True Crime Vault: The Accused
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Who was Riley Fox and what happened to her on the night she disappeared?
Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video.
It was an assassination-style killing, and everybody saw it.
A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burden of Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault.
Living the dream, and it all just shattered. Three-year-old Riley Fox was taken from her home in the middle of the night. It was something out of a movie. In an instant, my life was forever changed. You know, we have followed this case for more than a decade, and we've never been able to get this out of our mind. No. Did you have anything to do with the death of your daughter? Not at all. Not at all. There was this police interrogation, 14 hours in this room, and then the young father confesses. It was just unthinkable. Something about that just was like, oh my God. Most of us say, I would never confess to something I didn't do. People would be surprised. The family believes 100% in Kevin's innocence. They were so focused on this young father that there were signs all over the neighborhood.
The same night Riley disappeared, there was a burglary at the house right across the street. How could all of these signs be missed? That's when things really get intense. For the first time, we're now hearing from the FBI. They started the case all over again, and only then did we learn what really happened. My first day is jailbird. For one, I should not be here at all. I'm very disappointed in myself. I could hear people saying, we got the baby Riley killer, kind of singing it. And that is when it all had begun, the journey through the second nightmare of my life. I was the furthest person to do this to Riley, but yet here I
am. One family,
they were living the dream, and it all just shattered. Will you do a dance? Yeah. All right. Dance it up. Dance it up, baby. Kevin Fox is your all-American guy. A good union job as a painter.
Melissa
and Kevin went to high school together. They met after a volleyball game, and she asked him out for a date. We went to homecoming together, and we went to prom together. They were high school sweethearts. He's on the basketball team. She's a cheerleader. We were still dating when God made plans for us and we had Tyler. And then we got married when he was three. And had Riley a year after that. He was just such a loving, doting father. I feel like that's what I was put on this earth to do, honestly. That's my joy in life. Riley. He had an especially close relationship with Riley. The two of them were inseparable. Watch where you're going. What? She had this perfect black hair and perfect little round face. She'd just light up a room.
Go real fast. She was like a little pocket rocket. Run, run, run, run, run. Riley was a lot like Melissa. She was a spunky, sassy little girl. Riley, where you going? She could be a little princess. She loved to have her nails painted. She was funny. She was silly. She was just a sweetheart. Did you go fishing last night? Yes, I did. She wasn't afraid to get dirty and play. When I think of Riley, I picture her on Kevin's shoulders. She was always a daddy's girl. Daddy. Hi. Hi. I love you. I love you. She would make your heart melt, your hugs, her smile.
A really great portrait of the family emerged at the wedding of Kevin's brother. Riley
stole the show. In a little snow white princess dress, she had her hair whipped up into this confection of curls. There was a real long aisle and she was supposed to take a right hand turn. She kept on going up the stairs. She just wanted to be up in Kevin's arms. She didn't really care about throwing the flowers. One of the most moving images from that wedding was this photo of the family together. Kevin and Melissa, Tyler and Riley, this beautiful young family. And what became heartbreaking about it is that it was the last photo of them ever as a family together.
The weekend of June 5th is a turning point in the lives of the Fox family. Mom goes out of town on a breast cancer walk.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who was Riley Fox and what happened to her on the night she disappeared?
0:01–9:48
2
How did the initial police search and community manhunt unfold after Riley was reported missing?
9:48–21:08
3
What led investigators to focus on Kevin Fox’s 14‑hour interrogation and alleged confession?
21:08–31:00
4
Why did detectives use a polygraph test and how did it influence Kevin Fox’s statements?
31:00–40:15
5
What new DNA evidence was discovered and how did it impact the case against Kevin Fox?
40:15–52:19
6
How did Kathleen Zellner’s forensic strategy challenge the original confession?
52:19–1:02:51
7
What were the outcomes of the civil lawsuit and the criminal trial for the Fox family?
1:02:51–1:17:23
8
Who is the actual suspect identified by the FBI and what evidence ties them to Riley’s murder?
1:17:23–1:25:57