Back in 2004, Kevin Fox was accused of killing his three-year-old daughter Riley in suburban Wilmington, and though he was cleared by DNA evidence, his life was never the same.
This week, that life was cut short, as Fox was killed in a head-on collision in Arkansas, according to authorities.
“Tragic. Tragic loss," said Fox's attorney, Kathleen Zellner. "I felt..my first reaction was to feel just deep sorrow for his family.”
That was Zellner's reaction to the news of her client’s death. Fox was killed Monday in a head on crash in Arkansas where he moved after the events of 2004.
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“He was traveling down a two lane highway and a car that was coming towards him crossed over the center line and hit him head on and he was killed instantly at the scene,” she said.
The driver of the other vehicle also died, officials said.
Fox made headlines when he was arrested by the Will County Sheriff’s Department, accused of raping and murdering his daughter Riley in 2004. He served eight months in jail charged with her murder before DNA evidence exonerated him, with the real killer ultimately confessing to the crime.
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He and his then wife were awarded millions of dollars in damages, but what was most important to him was clearing his name.
“He was completely vindicated," Zellner said. "We had been offered millions of dollars to settle the case and he refused to do that. On the eve of trial he said that he didn’t care if we got 25 cents, he wanted his name cleared.”
Since his exoneration and his name was cleared, Fox left Illinois and moved to Arkansas. He remarried, started a business and moved on with his life that included three children.
Those children are now left without their father after his death Monday.
“Even though his life was cut short and it’s tragic for the people that loved him, he led an incredible life. He was just the nicest warmest person,” Zellner added.
Fox was 46 years old. The cause of the crash has not been released.
