Murder of Riley Fox

File:Riley Fox.jpg

Riley Fox (March 31, 2001{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Jenner |last2=Diaz |first2=Joseph |last3=Rivas |first3=Anthony |last4=Yang |first4=Allie |title=How FBI's hunt for Riley Fox's killer revealed major mistakes by local detectives |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbis-hunt-riley-foxs-killer-revealed-major-mistakes/story?id=77505898 |website=ABC News |access-date=December 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203010259/https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbis-hunt-riley-foxs-killer-revealed-major-mistakes/story?id=77505898 |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |date=May 5, 2021 |url-status=live}} – June 6, 2004) was a 3-year-old girl from Wilmington, Illinois, who was murdered on June 6, 2004.{{cite news|title=Riley Fox Murder: Killer Left Signed Shoe At The Scene, Police Missed It For Six Years|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/16/riley-fox-murder-killer-l_n_614239.html|accessdate=24 September 2011|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=16 June 2010}} After Riley's father was initially accused and then cleared by DNA evidence, paroled convict Scott Eby confessed to the crime and was convicted. Eby died in prison while serving a life sentence without parole he received for the murder on December 7, 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-09 |title=Scott Eby, man who confessed to murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox, dies in prison |url=https://abc7chicago.com/scott-eby-riley-fox-murder-killer/14156521/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=ABC7 Chicago |language=en}}

Disappearance

On June 6, 2004, the night of the disappearance, Riley's father Kevin Fox had picked up his children from their grandmother's house around 1 am. Because the kids' beds didn't have clean sheets and blankets on them, he laid Riley on the couch and Riley's older brother Tyler on the living room chair. He then went to his room, watched TV and went to sleep around 2:33.{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Bryan|title=The Nightmare: A Look at the Riley Fox Case|url=http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2FJuly-2006%2FThe-Nightmare%2F&mode=print|accessdate=25 September 2011|archive-date=30 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930162218/http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2FJuly-2006%2FThe-Nightmare%2F&mode=print|url-status=dead}} The next morning he was awakened by Tyler, who told him that Riley was gone. After searching and checking with neighbors, he called police.

Discovery of body

Later that day Riley was found dead in Forsythe Woods County Forest Preserve, a public park a few miles from Wilmington. She was found face down in a creek, having been bound, gagged, and sexually assaulted before being drowned.

Investigation

The girl's father, Kevin Fox, was initially charged based on a coerced confession. He spent eight months in jail before being cleared by DNA evidence showing that someone else had committed the crime.{{cite news|last=Brooks|first=Marion|title=Cops "Dropped the Ball" in Riley Fox Case, Sheriff Says|url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/riley-fox-investigation-paul-kaupas--96110909.html|accessdate=25 September 2011|date=10 Jun 2010}}

Fox's attorney Kathleen Zellner obtained a court order for new DNA tests on saliva, previously deemed inconclusive, with the new findings excluding Fox.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Bryan |title=The Nightmare: A Look at the Riley Fox Case |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/july-2006/the-nightmare/ |access-date=6 March 2025 |work=Chicago Magazine |publisher=Chicago Tribune Media Group}} Police had found a pair of mud-covered shoes at the scene with the name Eby written inside, but did nothing with this evidence. They ignored other important clues as well, such as the fact that a nearby house was burglarized during the same night that Riley disappeared. The Fox family later won a $15.5 million jury verdict (later reduced to $8.5 million) in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Will County Sheriff's Office and the detectives who had coerced Kevin Fox's confession.{{cite news|last=Sancho|first=Miguel|title=Exclusive: Riley Fox's Parents Speak Out After Alleged Killer Found|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/riley-fox-parents-speak-scott-eby-charged-murder/story?id=10878773|accessdate=24 September 2011|date=11 June 2010}}{{cite news|last1=Schmadeke|first1=Steve|title=Court upholds finding that police framed Kevin Fox in rape-murder of daughter, Riley Fox, 3|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/04/07/court-upholds-finding-that-police-framed-kevin-fox-in-rape-murder-of-daughter-riley-fox-3/|access-date=22 September 2017|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=7 April 2010|language=en}}

Scott Eby was later charged on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of predatory sexual assault after DNA evidence linked him to Riley.{{cite web|last=Horan|first=Deborah|title=DNA clears dad in girl's slaying|url=http://truthinjustice.org/kevin-fox.htm|work=Truth in Justice|publisher=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=12 October 2013|date=8 June 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014070743/http://truthinjustice.org/kevin-fox.htm|archive-date=14 October 2013|url-status=dead}} At the time he was charged, Eby was serving two consecutive seven-year sentences for other crimes. Eby confessed that he cut the screen of a neighbor's home across the street and stole $40. Then he walked across the street to the Fox home. Eby entered through the back door of the Fox home because it was broken and couldn't lock. He looked for things to steal but he found nothing worth taking. Eby saw Riley and her brother asleep on the couch and recliner in the living room and later stated he “fixated on the little girl”. He left the house, got into his car and backed into the Fox's driveway. He then went back into the Fox home, covered Riley's mouth, picked her up, walked out the front door, put her into the trunk of his car, and drove her to a nearby park. He assaulted her in a men's restroom. He then drowned her in a nearby creek. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He had been on parole and living about a mile from the Fox's home at the time of the crime. In March 2023, Kevin Fox passed away in a car crash in Arkansas, where he was living with his new wife and children.