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. "I feel sad for the whole community that we were betrayed." The boy, who is extremely shy with strangers, answers reluctantly, with head shakes and nods. Five months later, a gallery of stunned observers packed the hearing at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. 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. The media played a role in this suspicion. Suddenly, at about three that afternoon, police jumped in their cars and sped off. Panicking, he scooped her up and carried her to his car, retrieving some duct tape from the back. The story seemed preposterous. Even so, as time passed and word spread that Riley Fox was missing, a search was mounted. Within moments, Swearengen appeared and led her into an adjoining room. "I thought it was a little strange," Melissa says. 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. "But I lost so much there. As for the long-awaited DNA evidence originally taken from Riley, the news was not good for Kevin. During his stay in jail he had lost more than 20 pounds. Meanwhile, the family launched a public-relations counteroffensive against the barrage of media coverage suggesting Kevin's guilt. 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. His little chest heaves and his thin shoulders shake. 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. You're put into a cramped room and subjected to an unusually long interrogation. "He is an amazing dad, I tell you what," says his mother, Dawn. Authorities initially charged the young girl's father, Kevin Fox, with the murder, based largely on a videotape confession that he'd killed Riley. Join Facebook to connect with Kevin Fox and others you may know. Chad and Zellner viewed the change in office with a wary eye. A break in the case could well tip the scales. The boy shakes his head. Virtually none of the principals involved in the case has gone untouched. . Thus, he contacted the police on the non-emergency phone line (an action that would later raise suspicion against him). 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. Tags: Crime & Law, Design Controls - Google AMP, Long Reads, Politics & City Life, Print-Specific Tags - Feature, Writers - Bryan Smith. Shameful how Politics, selfishness, and greed were more important. They took Kevin into another part of the building. The resident's face was blocked out, but the message clear: the anonymous source clearly spoke for most everyone in Wilmington, and most everyone in Wilmington believed Kevin Fox was guilty of murdering his daughter. WSFX-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. She phoned a forensic scientist, who explained what that meant: the state crime lab simply didn't have the sophisticated capabilities that would be needed to test properly for the substance. The Will County sheriff seems content to blame former Will County state's attorney Jeff Tomczak for any missteps. 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. Kevin had been up since 4:30 that morning and had spent much of his day working at a painting job. Then, after calling his estranged wife to tell her about the shootings, he turned his gun on himself and . , Inc. holds real estate brokerage licenses in multiple provinces. The boy weeps. Almost immediately after his arrest, Kevin and Melissa brought this multi-count, multi-party lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. Subscribe for free today! Case closed. We found 59 records for Kevin Fox in Wilmington, IL. The Fox family expressed staunch support of Kevin. 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. "I'm not saying he shouldn't have been . 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. 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. "We really tried to stay the course," he told reporters. It wasn't always this way. the friend asked. That morning in the Will County jail, Zellner watched the interaction between the two brothers closely. "They did everything together," recalls Curt Fox, Kevin's dad. "I hated leaving him there," Chad says. . Kenneth J. Again, this was the first he'd heard of it. "He was crying," she recalls. On October 21st, his father, Donald Tomczak, was arrested on a federal indictment in the Hired Truck scandal in Chicago. That night, Kevin drove to Chicago, too, to attend a concert with a friend and one of Melissa's brothers. He laid Riley on the couch and placed his son, Tyler, in the chair in the living area before going to his room to watch TV. Check Background Get Contact . He admitted placing his finger in the vagina of the child. "In a way, though, it's hard," Kevin admits. It had all happened so quickly-had seemed to make so much sense in the moment. As Glasgow spoke, Kevin began to weep. Chad Fox looked on the rumors as confirmation that Kevin-still not represented by a lawyer-was a suspect, perhaps the only suspect. "I was raised with the idea that authorities were good people and that they should be respected.". The order, it would later be revealed, had come from detective Ed Hayes. There, the couple gave birth to another daughter, Teagan, in 2006. Also unbeknownst to Kevin and Melissa, the police were pursuing another lead that might point toward Kevin. After all, the boy could be crucial in helping the parents find their daughter's killer. Kevin and Melissa have visited it many times, as they have Riley's grave in Wilmington's Oakwood Cemetery. He'd barely had time to grab a bite to eat all day. They later portrayed his statement as an attempt to provide a possible alibi. Carmel Cemetery in Morris at a later date. 21244 W Highway 113 Rte #113, Wilmington, IL 60481. Under questioning by Will County detectives, Fox confessed to the crime, but was later exonerated through DNA evidence. There's a bowling alley and a post office and a small movie house. "Todd, what the hell! But the parents believed they had cooperated in every way possible, including providing DNA samples, consenting to searches, and answering questions. Absolutely not, Kaupas said. None was available. The couple announced the birth of their son via social media to their friends and followers. Though the police denied using force, Kevins attorney had the DNA from the crime scene tested against Kevins own DNA. 82/55F. "Any charges of politics are baseless," Tomczak said in a statement the day after Fox's arrest. "We know you killed your daughter," they said, according to the suit. He took his friend and Melissas brother along while leaving the children in the care of Melissas mother. 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. 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. "They'd come back with their legs scratched up and bleeding," recalls Kevin. A few years later, Kevin and Melissa became proud parents of baby Riley, and the family seemed to be quite happy. And he realized he needed to take responsibility for his child. 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. At the small brick and concrete station, just off Main Street, police put Kevin in one room and Melissa in another. I knew it wasn't true. Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 a.m. Interment private. However, there are no details about his exact age and birth year. His image hovers ghostlike in the frame. 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. Riley's pediatrician has said there was never a hint of prior sexual abuse. "Riley is in the room with you right now," the lawsuit quotes Guilfoyle as saying. 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. He then went home and slept," the prosecutor said. . To escape from their past, the couple left their Wilmington home and moved to a Chicago suburb. 442-H New York Standard Operating Procedures New York Fair Housing Notice TREC: . He spent eight months in prison before he was released and ultimately cleared through DNA evidence. View Source Share Save to Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Illinois ABC News 20/20 features this murder in one of their episodes and takes the viewer through the harrowing ordeal Rileys family had to go through after losing their child. Why was no duct tape found? "You look at a stone with your daughter's picture, knowing that her body is in the dirt rather than in your arms. 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 felt out of place as the ceremony began, his discomfort melted at the sight of his two children now making their way down the aisle. After three weeks, however, the lab still had not received Riley's DNA. During that town hall style session, Mayor Ben Dietz delivered a state of the city speech to the more than four dozen people in attendance, laying out . Winds light and variable.. Other family members were less comfortable. It is heartbreaking to see such a devoted and doting father go through the seemingly never-ending and painful ordeal of losing his daughter and his entire family. "It's now or never," the lawsuit claims the detective said. By Guilfoyle's account, the boy also said things that seem to contradict known facts-that Kevin had dressed Riley in pajamas, for instance. He says the police told him he was right not to panic, that "in a lot of cases a child wanders off, and they can't find them at first." But if Kevin was joking, the police apparently didn't get it. Melissa recalls asking, still holding out hope that their daughter was alive. Until now, the Foxes have remained silent about their ordeal. Television satellite trucks roared into town, deploying their parabolic dishes and disgorging reporters. 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. The answer is: far too many people. The original defendants included Will County detectives Hayes, Swearengen, Guilfoyle, Ruettiger, and two others. 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. They urged Kevin to hire an attorney. But Kevin knew he was meant to be with Melissa. BBB File Opened: 12/28/2015. In the cold, shallow, murky water of Forked Creek, Riley's body floated, face-down. As for Tyler, Kevin had no idea his son had made such a statement-it was the first he'd heard of it. 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. As a result, Fox spent nearly eight months in prison on a capital murder charge before being exonerated by DNA evidence. Still, Pluth pursues her questioning. Location of This Business. An Amber alert for Riley Fox had flashed on the scoreboard. Police would reveal nothing. 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