Why did Kevin call the nonemergency line instead of 911 the morning of Riley's disappearance? The couple announced the birth of their son via social media to their friends and followers. "It's all right to say you did it." (A spokesman said Glasgow wouldn't comment for this story because of the pending litigation.). Why would a father with CPR training make no attempt to revive his daughter? Meanwhile, several statements by Tomczak, which later proved unfounded, cast another shadow over Kevin. Yet, despite the overwhelming implication of guilt produced by the hearing, a number of troubling questions lurked within the prosecutor's case. The case has set in motion a series of events that bitterly divided what had been a neighborly town; cast a shadow of suspicion over a tight-knit, well-respected family; and raised questions about whether justice was forsaken for personal and political ambitions. Once, he nods. "He admitted duct-taping the child's mouth. 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. In early October, Chad, a stockbroker, approached Zellner, who coincidentally worked across the hall from Chad in Naperville. Chad Fox took the lead, assuming the role of family spokesman and coordinating other family interviews, including an unequivocal expression of support by Melissa. The ceremony's original choreography called for Riley to turn right at the front of the aisle and join her mother's pew. The Las Vegas trip was to attend a friend's wedding and had been planned and paid for months before Riley's death. Among those in attendance, unobtrusive but noticeable, were two men holding video cameras. On this day, however, the mood was festive. Melissa Fox is the mother of Riley fox and the then-wife of Kevin Fox. As for sexual abuse, "I'm not a stupid person," Melissa says. Chad and Zellner viewed the change in office with a wary eye. But because so many people had called with similar observations about the Foxes' spending habits, the station decided it couldn't ignore the rumors.). Find a suspect, any suspect, and nail him/her. ", 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. 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. Unfortunately, however, their world turned upside down on the fateful date of June 6, 2004. "If you saw one, generally the other was right behind," Curt Fox says. Many of them questioned the confession. The defendants have sought to have the claim dismissed, arguing among other things that prosecutors are immune from such claims. Virtually none of the principals involved in the case has gone untouched. He was not a match, Bode reported. (Williams refused to comment because of the pending litigation. Melissa, meanwhile, was led into a conference room where, Swearengen told her, detective Guilfoyle would be along shortly to ask a few questions. . From 1997 to 1999, more than 50,000 children in the United States were abducted by persons other than family members, according to a 2002 study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. For the briefest of moments, "they were making me question myself. 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. Almost a year later, Fox was freed from the Will County Jail, and his murder. He turned to Lyons, incredulous that the detective hadn't told him earlier. 77/48F. "That door was paper thin," Zellner says. ", Kevin began to pound the walls. As Glasgow spoke, Kevin began to weep. He had been undergoing questioning for nearly 12 hours. Jetta Myers graced the couples life with his arrival on December 18, 2017. No. "Riley's gone," the boy said. They took Kevin into another part of the building. His little chest heaves and his thin shoulders shake. Just before he was booked and taken to jail, Kevin says, the last thing he heard was the sound of the detectives in the hallway, laughing and congratulating themselves. She initially hired Ernie Rizzo, the big, blustery, and controversial private eye. From that moment, Melissa says, she never doubted Kevin. Maybe the boy thought Kevin had left when he stepped outside for a quick smoke. You're offered a less serious offense and the chance to go home to your family and clear things up later in court. A statement by Kevin himself saying he had been tricked into confessing was posted on a Web site three days after the interrogation. At 12:20 a.m. on October 27th, according to the detectives' summary of events, detective Richard Williams arrived to administer the exam. Carmel Cemetery in Morris at a later date. 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. Next. Before that, she was a television news reporter for ABC and FOX affiliates in North Carolina and Illinois. Chad recalls the moment vividly: "Kevin looked at me and said, I didn't do this. A videotape captured the session, conducted by a forensic interviewer named Mary Jane Pluth, who works for the Will County Children's Advocacy Center. Some people still thought he was a murderer. Already, the shocking news had been splashed across the front of every local newspaper-Fox was being charged with an unspeakable crime, murdering his three-year-old daughter. See what happens, when you dont look close enough, mistakes are made. "So just say you did it." 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. That night, before turning in, Chad peeked into the guest bedroom, where Kevin, Melissa, and Tyler had already crashed. Under questioning by Will County detectives, Fox confessed to the crime, but was later exonerated through DNA evidence. Zellner also re-examined the bathroom door that had supposedly hit Riley. Mark M. Strothmann, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, quoting Mark 10:14. It was here, after all, that the lanky, blond, gentle-natured teenager had met a pretty, impetuous girl named Melissa Rossi, who eventually became his wife. In early May, U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah rejected those arguments with one exception (a claim against Sheriff Kaupas). Until now, the Foxes have remained silent about their ordeal. I hated that, but I had no idea what to believe. View the profiles of people named Kevin Fox. Tomczak, now in private practice in Joliet, was added in July 2005. In the cold, shallow, murky water of Forked Creek, Riley's body floated, face-down. "The only way to guarantee that Kevin Fox would not be executed was to find DNA that excluded him with 100-percent certainty," she says. The interrogation and arrest of Fox, the suit alleges, was part of a last-ditch effort by Tomczak to win re-election. Suddenly, she says, Ed Hayes "got right in my face. After three weeks, however, the lab still had not received Riley's DNA. He joined the network in 2014. 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. Kevin, after all, had been the last person known to have seen Riley alive. After returning home with his children at around 1 am, Kevin put his kids in the living room and went to bed at 2:30 am. Kevin Fox and his family paid little attention to the politics of the race. Glasgow would later say he was "shocked" at the results. The boy shakes his head. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. He locked the front door and retired to his room. Grey Fox Wealth is an independent fiduciary that provides comprehensive financial planning services, wealth management solutions, and direct access . The lab had said the results would arrive around 6 p.m. How could a lightweight bathroom door knock a little girl out so completely that she appeared dead? His image hovers ghostlike in the frame. The Rossi family had moved to Wilmington when Melissa was in the third grade. On one level, the couple could understand that the authorities might hold them-or at least Kevin-under suspicion. With a huge smile on her face, she headed straight to her daddy, who scooped her up into his arms. The story seemed preposterous. The terms of the "offer" echoed in his head. What did he want to do on his first night out, he was asked. "Within minutes he was sitting there saying he felt like they'd tricked him, they'd lied to him." "And you'd have to have hit her on the head with a hammer to get the effect" Kevin described in the interrogation. We wanted to know if they had found out what had happened. Kevin, 20, was overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, and the two broke up for a short period. For hours, Kevin and Melissa shook hands and gave hugs, receiving mourners until they could barely stand. 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. Months went by with no breaks in the case. 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. Case closed. Court Upholds Finding that Police Framed Kevin Fox; Jury Awards Kevin Fox, Wife $15.5 Mil; Will Taping Interrogations Fix the System? Par for the course. God Bless and stay safe. Many other people assumed he was guilty. "I tagged around when we were in high school. On November 2nd, six days after Kevin's arrest, Glasgow defeated Tomczak 121,000 votes to 112,000 to win the state's attorney's race. Melissa knew by their faces that the news was grim. The parents' doting nature meant that Riley and Tyler rarely strayed far from their sight. I said, What are you talking about?'" I can help this kid if he acts now," the detective quoted the state's attorney as saying. It wasn't always this way. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Chad hugged Kevin as the room burst into applause. And they turn the page. "If someone was abusing my child, I would have known about it. Reaching into a tiny white basket, she doled red rose petals along the aisle like a pixie spreading fairy dust. Fox's lawsuit alleges that the meeting was conducted with Tomczak's support and consent. "I thought it was a little strange," Melissa says. Later, when speaking about his experience after getting out of jail, he said, I still had people coming up to me and saying I was a child killer, child molester and threatening to shoot me and my dog. Melissa added to this by saying that people ceased to trust them, and children werent allowed to have sleepovers at their house. 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. Mar 2020 - Present3 years. You're told there is overwhelming evidence against you, including a failed polygraph. "Let the little children come to me," said the Rev. The questions started out easy, but quickly became pointed. Later, however, he would reflect on the bittersweet nature of the day. Corke is a Harvard University Kennedy School of Government graduate and was recognized as a Littauer Fellow for his devotion to public service, leadership, and academic achievement. The weeks dragged by. Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions reports that 60 percent of the 42 wrongful murder convictions since 1970 in Illinois have rested in whole or in part on false confessions. 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. According to the sheriff's summary of the interrogation, when Curt Fox told the detectives that he wanted them to stop questioning his son, Swearengen replied, "Kevin is 27 years old and he came to the investigation office voluntarily." In a case that saw numerous twists and even a false arrest, justice was finally delivered when the perpetrator was caught and made to pay for his crimes. Check Background Get Contact . Guilfoyle reported that Tyler claimed he stood in the kitchen and saw his father using the clothes dryer after he returned. Meanwhile, the members of Kevin's family hold firm to their unwavering belief in the man who they say became, like his murdered daughter, a victim. "I've just been handed our certificate of intent to seek the death penalty in this case," the prosecutor declared. "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. At one point, Chad received a call from a friend watching the Cubs game. In preparation for the possible interrogation, the detectives contacted several polygraph experts, including Fred Hunter, a Hinsdale-based examiner with more than 30,000 tests under his belt. "She didn't make it. "I felt like I had nothing to hide," he says, and he worried that hiring an attorney might make him look guilty. The family will receive friends for a memorial visitation on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Baskerville Funeral Home, 700 E. Kahler Rd., in Wilmington from 12 p.m. until the time of memorial service at 4 p.m. Roger will be laid to rest at Mt. Though the girl has Riley's apple cheeks and sweet disposition, neither parent would ever look on the child as a replacement for their lost daughter. He then went home and slept," the prosecutor said. And the Fox family had indeed suggested a reward be offered, only to be told by police it was unnecessary. "They made me sit in a room for 45 minutes," Melissa says, still furious at the memory. Suddenly, at about three that afternoon, police jumped in their cars and sped off. "We know you killed your daughter," they said, according to the suit. . ), The exam began at just before one in the morning and took a little over an hour. Kevin and Melissa met while in high school together, and they quickly took to each other and fell in love. They first tested where Kevin said he had left the body-according to his confession, he had placed it in the water at the base of the Kahler Bridge, slipping once as he made his way down the muddy embankment. "It's now or never," the lawsuit claims the detective said. A Wilmington crime scene investigator arrived within minutes. Some expressed bitter feelings of betrayal to reporters. "So when you send something to the lab, you monitor it," the Tribune quoted Glasgow as saying. In the weeks that followed, Melissa and Kevin found the investigators to be supportive, even friendly. Harder still was the family portrait with Riley in her princess dress and white satin slippers. 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. "I don't know," Tyler says. Why would Tyler say Kevin had walked out during the night with Riley? Published by Chicago Sun-Times on Mar. They tricked me.' "They were putting words in his mouth," she claims. "He watched everybody search for his child the whole day," one woman, a ten-year resident of Wilmington, told the Chicago Sun-Times. As they had wanted to do all along, the family began to offer a reward, for $20,000. When you see your daughter dead, with dirt and mud on her face . (Today, Fox's legal team says that the results were at best unreliable.) We've got to get this to the laboratory so that we can process it quickly.'" "I've had other families come in a situation like this and they've had some hesitancy-Well, he's always been kind of troubled but I don't think he'd do anything violent.' 1983 and Illinois law, claiming that Will County detectives Edward Hayes, Michael Guilfoyle, Scott Swearengen, Brad Wachtl, John Ruettiger (who died before the trial), and several other parties who have since settled or been . But the case that had shattered the Wilmington community was far from over. Riley Fox was sexually assaulted, bound with duct tape, and drowned in a creek in Wilmington, Illinois. Go home now on bond.". She adored her father. Melissa got the word when she called Kevin to arrange to meet the family at the finish line. Christmas passed with Kevin still in jail, then New Year's, and Kevin's 28th birthday on January 4th. ), The detectives then took Kevin back to the interrogation room and resumed the questioning, according to the lawsuit. Hope they find some peace. Also added were the polygraph examiner, Richard C. Williams, Pluth, Kaupas, and a jail guard. The band broke into song. Zellner says she also was struck by the unwavering belief in Kevin's innocence by the family, particularly Melissa. 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. In a case that saw numerous twists and even a false arrest, justice was finally delivered when the perpetrator was caught and made to pay for his crimes. Kevin told police that Riley was wearing a white T-shirt with a pink flamingo on it and pink capri pants. "When I saw the pictures . The sheriff's summary report portrays Melissa as expressing doubts about her husband's innocence. (The DNA was subsequently retested at a different laboratory, and the results again excluded Kevin.). The state's attorney was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on October 29th as saying "the evidence shows us that [Riley] was sexually abused during life." Melissa Mack (right) with her husband Ryan and newborn baby Jett Myers 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. At the time, it seemed like a happy though standard family portrait. Both stations share studios on Shipyard Boulevard in Wilmington, while WSFX-TV's . At a press conference, Glasgow stopped short of directly criticizing Tomczak, but the implication was clear: he thought the case had been mishandled, particularly when it came to the long delay in DNA testing. Melissa recalls asking, still holding out hope that their daughter was alive. He had suffered threats and the ridicule of guards, according to his lawsuit. If charges were to be filed, he would be the one to bring them. Zellner is skeptical. When Zellner told Chad, the older brother laid his head down on a table and wept. As for the long-awaited DNA evidence originally taken from Riley, the news was not good for Kevin. 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. He's a local resident. Why was no duct tape found? More than six months later, DCFS reported finding no evidence to support the allegation. The original defendants included Will County detectives Hayes, Swearengen, Guilfoyle, Ruettiger, and two others. The authorities have not mentioned the videotape in court, though they did bring it up during the interrogation before Kevin confessed. Subscribe to one or more of our free e-mail newsletters to get instant updates on local news, events, and opportunities in Chicago. Joyful Fox Danced Over DNA News; . Meanwhile, the mystery of what happened to Riley Fox remains. A search for the young girl began. That night, Kevin drove to Chicago, too, to attend a concert with a friend and one of Melissa's brothers. All told, Kevin was interrogated that night for more than 14 hours; only 20 minutes were taped. he recalls saying. "We didn't want to turn it into another JonBenet Ramsey case. If you say it was an accident, it's involuntary manslaughter with a three to five year sentence. The Nightmare: A Look at the Riley Fox Case, 2020 Chicago magazine / A Chicago Tribune Media Group website, Photograph: Courtesy of Chad and Stacy Fox. . . While his wife was in Chicago, Kevin, then 27, and the kids spent Saturday afternoon making posters in anticipation of celebrating Melissa's walk at the finish line, where they planned to meet her the next morning. Indeed, by late October of 2004 Kevin was the prime suspect. A break in the case could well tip the scales. "We really tried to stay the course," he told reporters. . 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. Tomczak was bulky with thinning hair. As for the murder of Riley, "You did it," the lawsuit quotes Williams as saying. Still, Pluth pursues her questioning. An autopsy would later reveal that the girl had been sexually abused and probably died from drowning. His little girl had seemed to hold a special place in his heart. Police have tested the DNA found in Riley against every male in the Fox family, as well as numerous people in the neighborhood, including several previously convicted sex offenders, with no luck. Born in Atchison, Kansas, November 6, 1928, Jim was the second son of Jared Copeland Fox III and Ethel Carroll Fox. Dawn has a reported annual income of $10 - 19,999 and a current net worth value of greater than $50,000 - $99,999. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store. WILMINGTONRoger J. Johnson, 62, of Wilmington, passed away Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023 at his home. By most accounts, Kevin Dale Fox was a devoutly religious man and a loving father. A picture of the children would make its way into Chad's wedding album, a cherished memento of a perfect day. As she neared Wilmington, Melissa felt a chill. He called Wilmington police, but not wanting to raise an alarm prematurely, he would later explain, he decided to call the nonemergency line-a choice that was later questioned. Wilmington, Illinois, just south of Joliet, stands amid the vast cornfields and high grass prairies of the Kankakee River valley, a little more than 50 miles southwest of Chicago. WSFX-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. "If I finish the sheet, you are being charged with first-degree murder with 30 years to life. "I felt like a zoo animal.". Date Posted: Sunday, February 26th, 2023. None was available. "We'd ask, but they'd always say something like We can't really discuss it.'" Weather forecast Wilmington, North Carolina . One detective, Scott Swearengen, played toss with Tyler and often dropped by for coffee at Curt and Dawn's house, where Kevin and Melissa had moved after Riley's murder. For a long time, the family could not bear to look at photos of Chad's wedding, of Kevin in his tuxedo with the single red rose, of Riley and Tyler sleeping under the table. Her mouth had been covered with duct tape, and adhesive residue on her arms led authorities to surmise she had been bound. Then, after calling his estranged wife to tell her about the shootings, he turned his gun on himself and . You're put into a cramped room and subjected to an unusually long interrogation. Facebook gives people the power to share. "What did he do when he left? For all his initial trepidation, Kevin took to fatherhood in a way that surprised even his closest family. Rebekah grew up in the Midwest and received her Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communications and Theater from North . By the time the state's attorney had finished, Kevin's shoulders were shaking. Kevin is a producer and writer, known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), The Negotiator (1998) and Lie to Me (2009). "They found her at Forsythe Woods," Curt answered in a broken voice. On October 11th, a report by Amy Jacobson, the tall blond reporter from Chicago's NBC 5, gave voice to the whispers. That morning in the Will County jail, Zellner watched the interaction between the two brothers closely. ", At one point, according to the lawsuit, Hayes leaned close and told Kevin that he "knew people" at the jail, "and would make sure' that Kevin was fucked' every day unless he told them what they wanted to hear." ", Today, Zellner says that what impressed her was Kevin's immediate denial of the crime. ", 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. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. The aftershocks of his arrest, however, reverberate in the form of a lawsuit he and his wife have brought against Will County authorities. On October 21st, his father, Donald Tomczak, was arrested on a federal indictment in the Hired Truck scandal in Chicago. By now, hundreds of townsfolk were clawing through brush and woods. If you saw Kevin, you most likely saw Riley, on his shoulders or carrying their fishing poles down to the lake together. 79/63F. Even though Kevin was freed of all charges, he claimed that the false imprisonment had a massive impact on his life. The FBI would be returning the DNA evidence within a week, he said. Why was no blood or other physical evidence found in the Ford Escape? "I feel sad for the whole community that we were betrayed." 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. Kevin Fox was cleared of the charges when a DNA test excluded him from the assault and killing. ", Kevin's account of the interrogation continues: Swearengen burst into the room, out of breath and saying he had just talked to Tomczak. Absolutely not, Kaupas said. They were vacationing in the Ozarks. They simply broke him down psychologically to a point where he believed that the only way he was going to get this nightmare to stop was to confess. If he slipped in the mud, why were his clothes not muddy? AGE 40s Kevin J Fox Saint Jacob, IL View Full Report Used To Live In Relatives Kaupas acknowledged that the detectives had had no substantial new evidence when they called in Kevin. I looked at him square in the eyes the whole time, and I knew my brother was not lying to me. . But Bode, insisting on following protocol, said they'd have to wait for the final report. Winds light and variable.. In fact, the case was already out of their hands. A little before eight in the morning, however, Tyler came into Kevin's room. How solid was the evidence? Guilfoyle's report did not surface until May, seven months after Kevin had been arrested. He took his friend and Melissas brother along while leaving the children in the care of Melissas mother. An Amber alert for Riley Fox had flashed on the scoreboard. Fewer than 20 new single family homes were built last year in the villages of Coal City and Diamond. Instead, Guilfoyle later wrote up a summary of the interview. The lab had found a man's saliva-just enough to extract a full DNA profile. In addition, the family has upped its reward to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Riley's killer. 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. View Kevin Fox results in Arkansas (AR) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 701 Market St, Wilmington, NC 28401-4646. Kevin Fox was born in 1968. 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. Hayes made Kevin watch as he filled out an arrest sheet for first-degree murder. In less than an hour, it seemed the whole town had turned out. associates & neighbors include Melissa Rossi, Curtis Fox, Kevin Fox, Chad Fox and Carly Fox. 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