GUILTY IL - Riley Fox, 3, Wilmington, 6 June 2004

[Maddy's Mom]

Guilfoyle said Riley's then 6-year-old brother, Tyler, told him his father left the house during the early morning on the day Riley was killed. He also said Tyler told him his father later was using a clothes dryer, while there was water on the floor of a nearby garage.

But Guilfoyle said Tyler did not know if Riley was with Fox when he allegedly left the home. Earlier in the trial, Tyler briefly took the stand and was asked, "Did you tell [detectives] your father went with Riley?" He responded, "No."

Zellner suggested Tyler's initial statement was fabricated, which Guilfoyle denied on the stand, saying that as a person and sworn officer, he would never make up evidence.

Was it fabricated? Of COURSE it was! What 6 yr old is going to get up in the middle of the night, wander to the garage to watch their Dad do laundry, and actually notice and retain that there is water on the floor? And at this point while he is observing all these things, he does not yet notice that his sister who was next to him in the living room is no where around? Then, after he sees all these things, he goes back to sleep in the living room rather than wandering into his own bedroom?? This just BUGS me! And the way the sentence is written "water on the floor of a nearby garage". That does not even indicate it was the Foxes garage.

 

[golfmom]

Do you want to know why KZ got that report in APRIL 05? That was the month that KZ filed contempt on WC for sending the physical evidence to the wrong lab and the month that Phil Mock gave his tantrum interview about the internet being the newest place to plead a case.

Finally, please keep in mind that FEBRUARY 05 is when the prosecution admitted in court that they had no physical evidence and had turned over all materials. The defense at that time asked for a motion to dismiss. So, between February and April this "evidence" magically appeared.

Zellner also noted that Guilfoyle's June 22, 2004, report detailing what Tyler told him was approved by Sgt. Edward Hayes, another defendant who was not part of the detective unit at the time. He began supervising the case in October 2004. Guilfoyle said Hayes was pulling "double duty" at the time.

Zellner also said the report of what Tyler said was turned over to the defense in April 2005, about 10 months later.

 

[genecam]

This comment from Chicago Tribune reader after reading about Guilfoyle's testimony says it all:

"What a creepy slimeball Guilfoyle is. Bullying a six year old boy and twisting and distorting his comments to turn the boy against his father. Guilfoyle is not only a poor excuse for a law enforcement officer, he is a sorry excuse for a human being, and so are the rest of the defendants."

 

[golfmom]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm .........

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5792915

But attorney Kathleen Zellner is perhaps saving her best testimony for last by calling Kevin's wife, Melissa, to the stand Thursday as one of the last few witnesses. Melissa was away from their Wilmington home the morning of June 6, 2004 when riley was first reported missing. She was in Chicago for a breast cancer walk.

...................

During her hour and 15-minute testimony, Melissa laid the groundwork for the Fox family dynamic, saying that Kevin was an amazing father and had a close relationship with Riley.

 

[golfmom]

Today there are a number of articles out there detailing Melissa's testimony. What was shoved aside is the FBI testimony. The timing of the request to discontinue testing is highly suspicious. November 3 was the day after the election. Hayes did not cancel "superfluous" testing as the defense as argued. He canceled DNA testing and asked them to focus on establishing paternity and then canceled testing all together.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox_30nov30,0,7924054.story

But a deposition from an FBI forensic examiner read Thursday said a sheriff's sergeant had asked on Nov. 3, 2004—a week after Fox was arrested—to end DNA testing, and to instead focus on establishing that Fox was indeed Riley's biological parent. The FBI agent, Brendan Shea, stated that a statement such as the one given by Kevin Fox would not otherwise automatically end DNA testing.

Shea stated the request came during a confusing time in the investigation, when it was unclear what investigators wanted from him. Kevin Fox's attorneys have maintained investigators singled out Fox as the only possible suspect and disregarded evidence that showed otherwise.

"I was being told to hold off for a moment to decide where next to proceed," Shea's statement said. "Then I was told to discontinue all the samples."

I don't care how confusing a time it was ... Hayes discontinued the testing. There was absolutely NO reason to discontinue those tests. He got the FBI to back off, and giggled for months knowing that everyone was waiting on test results that would never be run.

Oh, wait, it was another honest mistake. He just forgot he called the FBI and canceled the tests.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.brianmcdaniel.org/?p=554

Brian McDaniel blogs about his experience testifying at the Fox Civil Trial.

 

[genecam]

Today there are a number of articles out there detailing Melissa's testimony. What was shoved aside is the FBI testimony. The timing of the request to discontinue testing is highly suspicious. November 3 was the day after the election. Hayes did not cancel "superfluous" testing as the defense as argued. He canceled DNA testing and asked them to focus on establishing paternity and then canceled testing all together.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox_30nov30,0,7924054.story

I don't care how confusing a time it was ... Hayes discontinued the testing. There was absolutely NO reason to discontinue those tests. He got the FBI to back off, and giggled for months knowing that everyone was waiting on test results that would never be run.

Oh, wait, it was another honest mistake. He just forgot he called the FBI and canceled the tests.

If I was a law enforcement officer I would really be angry at the defendants in this case. They are an embarrassment to the profession. It is becoming clearer as each day in this trial passes that their actions were not well-intended, and that these were not just "a few honest minor mistakes." We should remember, this was a death penalty case. If these detectives had their way, Kevin might be sitting on death row now awaiting the gas chamber.

I know we have some law enforcement people posting and lurking here. I am surprised none of them have weighed in on this topic. I know it is hard to break the blue code of silence, no matter how outrageous the actions of these Sheriff's deputies are proving to be. In fact, there are probably some Chicago police officers who would hold a fund raiser for Jon Burge today if asked to do so.

I sincerely hope none of the jurors are of the type that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, they will just flat out refuse to believe that law enforcement officers are capable of the deceit, dishonesty and total lack of integrity and morals that these Sheriff's deputies have been proven to be.

 

[golfmom]

Just for snicks and giggles ... I googled "Brendan Shea" DNA. That is one highly regarded FBI analyst, who works on incredibly high-profile and sensitive cases for the FBI.
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[golfmom]

Heartbreaking testimony by Melissa ....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-foxweb30dec01,0,7329698.story

She said a detective from LaPorte, Ind., told her that Deputy Scott Swearengen did not contact him about a similar crime in the Indiana town in September 2004. Swearengen has filed a police report stating he did.

I wonder when that report was dated, who reviewed it, and where the original notes are? :bang:

 

[genecam]

Heartbreaking testimony by Melissa ....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-foxweb30dec01,0,7329698.story

She said a detective from LaPorte, Ind., told her that Deputy Scott Swearengen did not contact him about a similar crime in the Indiana town in September 2004. Swearengen has filed a police report stating he did.

I wonder when that report was dated, who reviewed it, and where the original notes are? :bang:

During her testimony, Melissa:

". . . also described an alleged verbal assault leveled at her by Sgt. Edward Hayes in the sheriff's headquarters hours before Kevin was arrested. After being told Kevin failed a lie-detector test, which an expert has testified was inconclusive, Hayes went into a profanity-laced tirade and told her Kevin did not care about her or her children and had killed her daughter, she said.

"'What little spirit of life I did have in me was crushed,' she said, describing the moment. She never believed her husband had harmed their daughter, she said."

There should be a special place in hell reserved for Hayes, Guilfoyle, Swearingen, Wachtl and Dombroski where they should rot in misery for all eternity next to their buddy Ruettiger who is already there. There is no excuse for what they have done here. It is a shame that they have immunity from criminal charges for their actions, because their actions were truly criminal. They should all at least be fired after this is over, and Kaupus should resign. The Will County Sheriff's Office - totally corrupt from top to bottom.

 

[golfmom]

Every day, I end up having more questions than answers after reading the articles. I wish that there was a little more information on this expert. Who was it? What did they testify to? What made them believe that it was a "false" confession? etc. etc. etc.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/servi...saturday/chi-fox_01_bothdec01,0,7471410.story

An expert on interrogations testified Friday that detectives extracted a "false confession" from Fox during a 14-hour interrogation.

 

[golfmom]

The art of "EARNESTLY" not reporting anything.

I know I said that I wouldn't comment on the reporting by the Herald News, but yesterday's column by Brian Stanley still has me in outrage mode. Both Brian Stanley and Stewart Warren are wasting their time attending this trial based on their reports. Thank goodness for the Trib otherwise a lot of important testimony would have gone unreported.

Here's what the HNs found fit to print regarding the FBI forensic specialist's testimony:

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/674367,4_1_JO30_FOX_S1.article

Acting for the part
Following McDaniel's testimony, the court watched as a deposition was read into the report. Because Brendan Shea, a forensic specialist with the FBI, currently is working outside of the country, he was unable to testify at the trial.

Judge John W. Darrah told the jury depositions can be allowed as testimony in federal cases.

With Fox's attorney Doug Johnson and defense attorney Joan Kubalanza reading the questions they had asked Shea earlier this year, the part of the agent was played by John T. Burke.

Burke is a private investigator and believes he was called by Fox's attorneys because he works near the Federal Courthouse.

"I've been called an actor, but I'm not. I've never seen this sort of thing in court before," he said.

So from reading the above, are you able to discern what the FBI forensic specialist was testifying about? Because all I can see is a lot of reporting on NOTHING. :doh:

You may be curious as to what was going on, I know I was patiently waiting for this testimony because it was IMPORTANT. The plaintiff's claim WC Sheriff Det. Hayes CANCELLED the DNA tests that the FBI was supposed to run. The defendant's countered back that Hayes only canceled "superfluous" testing. (Although I'm curious what would be considered superfluous testing in a child abduction case.) The only testimony that could refute the defendant's claims would be from the FBI forensic specialist. Relying on the Herald News for news provides us with NOTHING. No answer to this critical question.

So, what was the FBI specialists testimony? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox_30nov30,1,5518745.story

"I was being told to hold off for a moment to decide where next to proceed," Shea's statement said. "Then I was told to discontinue all the samples."

I guess the Herald News determined Brendan Shea's testimony ...
.... the news that wasn't fit to print ...

 

[Maddy's Mom]

Every day, I end up having more questions than answers after reading the articles. I wish that there was a little more information on this expert. Who was it? What did they testify to? What made them believe that it was a "false" confession? etc. etc. etc.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/servi...saturday/chi-fox_01_bothdec01,0,7471410.story

An expert on interrogations testified Friday that detectives extracted a "false confession" from Fox during a 14-hour interrogation.

This is one instance where Brian reported more info than Hal....

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/676856,4_1_JO02_FOX_S1.article


Joseph Buckley, president of an interview and interrogation training company, testified on behalf of Kevin Fox Friday in federal court.

"He behaved as an innocent person would," Buckley said.
He (grew upset) when he was accused. He stood up and threatened to hit the officers during his interrogation."

I am really glad to see that he did get angry and threatened these people. So many people have speculated that he just sat there, stone dumb, throughout the majority of the interrogation, and then just admitted to killing Riley.As Buckley pointed out, getting angry and lashing out at being wrongly accused is perfectly typical of the WRONGLY ACCUSED.

 

[golfmom]

As per the ABA

What is probable cause?
Probable cause is defined as facts sufficient to support a reasonable belief that criminal activity is probably taking place or knowledge of circumstances indicating a fair probability that evidence of crime will be found. It requires more than a mere "hunch," but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

So that leads me to ponder ... what exactly was their probable cause? Kaupas testified that at the time of Kevin's arrest that there wasn't evidence to arrest him. So, I went back through the articles to see as to what they've testified to so far in the civil trial that would lead them to reasonably suspect that it must have been KF who committed this crime?

1. Swearengen had a hunch. Can't dispute a hunch, but it doesn't count for squat.

2. Melissa's statement. Which isn't much of anything when you really look at it. She didn't say "Kevin, if you did this .... blah blah blah" Melissa's statement on it's own is not enough to give someone probable cause.

3. Tyler's statement. ummmmm completely unbelievable testimony that a child goes from curled up in a ball denying his father left to being a little Realtor and implicating his daddy. Destruction of handwritten notes and a report authorized by a lead detective that was not assigned to the case at the time the report was supposedly made hurts believability as well.

4. No physical evidence

5. Necessary to change the coroner's report to fit the theory that KF committed the crime.

6. Necessary to change the polygraph results from indeterminable to failure.

7. Something hokey about the videotape from the gas station. I think that the detectives absolutely knew that the tape was wrong and were using it anyway. Why else did they refuse to turn this over in a timely manner for discovery?

8. ETA, I forgot to add the suspicious non-emergency call that Kevin made to report Riley missing. Quite frankly, I forgot it because when my son disappeared I too called the non-emergency line. It just seemed such a reasonable thing to do in the middle of my trying very hard not to panic.

There was absolutely no evidence linking Kevin to the crime prior to his confession and the confession is completely suspect. IMO no probable cause. Of course, as the defendant's put on their case perhaps more information will come out as to why they believed they had probable cause. Right now there is more probable cause to arrest Drew Peterson than there was to arrest Kevin.

Additional considerations for the jury are the cancellation of the FBI tests, they ignored the letter from the attorney who asked that no one be questioned without his presence, the disappearance of all hand written notes, and the missing discovery items of an exculpatory nature.

 

[golfmom]

As usual the media messes up even the most simple of reports.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kevin.fox.trial.2.602121.html
.............
Fox is suing former Will County State's Attorney Jeff Tomczak, along with sheriff's office officials, among others.

The lawsuit claims Tomczak rushed to judgment against Kevin Fox when the pressure was on to make someone responsible for Riley's death. Tomczak was up to for reelection at the time of Fox's arrest in the high-profile case, but he ended up losing to James Glasgow, who had also served as state's attorney before him.

The trial began about a month ago.

NEW AT 5PM: CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports on Kevin Fox's testimony.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/680093,fox120407.article

Fox said he first learned Riley was missing when his son Tyler woke him up with, “Dad, Riley's gone.” He thought his son was playing a prank but searched his and a neighbor's home for 20 minutes before calling the police.

Fox testified that he called the non-emergency number instead of 911 because he felt that was for serious concerns and he expected to track down his daughter.

“I considered myself a great father,” he said. “I was in denial. I didn't think she would go anywhere. I wanted her to be in that house so bad.”

 

[golfmom]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox04_webdec05,1,7337762.story

Fox recounted how his son, then 6, woke up about 8 a.m. June 6, 2004, and told him Riley was missing. Melissa Fox was in Chicago, taking part in a cancer fundraising walk.

"He woke me up and said, 'Dad, Riley is gone,' " Fox said. "I looked at him and said, 'What did you say?' And he said, 'Dad, Riley is gone.' "

At first he figured Tyler and Riley, whom he called "little pranksters," were playing some kind of game, he said. But after searching the home and talking to a neighbor without finding Riley, he decided to call police on the department's non-emergency number.

"It was hard for me to call, because Riley was supposed to be there," he said, at times getting choked up during his testimony. "She was in my care."

The defense has argued he was unusually calm when he made the call, a recording of which has been played in court. "I hear myself talking but trying to hold in my crying," Fox testified, to explain the tone of the call.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=89621

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/681221,CST-NWS-Fox05.article
In lurid and dramatic testimony in federal court Tuesday, Fox said one detective showed him a picture of his dead 3-year-old daughter Riley with duct tape over her mouth and panties missing. After nearly 14 hours of interrogation in October 2004, they offered Fox a deal to admit to involuntary manslaughter.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/681092,4_1_JO05_FOX_S1.article
CHICAGO -- Kevin Fox blamed himself for his daughter's death long before he found out sheriff's detectives did.

"I blamed myself that whole summer," he told a packed courtroom Tuesday.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-foxboth5dec05,1,5219931.story
During the nearly 14-hour interrogation of Kevin Fox that ended in his arrest for the sexual assault and murder of his 3-year-old daughter, police failed to explain his rights, told him to stay put when he tried to leave and ignored his request for a lawyer, Fox testified Tuesday.

 

[golfmom]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5816526

After court proceedings concluded Wednesday, defense attorney Robert Smith told reporters his clients no longer believe Kevin Fox committed the murder; however evidence pointed to Fox's guilt at the time.