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. What neither Zellner nor Glasgow apparently realized was that the FBI had not tested Riley's DNA. . According to a statement he later gave police, he picked the kids up and drove them home at around 1 a.m. Then, too tired to make up their beds, he laid them down in the living room-Riley on the couch and Tyler on a chair with a footstool. More than 6,000 people attended the wake-nearly 1,000 more than the entire population of Wilmington. . Most of those who knew Kevin and the rest of the Fox family believed in his innocence. "Where did he take Riley? How could a lightweight bathroom door knock a little girl out so completely that she appeared dead? Kevin had been up for more than 24 hours and he'd had little to eat. 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. The authorities have not mentioned the videotape in court, though they did bring it up during the interrogation before Kevin confessed. [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. but we firmly believe, and the sheriff firmly believes, that [the detectives] did a good job . They tricked me.' ", Today, in recalling this part of the interrogation, Kevin weeps. But Bode, insisting on following protocol, said they'd have to wait for the final report. "When I reached out to Kevin and said, I believe you,' I think they got pissed." . As Kevin and countless others in the sanctuary laughed with delight, he returned her to her mother, who shook her head with resignation and took the girl to the pew. He duct-taped his daughter's mouth and bound her wrists together with tape. There, the couple gave birth to another daughter, Teagan, in 2006. Also, Tomczak alleged during Kevin's initial hearing that "the autopsy report indicated [Riley] was alive and struggling when placed in the water." "It wasn't like there was any time to cook up a story," she says. . Find a suspect, any suspect, abd mail him/ her. What about DNA testing? Kevin says he was incredulous. 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. 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. Christmas passed with Kevin still in jail, then New Year's, and Kevin's 28th birthday on January 4th. Not only was he not being charged with involuntary manslaughter, as he believed he'd been promised, but he was now facing first-degree murder, a charge that carried the possibility of the death penalty. "But the awful truth is," he says, "I wanted to see more. "We need you to come to the police station," an officer told them. Some people still thought he was a murderer. 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. An Amber alert for Riley Fox had flashed on the scoreboard. Heartwarming that Kevins wife, brother, family, and Ms. Zelner stood by his side. The extended Fox family danced the night away, though before too long Riley and Tyler had curled up under a table and fallen sound asleep. "For a state's attorney not to know of such a meeting of his detectives in such a high-profile case would be unheard of," she claims. None was available. he recalls saying. While Chad talked about leaving for the big city, Kevin couldn't imagine living anywhere else. "I felt helpless and frustrated.". That morning in the Will County jail, Zellner watched the interaction between the two brothers closely. The next day, an article and editorial in the local paper, The Free Press Advocate, excoriated Jacobson and NBC 5 and told the family's account: Melissa had traded in the car because she couldn't bear how it reminded her of trips around town with Riley. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Very sad. On October 21st, his father, Donald Tomczak, was arrested on a federal indictment in the Hired Truck scandal in Chicago. Tyler shakes his head "no" several times. Since the prelude to Kevin's confession was not videotaped-a law requiring interrogations be videotaped would not go into effect for several more months-the purported promise pits detectives' word against Kevin's. As Glasgow spoke, Kevin began to weep. Kevin told police that Riley was wearing a white T-shirt with a pink flamingo on it and pink capri pants. And the Fox family had indeed suggested a reward be offered, only to be told by police it was unnecessary. In fact, it would be the last photo of all of them together, taken as it was just two weeks before the little girl would be found floating face-down in a creek. He quit school and the two moved in together. "For it is to such as these the kingdom of God belongs.". The family sued the state and won $15 million, which later was reduced to $8.5 million. But when one of Zellner's assistants tried to do so with a 40-pound bag-the approximate weight of Riley at the time of the murder-the bag was blocked by debris. He admitted placing her on the bank of the river, under the water. Some expressed bitter feelings of betrayal to reporters. She was led into Kevin's room where, she claims, Williams showed her a computer screen. I said, What are you talking about?'" The order, it would later be revealed, had come from detective Ed Hayes. "I can make a deal for him. Previously, he was a national news correspondent based in Washington, D.C. for NBC News from 2004-2008. Gone were any underwear and capri pants. "Your family doesn't love you," he shouted. It was now after six in the morning. Experts on interrogation and false confessions say that's not uncommon. Next. This gruesome detail helped form the basis for the death penalty charge. A picture of the children would make its way into Chad's wedding album, a cherished memento of a perfect day. ', "I started shaking and crying," she says. . By now, hundreds of townsfolk were clawing through brush and woods. On this night, however, leafing through a picture book, with Kevin holding Teagan, and Tyler peering over Melissa's shoulder, they can smile when they reach the photograph of the happy family they once were, when the biggest worries were a best man's toast and a little girl wanting to stand beside her daddy. At 8:32 a.m., detectives turned on the video camera and began to tape Kevin's statement. "Everything that [detectives] had was still pointing to this guy," says Will County Sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry. The defendants have sought to have the claim dismissed, arguing among other things that prosecutors are immune from such claims. "He said, I can't find Riley.' Beyond the walls of the sheriff's building dawn was arriving. A Wilmington crime scene investigator arrived within minutes. The interrogation and arrest of Fox, the suit alleges, was part of a last-ditch effort by Tomczak to win re-election. Among the questions the two men fielded were queries about whether politics influenced the timing of the interrogation. If you are interested to know where Kevin Fox is today, we have got you covered. Melissa Mack (right) with her husband Ryan and newborn baby Jett Myers He looks away. But now that I have a wonderful wife, and the two most beautiful children in the world, you get to finally follow me and make a family. "In a way, though, it's hard," Kevin admits. Indeed, by late October of 2004 Kevin was the prime suspect. Still, both wept when they learned Melissa was carrying a girl. And he realized he needed to take responsibility for his child. 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 . The men, the family learned, were Will County detectives. Mark M. Strothmann, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, quoting Mark 10:14. He struggles to catch his breath between sobs. I can help this kid if he acts now," the detective quoted the state's attorney as saying. Pluth pursues. Nine days later, Chad and Stacy packed more than 100 T-shirts bearing the words "Test Before Arrest" and "376 Days of a Killer on the Loose" in bold black lettering into a van that Zellner had rented for the occasion. Check Background Get Contact . Bad blood had existed between the men for years. Three years later, in 2000, with Kevin having found work as a union painter and Melissa as a waitress, the two were married. Winds light and variable.. "I hated leaving him there," Chad says. Meanwhile, the family launched a public-relations counteroffensive against the barrage of media coverage suggesting Kevin's guilt. The ceremony's original choreography called for Riley to turn right at the front of the aisle and join her mother's pew. Twitter Lhamo. Tomczak did not return calls requesting an interview, but in court pleadings he has denied any wrongdoing, including any suggestion that Kevin Fox's arrest was related to his re-election campaign. "I've just been handed our certificate of intent to seek the death penalty in this case," the prosecutor declared. In one resolved in December 2001, she helped free three men who had falsely confessed to the 1986 murder and rape of a Rush University medical student named Lori Roscetti. God Bless and stay safe. And if it became clear that there was no new information they should leave immediately. Melissa, meanwhile, was led into a conference room where, Swearengen told her, detective Guilfoyle would be along shortly to ask a few questions. The questions started out easy, but quickly became pointed. ", Shortly after the bond hearing, Tomczak, Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas, and other authorities held a press conference outside the Wilmington police station. 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