Buoyed over the finding, Zellner secured a court order to have the material tested by a private lab-Bode Technology Group in Virginia. Chicago, IL: (Mar-21-08) The family of 3-year-old Riley Fox brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the Will County Sheriff's Department, after the death of the girl in 2004. The elder woman had just made her way to the edge of the creek when she noticed something that looked to her like a plastic bag. Why was no blood or other physical evidence found in the Ford Escape? Not fair! 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. "I thought it was a little strange," Melissa says. As Glasgow spoke, Kevin began to weep. For the briefest of moments, "they were making me question myself. He has also, on matters unrelated to the case, been in error in at least 13 instances, according to the Fox suit. ", They were greeted at the door by Swearengen. "They thought they had me convinced," she says. Par for the course. As if the image wasn't terrible enough, he said, she had been "able to remove the duct tape from her wrists prior to succumbing to drowning in the water.". When pressed about the car, Kevin recalls, he became exasperated and suggested sarcastically that someone must have snuck into his house, stolen his keys, taken the car, and returned it later. But several days later, while reviewing the state crime lab's report, Zellner puzzled over the "inconclusive" finding for the presence of male saliva. When the bag was thrown from the bridge, however, it twice floated to the spot where the body had been found. Now, just a handful of minutes after giving his statement, he sat behind a Plexiglas window with a phone in his hand, shaking his head and crying as his older brother, Chad, and Kathleen Zellner watched helplessly and offered what comfort they could. The Fox family has also pushed for the passage of "Riley's Law," a measure that would expedite DNA testing after child murders. Maryland Man Arrested After Crashing Stolen Vehicle. They were vacationing in the Ozarks. Kevin is a producer and writer, known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), The Negotiator (1998) and Lie to Me (2009). Info: 773-581-9000. ", Kevin alerted his parents and Chad, who was immediately wary. Subscribe for free today! He quit school and the two moved in together. Still, both wept when they learned Melissa was carrying a girl. The claim triggered an investigation from a representative of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. What more can they possibly want to know? How solid was the evidence? 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. 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. The murder of Riley Fox has since turned into a mystery extraordinary for reasons beyond the heartbreaking death of a little girl. Its 4.2 square miles occupy a rural stretch of old Route 66 (now Route 53) and offer the picture-perfect icons of Midwestern America. 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. Even though Kevin was freed of all charges, he claimed that the false imprisonment had a massive impact on his life. (A spokesman said Glasgow wouldn't comment for this story because of the pending litigation.). How do they sleep at night? "Everything's going to be OK," she told him. but we firmly believe, and the sheriff firmly believes, that [the detectives] did a good job . 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. Many of them questioned the confession. High 24F. 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. Tags: Crime & Law, Design Controls - Google AMP, Long Reads, Politics & City Life, Print-Specific Tags - Feature, Writers - Bryan Smith. 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. A "source," his face hidden behind a black blob, his voice disguised, repeated the rumors in Jacobson's "exclusive" interview. "When I saw the pictures . In the weeks that followed, Melissa and Kevin found the investigators to be supportive, even friendly. Until the night of Kevin's long interrogation several months later, authorities never told him and Melissa what Tyler allegedly had said. Worse, when Bode finally got the DNA, the family was told testing would take two months, and that the chances of finding male saliva in Riley's DNA were slim because there was so little genetic material to test. The band broke into song. 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. Judge James Carroll Fox, 90, of Wilmington, NC, passed away March 23 rd at home surrounded by his loving wife and family. He's a local resident. "If you saw one, generally the other was right behind," Curt Fox says. "It's hard," Kevin says. Bewildered and frightened, Kevin and Melissa prayed that the sudden departure was less ominous than it looked. 21244 W Highway 113 Rte #113, Wilmington, IL 60481. To his family, the event seemed staged, a dog-and-pony show orchestrated by Tomczak. On April 5th, Zellner says, she learned why. . Once, he nods. While much of his work there involved coverage of the Bush Administration as a member of . Kevin Corke is an American journalist and is presently a White House Correspondents' Association for Fox News in Washington D.C. Corke has covered four U.S. administrations (Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden). That Saturday night, she stayed at a campsite with friends in Skokie. "I felt like I had nothing to hide," he says, and he worried that hiring an attorney might make him look guilty. Melissa knew by their faces that the news was grim. Not even close. And, most telling, how could detectives ignore that Kevin had not provided a single piece of information that only the killer would have known, such as the whereabouts of Riley's capri pants? "You don't have much time," Hayes warned. Police would reveal nothing. Thus, he contacted the police on the non-emergency phone line (an action that would later raise suspicion against him). (Will County investigators refuse comment on the quality of the videotape. At 12:20 a.m. on October 27th, according to the detectives' summary of events, detective Richard Williams arrived to administer the exam. , Inc. holds real estate brokerage licenses in multiple provinces. He claws his sweatshirt hood over his head. Kevin, 20, was overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, and the two broke up for a short period. Kevin says Swearengen's tone changed abruptly. Zellner says she also was struck by the unwavering belief in Kevin's innocence by the family, particularly Melissa. Both stations share studios on Shipyard Boulevard in Wilmington, while WSFX-TV's . Tomczak, 44 at the time, had earned his law degree in Chicago, but settled in Will County with his wife, who today is a judge there. But Bode, insisting on following protocol, said they'd have to wait for the final report. That morning in the Will County jail, Zellner watched the interaction between the two brothers closely. I said, What are you talking about?'" The authorities have not mentioned the videotape in court, though they did bring it up during the interrogation before Kevin confessed. "I felt helpless and frustrated.". 28, 2008. "Isn't that your niece?" "Riley's gone," the boy said. Find a suspect, any suspect, abd mail him/ her. 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. During his stay in jail he had lost more than 20 pounds. ABC Desperate to find out what happened to her daughter, Melissa said she reached out to the detectives every day and that they assured her they were investigating the case thoroughly. "I'm not saying he shouldn't have been . Who would admit to such horrible things if he hadn't really done them? Within moments, Swearengen appeared and led her into an adjoining room. "What kind of Cracker-Jack-box cops don't have the decency to tell the parents of a murdered little girl that their daughter is dead?" 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. "I used to love it," Kevin says of his hometown. . There's a bowling alley and a post office and a small movie house. 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. ", 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. she quotes him as saying. The delay enraged the family. Finally they were brought out into a waiting room, where Curt, Dawn, Chad, and Stacy had already gathered. Go home now on bond.". "Any charges of politics are baseless," Tomczak said in a statement the day after Fox's arrest. What did he want to do on his first night out, he was asked. "He is an amazing dad, I tell you what," says his mother, Dawn. On October 25th, a little more than a week before the election, the four detectives working on the Riley Fox murder-Scott Swearengen, John Ruettiger, Michael Guilfoyle, and Edward Hayes-convened at the Will County sheriff's office in Joliet to discuss bringing Kevin in for an interrogation. Tomczak, now in private practice in Joliet, was added in July 2005. 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. His image hovers ghostlike in the frame. Indeed, he had promised to press ahead with the death penalty. Among the allegations was that the father had made illegal contributions to his son's campaign. As for Tyler, Kevin had no idea his son had made such a statement-it was the first he'd heard of it. After a brief reunion with Melissa and Tyler, Kevin emerged from the jail with his arms raised in triumph and stood before a mob scene of cameras and well-wishers. 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. 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. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. In addition, Corke serves as a recurring guest-anchor on FOX News @ Night (weeknights . 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. 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. "I hated leaving him there," Chad says. In addition, the family has upped its reward to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Riley's killer. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Life will never be the same for any of us.". What neither Zellner nor Glasgow apparently realized was that the FBI had not tested Riley's DNA. With the death of a child under these circumstances, the police look first to the family. When Judge Dan Rozak dismissed the case, the courtroom exploded into applause and cheering. Court Upholds Finding that Police Framed Kevin Fox; Jury Awards Kevin Fox, Wife $15.5 Mil; Will Taping Interrogations Fix the System? Chief Mickler currently resides in Wilmington with his wife, Rebecca, and their two sons. As she neared Wilmington, Melissa felt a chill. "I had never even met him before and he was just screaming in my face. 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 medical examiner also noted light bruising on Riley's head. He also holds a journalism master's and . "We need you to come to the police station," an officer told them. Kevin worked as a union painter to earn a living, while Melissa got a job as a waitress. Even if Kevin had accidentally hurt Riley, he would have tried to resuscitate her-he was certified in CPR. "I finally kicked the door really hard," she says. 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 Five months after. She adored her father. But the parents believed they had cooperated in every way possible, including providing DNA samples, consenting to searches, and answering questions. He'd barely had time to grab a bite to eat all day. Riley's pediatrician has said there was never a hint of prior sexual abuse. 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.". 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. 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