is reviewing options, according to the statement.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/riley.fox.kevin.2.1618403.html

This family has been through pure hell.......

RIP Little Beautiful Angel Riley.......

Cops "Dropped the Ball" in Riley Fox Case, Sheriff Says
Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas apologizes to Fox family, vows review

By MARION BROOKS
Updated 11:27 PM CDT, Thu, Jun 10, 2010

Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas candidly admits his department made mistakes during the homicide investigation of a 3-year-old girl, and he's offering his apology to her surviving family.

"I don't think that this department is that proud where we are not going to admit any mistakes. We just want to find out how to do things better and hope it doesn't occur again," he said Thursday.

Riley Fox was kidnapped from her Wilmington, Illinois home in June, 2004. Hikers found her body hours later in a nearby creek. She had been sexually assaulted.

Will County investigators eventually charged her father, Kevin Fox, with her death, saying he confessed. But Fox almost immediately claimed his confession was coerced. DNA evidence eventually cleared him and charges were dropped. He and his family filed a civil lawsuit and won a multi-million dollar judgment against Will County.

Last month, prosecutors charged another man, Scott Eby, for the crime. Eby lived about a mile away from the Fox family at the time and is currently serving a 14-year sentence for an unrelated sexual assault.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow says the very DNA evidence that cleared Kevin Fox, now implicates Eby. Eby has entered a not guilty plea.

Kaupas said he plans to bring in outside investigators to review the case and their investigative protocols.

"Sometimes have to bring in other people who aren't familiar with the area... to come in and show you that over a period of time you might have graduated into complacency with the way your police techniques work," he said.

Kaupas now admits that his department "obviously dropped the ball" and says he's lost sleep and agonized over this case.

"I apologize to [Kevin Fox] and the family," he said. "I don't know if he would ever see things our way, but I would try to explain... what kind of ball might have been dropped in this part of the investigation or that part of the investigation and what we are going to do to fix it."

Kevin Fox's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said she admires Kaupas' courage in coming forward and apologizing to the family.

"Sheriff Kaupas had nothing to do with the miscarriage of justice in this case," she said.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/riley-fox-investigation-paul-kaupas--96110909.html#ixzz0qwp0cPdl

How sad... to lose a child, and then to be accused of wrong doing..

Clealry LE had it in their heads that he was guilty, and coerced him enough for him to snap, and confess...

This happens all too often...

We need to look at this problem as a social problem and try and find some solutions.. WHy is every child crime always blamed on the family?

We have seen enough crimes against children where the perps take these kids right from their homes and schools ..yet everytime it happens.. le dont want to even llok in that direction??????? We need change!

You know, it seems about 50/50 to me here recently - about 50% do end up being a parent or relative - while 50% are stranger or non-family abductions... I don't know what the true number is - and I doubt anyone else does either, but I can think of a number of cases that a family member was the perp - but also a number of cases like Riley's where it was a complete stranger. I know that the family HAS to be looked at, but too many times they are zoned in on - with no real evidence.
WHAT evidence did they have against this father, other than a failed poly and coerced confession? This case should only reiterate that poly's are NOT reliable!! He was exonerated, yet failed a poly - I'm sure he was under emotional duress at the time...
I'm glad they found her killer - I think of my own 3 yr old and can't imagine my life without her - but equally, I could never imagine my husband being falsely imprisoned for harming her. This family has been torn, and to them, no amount of money will fix what they have had to endure... I know that's how I would feel in their shoes.

One thing that angered me - is this excerpt: “You can’t just plug it in like ‘CSI’ and watch the flashing lights on the hologram,” he said. “That’s not how it works. It’s a five-hour drive with a Q-tip to get the swab [from Eby in prison] and take it to the local crime lab that’s got the sample and do a one-on-one comparison.”

hmmm, let's see here - 5 hr drive as opposed to 8 months of false imprisonment for the father, and another 6 yrs before the case is solved... still doesn't compute for me... I think they're using Chinese math or something. Is 5 hrs too much to ask for finding a little girl's killer? It sounds like an excuse... I can't believe that in our technology drunken society that the prison officials or a local LE there couldn't have extracted his DNA and load it in COTUS (?) where the other LE dept could access it. Cases are solved all the time from running a DNA cross reference on jailed inmates because their DNA profile is stored digitally - so I don't buy this 5 hr drive excuse... it's lame.

Riley Fox, and returning to the scene of the crime

6/16/2010



Seeking justice for Riley Fox

When I left the Tribune’s Joliet bureau more than two years ago to cover Chicago and Cook County government, I thought I’d left a host of high-profile Will County crime cases behind me.

They were known nationally by the names of those involved: Drew Peterson, Stacy Peterson, Kathleen Savio, Craig Stebic, Lisa Stebic, Kevin Fox, Melissa Fox and Riley Fox.

Little did I know that when a new name was added — Scott Wayne Eby — I would be drawn back into the Fox case, in which Kevin Fox, the father of 3-year-old Riley, had been wrongly charged with the abduction, rape and murder of his little girl. He was freed years ago by the same DNA that last month implicated Eby in the 6-year-old case.

After Eby allegedly confessed, case participants -- and other sources -- turned to me, saying they found my previous reporting fair, accurate and thorough. That’s gratifying, and I hope I can continue to live up that standard.

Today’s story adds one of the oddest twists yet to a very sad case made even sadder and more troubling over the years by a series of errors.

Within an hour of finding Riley’s body, police had in their possession a pair of shoes with Eby’s name written inside. Combined with other evidence, it could have led to Eby. Within days, if not hours.

Hopefully, the new details we expose today will help bring what Melissa and Kevin Fox have wanted since that awful night in June 2004:

Justice for Riley.

-- Hal Dardick

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/tribnation/2010/06/riley-fox-and-returning-to-the-scene-of-the-crime.html

Police missed early clues in Riley Fox's slaying

June 16, 2010|By Hal Dardick, Tribune reporters




Within an hour of finding the body of 3-year-old Riley Fox in a Wilmington creek, authorities pulled a pair of shoes from those waters. Written inside each was the last name of the man charged six years later with her murder.

Police placed the shoes in evidence, but never pieced that lead together with other clues — a call to police from the man's home and signs of a burglary preceding Riley's abduction — that could have led them to Scott Wayne Eby in the hours and days after her sexual assault and slaying.

Instead, Will County sheriff's detectives focused almost exclusively on Riley's father, Kevin. DNA evidence excluded Kevin Fox after he spent eight months in jail, but authorities didn't declare him innocent until last month, when Eby allegedly confessed to the slaying and the partial DNA sample from the crime scene matched his.

"Looking at all of the information that we now have about Eby, he could have been apprehended the day after the murder, and he probably would have confessed," said attorney Kathleen Zellner, who won an $8 million federal civil court judgment on behalf of Kevin Fox and Riley's mother, Melissa.

Investigators' photos and notes obtained by the Tribune, as well as interviews with people involved in the case, shed light on evidence made public for the first time Tuesday on chicagotribune.com.

During the civil trial, an FBI agent testified that then-Sgt. Edward Hayes, who led the investigation, ordered that DNA testing be stopped after the arrest of Fox, who incriminated himself in a statement made after 14 hours of interrogation. The civil jury found Fox's statement was coerced and held Hayes and Deputy Scott Swearengen mainly responsible.

Zellner, who compared the shoe evidence to "dropping your driver's license at the (crime) scene," also said police failed to search a forest preserve bathroom near the creek. Eby confessed to sexually assaulting Riley in that bathroom and disposing of her underpants in a nearby garbage can, she said."There were probably five possibilities where Eby's name could have surfaced very early on during the investigation," she added. "I think it's an example of really shoddy police work."


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-16/news/ct-met-0616-riley-fox-clues-20100616_1_riley-fox-partial-dna-sample-deputy-scott-swearengen

I'm speechless........this is outrageous. Unbelievable.

The thought of a parent/guardian losing a child and wrongly being accused/convicted of it is unimaginable to say the least...

Tish, you pointed about about a 50/50 ratio in what we have seen I assume in the last year...

Im wondering what cases you refer too?

Accused Riley Fox Killer, Scott Eby, Pleads Not Guilty
Eby is accused of killing the three year old in 2004

By ANTHONY PONCE
Updated 10:30 AM CDT, Thu, Jun 17, 2010

The man accused of killing three-year-old Riley Fox pleaded not guilty to the murder Thursday.

Scott Wayne Eby, 38, who’s currently serving a 14-year sentence for an unrelated sexual assault, is charged with five counts of first degree murder in connection with the 2004 killing of the 3-year-old.

Prosecutors hinted they might consider the death penalty against the man.

"They've been through a very painful ordeal. He's gone through something none of us can imagine going through. We want to make sure we consider anything we can do to ease that pain," said Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. The prosecution has until September 24 to decide on the death penalty.

Eby showed little emotion as he entered his plea.

Melissa Fox, the mother of the slain girl, made brief eye contact with the suspect during the brief arraignment.

Eby, who lived about a mile away from Fox's Wilmington home at the time of the murder, has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

The preliminary hearing comes just days after new revelations that police botched the crime scene investigation six years ago.

Apparently Eby left a pair of mud-covered shoes at Forked Creek, where he allegedly raped and killed Fox. The shoes had his name written on them

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Accused-Riley-Fox-Killer-Heads-to-Court-96566279.html#ixzz0r8BXpsBj

Riley's mom on botched investigation: 'Beyond stupidity'

June 17, 2010 10:24 AM

As a not guilty plea was entered this morning for Scott Eby in the murder and rape of 3-year-old Riley Fox in 2004, the dead girl's mother mother called the actions of investigators who overlooked key evidence "beyond just stupidity."

Eby didn't say a word during a brief appearance before Judge Richard Schoenstedt in Will County Circuit Court today. His attorney, Michael Renzi, entered the not guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

Outside court, Melissa Fox, Riley's mother, said the latest revelations of missed clues in the case - including Eby's own shoes with his name on them left near the crime scene - showed investigators had deliberately framed her husband.

"It's beyond just stupidity," she said. "Of course I'm angry - we're all angry."

"They had so much evidence right there - it seems like they had the pieces to the puzzle right in front of them, but they created evidence against Kevin instead."

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said his office has until Sept. 24 to decide whether to seek the death penalty. The case is due back in court July 14.

--Steve Schmadeke

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/06/riley-foxs-mom-on-investigation-beyond-stupidity.html

Snipped from various articles above:

Within an hour of finding Riley’s body, police had in their possession a pair of shoes with Eby’s name written inside. Combined with other evidence, it could have led to Eby. Within days, if not hours.

Zellner, who compared the shoe evidence to "dropping your driver's license at the (crime) scene," also said police failed to search a forest preserve bathroom near the creek. Eby confessed to sexually assaulting Riley in that bathroom and disposing of her underpants in a nearby garbage can, she said."There were probably five possibilities where Eby's name could have surfaced very early on during the investigation," she added. "I think it's an example of really shoddy police work."

Outside court, Melissa Fox, Riley's mother, said the latest revelations of missed clues in the case - including Eby's own shoes with his name on them left near the crime scene - showed investigators had deliberately framed her husband.

"It's beyond just stupidity," she said. "Of course I'm angry - we're all angry."

"They had so much evidence right there - it seems like they had the pieces to the puzzle right in front of them, but they created evidence against Kevin instead."

I totally agree with Melissa. Beyond stupidity is about the only way to describe it. If I was an appeals court judge in this case, I probably would have increased the damages awarded to Kevin and Melissa. I'm grateful that these inexcusable blunders made by police didn't lead to Eby molesting and murdering anymore children before his 2005 arrest.

This excerpt...

"Outside court, Melissa Fox, Riley's mother, said the latest revelations of missed clues in the case - including Eby's own shoes with his name on them left near the crime scene - showed investigators had deliberately framed her husband.

---------------------------------------------------
OMG .. this statement where I assumed is an accurate quote from Rileys mother...... is more than STUPID... it is criminal!!! There is no other word for it other than CRIMINAL.. those LE shud be charged with obstruction of justice as well as public mischief and they shud have to spend time behind bars, like Rileys poor grieving father...

It is sickening to see in so mnay cases, where LE seem to have a "hunch" and nothing other than a "hunch" where they apparently find a way to have their "hunch" come to life... Clealry, it was easy enough for them to do, and they did it... How many ppl are in jail because this very reason....

Of course we want LE to solve crimes but hearing what lengths they went to, to have their hunch become evidence where this man was convicted is absolutely dispicable... There is no other word..

We need to stop this.. they shud be prosecuted and help accountable.. I am starting to wonder about LE in many places.. Yes, I do think there is still some good guys out there, but we are hearing too often about wrongful cvonvictions coupled with the fact that the public are easily convicted ppl without any evidence...

Hopefully the many bloggers who get on these band wagons and ignore common sense and reasonable doubt, will start getting a clearer picture and stop influencing and jumping on every band wagon that goes by...

There are enough cases where the perps have left a clear trial of evidence forensic physical and circumastantial..

One has to wonder if tampering is becoming a common practice... I know expect more from LE and the governing bodies.. It has to stop..

I cannot believe they ignored evidence in their witch hunt for the father - that should be criminal!! it is biased and deliberate - heads should roll at that department over this!!!

awaiting justice wrote:The thought of a parent/guardian losing a child and wrongly being accused/convicted of it is unimaginable to say the least...

Tish, you pointed about about a 50/50 ratio in what we have seen I assume in the last year...

Im wondering what cases you refer too?

AJ - in answer to your question - There has been a rash of both stranger abductions, but also killings by mothers' live in boyfried/fiance/stepdad, etc here lately - which we talk about often - not to mention some of the crazy mothers who do actually kill their children - and I pointedly said that I don't know what the actual ratio is, but it SEEMS like it's about 50/50 - from stranger abductions vs familial...

Here are some family cases that come to mind:
Obviously Caylee
Gavin/Garrett Coleman
Robert Manwill (mother's bf, from what I recall?)
Aja Johnson (mothers bf)
Elizabeth Olten (I wouldn't classify that as a stranger abduction, but it obviously wasn't family either)
I can't remember the name here - but there was a little girl recently that her stepdad confessed to throwing her down the stairs and threw her body in the drainage ditch - her name escapes me right now...
Jean Paul Lacombe - bio dad

There are several more that are unsolved and we just don't know but family hasn't necessarily been cleared - but i'm not accusing them either...
Lindsey Baum - brother?
Neveah - mothers' bf?
Madeleine McCann mother?
Shaniya Davis - mother or other relative?
Gabriel Johnson - mother
Haleigh - cousin Joe?

and there are MANY that we know of that were stranger abductions
Somer Thompson
Riley Fox
Sandra Cantu (maybe stranger, maybe not? not close family or friends though, IMO, so I would classify that as a stranger abduction)
and many many more I know - I just can't think of their names right now...
These cases seem harder to solve... There are several older cases that come to mind instantly - Elizabeth Smart, Jessica Lundsford, Polly Klaas, Adam Walsh