Defrosting Cold Cases

Riley Fox’ murderer’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley’s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a creek near [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Today, a psychologist examined Scott Eby, the man accused of killing Riley Fox. Dr. Randi Zoot did the work with Scott Eby while in the Will County Courthouse. She is trying to determine if he is fit for trial. The legal concept of fitness is related to a defendant’s ability to understand court proceedings and [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Authorities will get a closer look at the hands of the man accused of sexually assaulting and drowning 3-year-old Riley Fox. Smudged prints were found on the back door to the Foxes’ Wilmington home at the time of the 2004 abduction and murder, but testing of those prints has yet to find a match, case [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, FBI, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Looking back it is always easier to point out how many mistakes police made during an investigation. I try to remain objective. Working with many serving men and women, I partly know the pressure they are under. But some goof-ups need to be exposed especially since it could have prevented an even bigger one. This [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

The Fox family of Illinois finally has some closure after an imprisoned sex offender was charged with the 2004 murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox, a crime that Riley’s father originally confessed to committing. It’s been a terrible ordeal for the family because even with DNA clearing Kevin in 2005, many people persisted in the belief [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, False Confessions, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Rape kits, Recording Interrogations, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim