True Crime Vault: The Accused

Episode of 20/20 · September 22, 2026 · 1 h 24 min

David Muir revisits the 2004 murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, her father's coerced false confession, his DNA exoneration, and the FBI's identification of killer Scott Eby.

Summary

This 20/20 True Crime Vault episode, reported by David Muir, recounted the June 2004 abduction and murder of three-year-old Riley Fox in Wilmington, Illinois. Riley was taken from her family's living room overnight while her father Kevin slept, and her body was found bound, sexually assaulted and drowned in Forked Creek in Forsyth Woods. Family members described the community search and the Fox family's life before the crime.

Muir and interviewees described how Will County investigators focused on Kevin Fox, including a disputed forensic interview of Riley's brother Tyler and a 14-hour interrogation in which Kevin said he was told he failed a polygraph, shown a crime-scene photo, threatened, and offered a lesser charge before confessing to an accidental-death scenario. Muir noted that prosecutor Jeff Tomczak faced a tight re-election. Defense attorney Kathleen Zellner argued the confession was false and uncorroborated; after Jim Glasgow defeated Tomczak, private-lab DNA testing excluded Kevin, and charges were dropped after eight months. A federal civil jury later awarded the Foxes $15.5 million, reduced on appeal to about $8 million; the sheriff's office disputed Kevin's account.

In 2009 the FBI reopened the case. A tip from an ex-girlfriend led agents Lori Warren and Jeremy Rezar to imprisoned Scott Eby, who confessed to his mother, attempted suicide, and gave a videotaped confession. Eby described burglarizing a neighbor's home, entering the Fox house through the unlocked back door, and killing Riley after she saw his face. Overlooked clues included the neighborhood burglary, a red Chevy Beretta, shoes marked E-B-Y, and a police visit to Eby's home the same day. Eby pleaded guilty in 2010 and received life without parole; Melissa Fox reflected on grief and the couple's later divorce and remarriages.

Chapters

Linked moment · 0:41Skip to 0:41 using a listen link in the info box.
0:41
Introduction and the Fox family
The episode previews the case and introduces Kevin, Melissa, Tyler and Riley Fox.
6:09
The night Riley disappeared
Kevin brings the children home after a concert while Melissa is at a breast cancer walk, and Riley is gone by morning.
12:08
Search and discovery of the body
The town searches and Riley is found bound and drowned in Forked Creek, with shoes recovered nearby.
19:48
Funeral and Tyler's interview
Police surveil the funeral and conduct a forensic interview of Tyler that critics called a disaster.
27:18
Interrogation and confession
Amid an election, Kevin undergoes a 14-hour interrogation involving a polygraph ruse and confesses to an accident scenario.
34:42
Arrest and Zellner's defense
Kevin is jailed facing the death penalty while Kathleen Zellner tests and challenges the confession.
51:19
DNA exoneration
New prosecutor Jim Glasgow sends DNA to a private lab, which excludes Kevin, and charges are dropped.
56:03
Civil trial
The Foxes win a federal false-arrest verdict highlighting missed clues and a halted FBI DNA test.
1:02:14
FBI reopens the case
In 2009 FBI agents canvass Wilmington and a tip leads them to Scott Eby in prison.
1:09:53
Scott Eby's confession
Eby confesses to his mother, attempts suicide and gives a videotaped confession revealing missed clues.
1:22:20
Sentencing and aftermath
Eby pleads guilty and gets life; Melissa and Kevin reflect on grief, divorce and new families.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Julianne Himmelstein
Himmelstein argued that Tyler Fox was a key witness who should have been interviewed on the first day.
“Tyler Fox is an incredibly important witness. He's the first person who sees that his sister is missing. He should have been interviewed on day one”
Listen from 21:07 · Forensic interviewing of children
David Muir
Muir noted that prosecutor Jeff Tomczak was under growing pressure for a break in the case while facing a close election.
“there's this growing pressure on the chief prosecutor, Jeff Tomczak, for some sort of break in the case”
Listen from 27:18 · Murder of Riley Fox
Kathleen Zellner
Zellner argued prosecutors should have tested the confession because confessions must be corroborated.
“The state's attorney should have checked all of that out, because a confession has to be corroborated”
Listen from 43:12 · False confession
Kevin Fox
Kevin Fox said being shown a crime-scene photo of his dead daughter was his breaking point during interrogation.
“They showed me the picture of Riley in the creek, dead, bound, mud on her face. That was just the breaking point”
Listen from 49:06 · Police interrogation techniques
Kevin Fox
Kevin Fox said he went along with the detectives' story to escape the interrogation.
“I pretty much went along with their story to get out of there”
Listen from 50:13 · False confession
Julianne Himmelstein
Himmelstein said she would never prosecute a case resting solely on a confession without corroborating evidence.
“I would never in a million years prosecute a case with only one piece of evidence, and that one piece of evidence being a confession”
Listen from 50:38 · False confession
Kathleen Zellner
Zellner said jurors will convict a defendant who has confessed unless there is DNA evidence.
“jurors are going to convict somebody who's confessed to something unless you've got DNA evidence”
Listen from 51:19 · DNA evidence
Kathleen Zellner
Zellner said the key lesson of the case is to perform testing before making an arrest.
“If you want to take away one thought in this case is do the test before you make the arrest”
Listen from 53:30 · DNA evidence
Melissa Fox
Melissa Fox rejected the sheriff's claim of no forced entry, noting the back-door lock was already broken.
“You don't have to force yourself into a door that's already broken”
Listen from 57:53 · Will County Sheriff's Office
Kathleen Zellner
Zellner said the gas-station video did not show Kevin's car and could not hold up in court without a plate or clear face.
“You would have to have the license plate or a very clear picture of his face to ever have that hold up in court”
Listen from 58:19 · Surveillance video evidence
Scott Eby
Eby said he went house to house that night checking doors and windows for easy access to burglarize.
“I started walking around from house to house and checking doors and windows and stuff like that, you know, easy access into somebody's house”
Listen from 1:12:57 · Murder of Riley Fox
Kathleen Zellner
Zellner argued Scott Eby displayed numerous red flags that Wilmington police should have caught on the day of the murder.
“from the burglary convictions to the suicide attempts to the inquiries about Riley. I mean, he did everything but set a siren off at his house”
Listen from 1:21:30 · Cold case investigations
Melissa Fox
Melissa Fox said investigators' mistakes nearly ruined the family's chance of learning what happened, and that she hates them for it.
“But they almost completely ruined our chances of ever knowing what happened to our daughter. And so I hate them for that”
Listen from 1:21:49 · Will County Sheriff's Office

People

In the conversation

David MuirABC News anchor and 20/20 co-anchor
Melissa FoxMother of Riley Fox
Kevin FoxFather of Riley Fox, wrongly arrested for her murder
Kathleen ZellnerAmerican criminal defense and wrongful-conviction attorney
Julianne HimmelsteinFormer federal prosecutor experienced in child forensic interviews
Jim GlasgowWill County, Illinois, state's attorney who dropped charges against Kevin Fox
Lori WarrenFBI special agent who reopened the Riley Fox case
Jeremy RezarFBI special agent who worked the Riley Fox case
Chad FoxKevin Fox's older brother
Scott Eby

Discussed

Riley FoxThree-year-old murdered in Wilmington, Illinois, in June 2004
Tyler FoxRiley Fox's older brother, interviewed by investigators
Ed HayesWill County sheriff's detective involved in Kevin Fox's interrogation
Steven AveryWisconsin man featured in Making a Murderer, represented by Kathleen Zellner
Gerald KinneyChief judge of Will County who issued Scott Eby's arrest warrant

Topics

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Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley conclude the Watts family murders, covering Chris Watts's behavior, polygraph, confession, sentencing and reported paranormal events.

From the publisher

Who killed Riley Fox? David Muir reports new info on the 3-year-old's murder investigation. (OAD 5/8/21) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime·Documentary