Posted on 06/16/2010 11:28:06 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The man accused of killing 3-year-old Riley Fox, Scott Eby, left a big clue at the scene of the crime six years ago.
Eby, who was living about a mile from the Foxes in 2004, left a pair of mud-covered shoes at Forked Creek, where he allegedly raped and killed Fox. The shoes had his name written on them.
Police collected the shoes and put them into evidence but never followed up. They focused their case instead on the girl’s father, Kevin Fox who confessed to her murder. Charges were later dropped thanks to DNA evidence that excluded him.
“Sheriff’s office did miss the clue, but so did the FBI and the state’s attorney’s office,” a spokesman for the Will County Sheriff’s department said. Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas didn’t address the shoe snafu, but he did issue an apology to the family earlier this month.
"I don't think that this department is that proud where we are not going to admit any mistakes. We just want to find out how to do things better and hope it doesn't occur again," he said.
Kaupas said he plans to bring in outside investigators to review the case and their investigative protocols. "Sometimes have to bring in other people who aren't familiar with the area... to come in and show you that over a period of time you might have graduated into complacency with the way your police techniques work," he said.
Kaupas now admitted his department "obviously dropped the ball" and says he's lost sleep and agonized over this case.
"I apologize to [Kevin Fox] and the family," he said. "I don't know if he would ever see things our way, but I would try to explain... what kind of ball might have been dropped in this part of the investigation or that part of the investigation and what we are going to do to fix it." Kevin Fox's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said she admires Kaupas' courage in coming forward and apologizing to the family. Cops said they made a mistake
"Sheriff Kaupas had nothing to do with the miscarriage of justice in this case," she said.
Note: an earlier version of this story said Kevin Fox was convicted in his daughters death. He was never convicted, but spent 8 months in jail.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Riley-Fox-Killer-Left-Signed-Shoe-at-the-Scene-96460849.html#ixzz0r2eve8dQ
OK, I’m confused. The cops “focused their case instead on the girl’s father, Kevin Fox who confessed to her murder.” Why wouldn’t they?
WTF?
Details missing here?
They could start by finding who forced a false confession. And how.
How do you know that it was coerced?
It is not uncommon for completely innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit. The phenomenon has been studied extensively and found to be legitimate in a number of studies, private and publicly funded. For this reason, and many others, you should NEVER agree to be interviewed by police for any question more detailed than your name and date of birth, absent competent counsel.
Because that’s why innocent folks will confess to a crime they didn’t comit.
I can’t remember where the article was but it was clear his rights were violated. I think he was denied an attorney for 14 hours of questioning or something along those lines.
Sometimes they’re just nutz.
Kaupas now admitted his department "obviously dropped the ball" and says he's lost sleep and agonized over this case.
Uh, no.
"Complacency" and "dropping the ball" might have been involved if an innocent person's car was improperly impounded over a long weekend, or if a parking ticket were wrongly issued for a car that was parked legally.
As far as this case is concerned, how about "conspiring to deprive a person of their civil rights under the color of law" for starters...
The circumstances surroundinng the confession include a grief stricken father who may blame himself for the child’s death.....
Maybe he thought he should have been watching her more closely - whatever the reason....
It doesn’t appear that the police were grossly incompetent, they had a confession from someone who had access and opportunity....They just didn’t dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s”.....
As a result, a dangerous and disgusting criminal walked freely through their community for several months...
A conviction is a conviction. Doesn't matter whether the guy was innocent, because he's probable guilty of something.
As long as the case is cleared off the books, that's all that matters.
When I was a Company Commander, several M-16s were taken from a tent during a field exercise. The weapons were stored in a rack when near the entrance to a HQs Operation Center. The CID got involved and the investigation focused on 2 soldiers who had left during the time the weapons went missing. Under extreme pressure and interrogation the soldiers confessed to taking the weapons. Later, the weapons were found on another individual who had stolen the weapons and he admitted he was the one who had stolen the weapons.
“It doesn’t appear that the police were grossly incompetent,”
Wow. I disagree.
OK, I’m lost. I didn’t kill my daughter (or son, or wife, or brother etc.) so I CONFESS to having killed her. Sure, that makes sense. Look, they could waterboard me and use bamboo splints, but if I didn’t do it I’m NOT confessing. Duh!
Coerced? How did they coerce him??? Torture? I doubt it. All you have to say id I want MY LAWYER! End of interrogation. What is it with this nuts. I didn’t kill my daughter but I better confess anyway. Duh?
Commit. BS. Every police station in America knows they can’t get away with that kind of backroom crap anymore.
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