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

[genecam]

The Trib published a great article outlining the trial to date.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox_bd_16dec16,1,4772636.story?page=1

......

When mulling whether the tape would be shown, Darrah posed a question the jury will decide.

"If you have a voluntary, un-coerced statement that we know as a matter of scientific fact is 100 percent dead false, how do you explain its being made?" he asked.

I hope that exact question is included verbatim in the judge's instructions to the jury. I don't think anything sums up the case better than that.

I just love this judge. I think he sees Will County LE for what it is. I hope and pray the jury sees it the same way.

 

[golfmom]

Well, it's in the jury's hands now ... there's a number of articles out this morning covering the closing arguments. KZ has requested $10M for Melissa and $34M for Kevin

One of the most frustrating parts of following the civil trial has been the lack of information from the media. The Herald News is studiously avoiding reporting anything that may reflect badly upon the defendants. Reading their reports leaves one wondering why there even is a trial. The Trib, while providing much better reporting has this nasty habit of altering or disappearing news reports. Often, no sooner than I quote an article, the article is stripped, leaving me again with a lukewarm insight of the courtroom and testimony. Ya gotta be quick if you want to catch those articles before the editors start trimming.

... it is still Illinois after all ...

 

[tezi]

Golfmom, I just wanted to say thank you for updating us about this case! I haven't been online much the last few days, but I am going to read the articles you posted.

I hope the jury comes back big for the Foxes! Lord knows they deserve some sort of compensation for the he!! LE put them through! I know the money won't bring back Riley, nothing will bring back Riley, but this family deserves some sort of compensation for what LE and the DA did to them.

 

[golfmom]

Golfmom, I just wanted to say thank you for updating us about this case! I haven't been online much the last few days, but I am going to read the articles you posted.

I hope the jury comes back big for the Foxes! Lord knows they deserve some sort of compensation for the he!! LE put them through! I know the money won't bring back Riley, nothing will bring back Riley, but this family deserves some sort of compensation for what LE and the DA did to them.

Oh Tez! thank you so much ... :blowkiss:

I hate waiting on juries. You just never know what's gonna happen.
I think the defendant's focus on probable cause was ultimately a red herring. They were trying to redirect the juror's attention off of what the trial was really about ... the violation of civil rights. IMO, they were grabbing at the only straw they could find, arguing that if we had PC, then it was perfectly o.k. to violate Kevin's rights. If everyone's looking over at probable cause, maybe they won't notice those civil rights violations ... which, after all, this trial is all about.

 

[golfmom]

Win, lose or draw, Kathleen put on a brilliant case.

By the last minute withdrawal of Tomczak she managed to block the entry of the video tape. Which forced the defendant's to end with donuts and 'burgers.

She managed to counter just about every bit of the very thin "probable cause" the defendant's were spouting.

Between Denton (autopsy), Shea (FBI), Budde (evidence tech) and the polygraph expert she neatly boxed the defendant's in the fabrication of evidence against Kevin.

By choosing not to go up against the prosecutor's she avoided the whole quagmire of prosecutorial immunity AND closed the "we were just following orders" escape hatch for the defendants.

She scored BIG with the defendant's own forensic evidence of the duct tape which confirmed the DNA results from the rape kit that were handled privately.

Oddly, some of the most damning testimony came during the defendant's own case. The testimony of Deputy Chief Nick Ficarello (besides hamburgers) bolstered Kevin and Melissa's claims when he denied Hayes was yelling at Melissa, but had to intervene because "I felt the need to step between them to stop the unconstructive dialogue that was happening between them." The other nail he put in their coffin was that it was no biggie that the detectives didn't know or follow the law regarding the handwritten notes.

 

[crash676]

Just stated on the radio $15.5 awarded to the Foxes. 9.5 to Kevin and $6m to Melissa. Have not seen it in print on news yet.. Just an FYI

 

[YelloHammer]

Here it is in print: http://www.wbbm780.com:80/Verdict-Reached-In-Fox-Trial/1369597:dance:

 

[golfmom]

WOW! ya'll beat me here!

Here's the trib's article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox21_webdec21,0,960017.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout

 

[golfmom]

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14900112/d...chi_break&ts=T&tmi=chi_break_1_02530312202007

Kevin Fox and his wife Melissa cried as the verdict was read Thursday in federal court in Chicago.

The jury awarded $9.3 million to Kevin Fox and $6.2 to Melissa Fox. They're suing four sheriff's detectives, the estate of a fifth detective and the county.

 

[Maddy's Mom]

:clap: :clap: :woohoo: :woohoo: :dance: :dance:


I don't even have words. Just Smilies!!!!

 

[golfmom]

:clap: :clap: :woohoo: :woohoo: :dance: :dance:


I don't even have words. Just Smilies!!!!

I'm so happy for them. Hopefully, they can start rebuilding their lives.

 

[genecam]

Sometimes there is justice in the world. And even better, sometimes we live long enough to see it.

Now I hope Will County transfers Riley's murder investigation to the Illinois Attorney General so that someone, finally, will be looking for the monster that killed her. Maybe there will be a break like there was Tuesday in the 1979 Gary, Indiana murder case. It will probably take something like that, given how cold the trail is now.

And maybe all of these detectives will be fired and Sheriff Kaupas will have the grace to resign. It's a shame that the Will County taxpayers will have to foot the bill through the County's insurance carrier, and that the detectives won't have to pay personally from paycheck deductions for the rest of their lives.

 

[Maddy's Mom]

I'm so happy for them. Hopefully, they can start rebuilding their lives.

I hope they move to another state. But all of their family is here. So I don't know if they will. But - God Bless them. Knowing that others believe in them will hopefully give them some peace this holiday season.

 

[golfmom]

Considering they have a couple more civil trials to go with Hayes, I suspect they won't throw him to the curb yet ... it would be like admitting they were <gasp> wrong.

 

[golfmom]

The TOPIX thread attached to the Tribune article has gone INSANE. There's some really ugly people over there.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/T66JDMA4IEPF6GRGQ

 

[golfmom]

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=99460&src=109
In a victory for the defense, however, the jury did not award any damages that alleged the officers conspired to frame Fox.

 

[golfmom]

More details from the Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox21_webdec21,0,960017.story?coll=chi_features_promo

 

[golfmom]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox21_webdec21,1,6813471.story

:waitasec: Jurors determined Sgt. Edward Hayes, three deputies assigned as detectives to the case, the estate of a fifth and the county were liable for trying to railroad Fox.

Even though the jury found for the Foxes, they rejected the most serious allegation, that the detectives had conspired.:waitasec:

 

[golfmom]

Maybe the jurors thought that the detectives didn't have probable cause, but engage in a conspiracy ? ? ?

 

[golfmom]

Just caught abc news and they said WC state's attorney will APPEAL.