Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Scott W. Eby Accepts Plea Deal in 2004 IL Murder of Riley Fox, Sentenced to LWOP

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217

    Scott W. Eby Accepts Plea Deal in 2004 IL Murder of Riley Fox, Sentenced to LWOP

    Mom: Ready to face man accused of killing daughter

    The mother of a 3-year-old whose 2004 rape and murder sparked a media furor said she hopes prosecutors seek the death penalty for the slaying of her daughter, Riley Fox.

    Melissa Fox said she will attend every trial proceeding for Scott Wayne Eby, the imprisoned sex offender who was charged Thursday with Riley's death. She also said she'd be pleased with a guilty verdict that leads to a sentence of life in prison without parole.

    "I'll be at anything and everything I can be at, because I feel that's my way of being able to stand up for Riley," Melissa Fox told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm not afraid of him or afraid of seeing him. ... I want to be there."

    Eby, 38, was charged with first-degree murder and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in the 2004 death of Riley Fox, who vanished from her home and whose body was later found in a creek four miles away.

    According to the criminal complaint, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Eby held the bound girl under water until she drowned.

    Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has said he has four months to decide whether to seek the death penalty against Eby, who is serving seven-year prison sentences on each of two unrelated Will County convictions of criminal sexual assault.

    The little girl's death gained widespread media attention, both during the search in Wilmington, where authorities say Eby lived, and after authorities accused her father, Kevin Fox.

    Kevin Fox was charged after he implicated himself under intense questioning. But he later said he only did so in exchange for leniency and after losing hope during an overnight interrogation that lasted more than 14 hours.

    He spent eight months in jail in the killing before DNA evidence showed he was not her killer and was eventually cleared.

    The parents were awarded more than $8 million in damages after they accused investigators of fabricating evidence.

    Melissa Fox called Thursday's charges "bittersweet" after waiting years to find out if anyone would be changed in the investigated.

    "I never thought I was going to hear those words," she said. "I was happy. I was sad. I was angry. It was unbelievable really, an unbelievable moment."

    http://www.examiner.com/a-2654628~Mom__Ready_to_face_man_accused_of_killing_ daughter.html


    I hope they´ll seek the DP and that the prosecution will be succesfull.

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Police missed early clues in Riley Fox's slaying

    Within an hour of finding the body of 3-year-old Riley Fox in a Wilmington creek, authorities pulled a pair of shoes from those waters. Written inside each was the last name of the man charged six years later with her murder.

    Police placed the shoes in evidence, but never pieced that lead together with other clues -- a call to police from the man's home and signs of a burglary preceding Riley's abduction -- that could have led them to Scott Wayne Eby in the hours and days after her sexual assault and slaying.

    Instead, Will County sheriff's detectives focused almost exclusively on Riley's father, Kevin. DNA evidence excluded Kevin Fox after he spent eight months in jail, but authorities didn't declare him innocent until last month, when Eby allegedly confessed to the slaying and the partial DNA sample from the crime scene matched his.

    "Looking at all of the information that we now have about Eby, he could have been apprehended the day after the murder, and he probably would have confessed," said attorney Kathleen Zellner, who won an $8 million federal civil court judgment on behalf of Kevin Fox and Riley's mother, Melissa.

    Investigators' photos and notes obtained by the Tribune, as well as interviews with people involved in the case, shed light on evidence made public for the first time Tuesday on chicagotribune.com.

    During the civil trial, an FBI agent testified that then-Sgt. Edward Hayes, who led the investigation, ordered that DNA testing be stopped after the arrest of Fox, who incriminated himself in a statement made after 14 hours of interrogation. The civil jury found Fox's statement was coerced and held Hayes and Deputy Scott Swearengen mainly responsible.

    Zellner, who compared the shoe evidence to "dropping your driver's license at the (crime) scene," also said police failed to search a forest preserve bathroom near the creek. Eby confessed to sexually assaulting Riley in that bathroom and disposing of her underpants in a nearby garbage can, she said.

    "There were probably five possibilities where Eby's name could have surfaced very early on during the investigation," she added. "I think it's an example of really shoddy police work."

    She also said that Eby, who lived about a mile from Riley at the time of her slaying, in December 2005 was convicted of sexually assaulting a relative. If police investigating Riley's killing had then obtained his DNA and compared it with the partial sample, that would have been key evidence against him, Zellner said.

    Pat Barry, spokesman for the Will County sheriff's department, declined comment on specific evidence, but reiterated the apology Sheriff Paul Kaupas gave last month.

    Kaupas said he's interviewing companies, whose employees include retired FBI agents and chiefs of police, to do an extensive review of the Riley Fox investigation.

    "There were some mistakes made in the case," Kaupas conceded. "That's what we're trying to avoid, any of these things (happening) in the future."

    He said investigators did swab "anybody and anything" for DNA after Riley's death, but did not specify when; a crime sample was identified in June 2005. But Kaupas also acknowledged that they did not search for people who lived in the Wilmington area at the time of the crime and later became sex offenders, which could have led to Eby. He said the sheriff's department didn't have enough personnel.

    Charles Pelkie, spokesman for State's Attorney James Glasgow, also declined comment. Glasgow freed Kevin Fox, who was charged under Glasgow's predecessor, and oversaw the investigation that eventually led to Eby.

    Henry Weidling, former volunteer director of the Wilmington Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, said he found a pair of white athletic shoes in the creek fewer than 100 yards from the crime scene and less than an hour after Riley's body was found on June 6, 2004. Weidling said the shoes looked like they hadn't been in the water long.

    Photographs of the shoes show "EBY" on the inside of their tongues, according to case documents. Although the name is hard to make out in the photos, handwritten police notes clearly note "EBY" and list the brand.

    Eby, who was on parole for burglary when Riley was killed, said during his confession that he discarded the shoes in the water when they became muddy after drowning Riley in a section of Forked Creek, Zellner said.

    The morning Riley went missing, Wilmington police were called by Eby's mother to their home for a "wellness check," Eby said during his confession, according to Zellner and Melissa Fox, who were both briefed by the FBI.

    Police were visiting Eby's home to see if he had "thoughts of suicide," said Chief Darin Plotts, one of two officers who responded.

    When police arrived, Eby, now 38, was agitated and vomiting. He asked police if they had found "that little girl yet," Melissa Fox said.

    Barry, of the sheriff's office, said many agencies had pieces of information about Eby, but "nobody put it together."

    "We don't have an answer for a lot of this stuff," Barry said. "There were definitely, definitely communication lapses. There were definitely things not done."

    Kaupas said his office never had contact with Eby. Wilmington police handled that aspect, he said.

    But James Metta, the chief at the time, said once her body was found and her death became a homicide investigation, he turned the case over to the sheriff's office.

    "Our part in it ended," said Metta, now living in Florida. "Our case was solved, unfortunately, by finding (Riley)."

    During his recorded confession last month, Eby said that before entering the Fox home, he burglarized a home across the street, where he cut a screen to gain entry to a patio door, Zellner said. That screen also was in evidence, but an evidence technician dismissed the cut as storm damage, records show.

    Melissa Fox said the shoe evidence, combined with the other details, should have led police straight to Eby, not her husband.

    "It's amazing to me," she said, referring to the shoes. "They had the evidence to solve the crime within the first 24 hours. It's all right there."

    She said that Swearengen, who testified at trial that he immediately suspected Kevin Fox, often told her the evidence would do justice for Riley.

    "The evidence has spoken," Melissa Fox said. "It's too bad that six years ago, he wasn't willing to listen."

    http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/06/records-suspect-in-riley-fox-slaying-left-shoes-behind.html

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Psych test planned for accused killer of Riley Fox

    A psychologist will determine if the man accused of killing Riley Fox is mentally fit to stand trial.

    Scott W. Eby, 39, faces charges of murder and sexual assault for allegedly snatching the 3-year-old girl from her Wilmington home on June 6, 2004. Her body was found later that day in Forked Creek.

    Riley's father, Kevin Fox, was later arrested for the crime and spent eight months in jail before being released when DNA on the girl's body was proven to not match his. Eby lived near the Foxes at the time, but he was not a suspect until May when an FBI review linked him through forensic evidence. Eby is serving a 14-year prison sentence for raping a relative a year after Riley's murder.
    In court Wednesday
    Sporting a full beard, Eby arrived Wednesday with two Department of Corrections guards in Judge Richard Schoenstedt's courtroom in the middle of motions for another case. After sitting in the jury box, Eby glanced toward the courtroom audience, which included Riley's mother, Melissa, and several of her family and friends. Eby gnawed at his bottom lip with his top teeth for a few seconds before locking his stare on Schoenstedt and the lawyers at the podium.

    Attorney Michael Renzi, who is representing Eby on behalf of the public defender's office, asked if the judge had received Eby's hospital records, because Renzi is still awaiting mental health reports from Danville and Sheridan correctional centers.

    Neither Schoenstedt, Renzi nor Assistant Will County State's Attorney Michael Fitzgerald has gotten Eby's file from those facilities, but they have gotten others.

    "Based on the documentation from Tinley Park (Mental Hospital) ... the plan is to evaluate if the defendant is fit to stand trial," Schoenstedt said.

    Eby will be examined by Dr. Randi Zoot within the next two weeks and return for another hearing Sept. 21. State's attorney spokesman Charles B. Pelkie said Zoot is contracted by the county to provide psychological fitness reports for criminal cases.

    The participants agreed the time until the next hearing will not count against the state's deadline to decide whether or not to pursue the death penalty.

    As they left the courthouse, Melissa Fox and her civil attorneys said they expected Eby to need a psychiatric hearing.

    http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2687304,4_JO8_Psych-test-planned-accused-killer-.article

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Sex offender to plead guilty in Riley Fox murder

    November 9, 2010 (JOLIET, Ill.) (WLS) -- Convicted sex offender Scott Eby will plead guilty to the 2004 murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox on Wednesday.

    ABC7 sources said Eby, who plead not guilty in June 2010, will change his plea. The 38-year-old has been behind bars since 2005 in connection to the sexual of a 14-year old. Read Eby's inmate profile on IDOC website.

    Eby will likely be sentenced Wednesday, as well. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has not announced if he will seek the death penalty in the case. However, sources say Eby expects a sentence of life in prison in exchange for the guilty plea.

    He was charged in the Fox case in May of 2004 with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of predatory sexual assault.

    Riley's body was found on June 6, 2004, in Forked River, a creek near her Wilmington home. Eby lived just 10 blocks from the Foxes and a pair of shoes with his last name was found by police near the murder scene in 2004.

    The botched police investigation focused on the girl's father, Kevin Fox, who was charged in her murder after making a false confession. After eight months in jail, he was cleared by DNA.

    In 2007, the Fox family was awarded $15.5 million in a civil suit with Will County authorities.

    http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...cal&id=7774216

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Suspect In Riley Fox Murder Pleads Guilty

    Scott Eby accepted a plea bargain today in the 2004 rape and murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox that spares him the death penalty but guarantees he spends the rest of his life in prison.

    Eby's plea deal hopefully gives some closure to Riley Fox's parents. Her father, Kevin Fox, was originally charged with the murder and spent eight months in jail until a federal appeals court threw out the charges after DNA testing exonerated him. Eby's sneakers, which had his last name stenciled inside, were found near the creek where Riley Fox's body was found floating, and still Will County investigators didn't pursue him as a suspect. It wasn't until an FBI tip that Eby was even considered a suspect.

    Kevin Fox and his now-estranged wife, Melissa, were awarded $8 million in a wrongful arrest federal lawsuit brought against Will County officials.

    http://chicagoist.com/2010/11/10/sus...der_pleads.php

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Fox case finally comes to its close

    Six years after their 3-year-old daughter was murdered, the Fox family finally received some closure in 2010.

    In November, Scott Wayne Eby pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the June 2004 murder of Riley Fox.

    “It’s an ugly chapter the State’s Attorney is pleased to close and hopefully give some closure to the Fox family and for all of Will County now that the real killer is behind bars,” said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s office on Wednesday.

    Eby pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

    Fox was reported missing from her home on June 5, 2004, by her father, Kevin Fox, who later was charged with her murder. He spent eight months in jail before DNA evidence proved he was innocent.

    Results of an autopsy showed Fox, whose body was found in Forked Creek in Wilmington about three miles from her home, died of drowning by homicidal means.

    Fox’s body was found three days after her disappearance. According to Eby’s written confession, Eby had been drinking and using cocaine the day of the murder. He said this prompted him to break into the Fox home, take Fox and sexually assault her.

    With a bandanna hiding his face, Eby put the little girl in the trunk of his car and drove to a nearby forest preserve. He bound her wrists and mouth with duct tape and sexually assaulted her in a men’s restroom.

    Because his bandanna slipped, Eby was afraid Fox could identify him so he took her to Forked Creek and held her under the water until she stopped struggling, Eby wrote in the letter.

    The Fox family was in support of Eby receiving a life sentence.

    “It was what the family wanted. They did not want to go through the emotional turmoil of a lengthy trial and with the conviction and sentencing, what could possibly be years, possibly decades (if they went for the death penalty),” said Pelkie.

    Fox’s mother, Melissa Fox, addressed Eby in her victim impact statement read in court last month.

    “I feel that if I have to live the rest of my life with the pain you have inflicted, you should have to live the rest of your life labeled as a child killer,” she said. “I’m opposed to you getting the death penalty and dying a quick, painless death."

    LONG ROAD

    Glasgow inherited the Fox case from his predecessor who originally charged Kevin Fox, Fox’s father, with his daughter’s murder. Kevin Fox spent eight months in jail awaiting trial until he was cleared of the crime with DNA evidence.

    Fox and his wife were awarded $12.2 million in damages after accusing Will County investigators of fabricating evidence. The amount was later reduced to $8.6 million.

    When Glasgow took over, he ordered the DNA test. Upon receiving the results, he dismissed the charges and released Kevin Fox from jail on June 17, 2005.

    During the investigation, a pair of Eby’s shoes with his name written on them were found along the creek and were collected as evidence. Eby wore the shoes when he killed Fox and removed the shoes when they became covered in mud. The shoes weren’t linked until years later.

    In addition, Eby was also interviewed by Will County detectives, who interviewed neighbors during the investigation, but he was not made a suspect.

    In 2009, Glasgow brought in the FBI to assist with the case. FBI agents interviewed Eby in Lawrenceville Correction Center, where he was serving time for an unrelated sexual assault that occurred after Fox was murdered. During the interview, Eby agreed to supply a DNA sample and was later charged when results came back conclusive.

    “Eby will be behind bars for the rest of his life, where he’ll never be able to prey on another innocent child,” said Pelkie.

    http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/art...7589/index.xml

  7. #7
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Riley Fox’s father rewards tipster who led to her killer

    The father of murdered 3-year-old Riley Fox has rewarded the anonymous tipster who helped identify his daughter’s killer.

    Kevin Fox attorney Kathleen Zellner won’t name the recipient, nor the amount of the reward. But she said the money was only paid after Fox learned why it took the person five years to lead investigators to Scott Eby.

    “She was under a lot of pressure,” Zellner said of the tipster. “(Eby) had attempted to kill her by setting her trailer on fire.”

    Kevin Fox was originally charged with his daughter’s murder after she was found dead in Wilmington in 2004. He could have faced the death penalty, but he was released in 2005 based on DNA evidence. Eby was charged in her death about five years later, and the convicted sex offender got life in prison after pleading guilty.

    The FBI has said Eby’s ex-girlfriend, Trisha Kiefer, led them to him. And though the agency gave her a $10,000 reward, the Foxes resisted paying her the $100,000 they’d offered.

    It’s not clear whether the Foxes have now changed their mind about Kiefer. But Zellner said they don’t want to discourage people from coming forward with information in other murder cases.

    “You want people to come forward with tips,” Zellner said. “If a reward’s offered, you want it to be paid.”

    http://www.suntimes.com/news/1041028...er-killer.html

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •