Shraman Mitra
ABC News’ ’20/20’ features the heinous and terrifying murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox in one of their episodes. Riley was drowned and left in a creek on June 6, 2004. She was found to have been restrained and gagged before being sexually assaulted. The community of Wilmington, Illinois, was shocked and bewildered as they couldn’t imagine anyone who would want to harm a toddler in this way. Still, when Scott Eby was finally arrested and connected to the crime, people witnessed the monster behind the man. If you want to know more about Scott Eby and where he is today, we have got you covered.
Who Is Scott Eby?
Scott Eby was a registered sex offender who had a long history of criminal charges against him. He was a repeat offender and had been to prison multiple times on various charges ranging from burglary to sexual assault to felonies. Around the time of Riley’s murder, he lived with his mother, about one mile away from Riley’s home. Still, Scott wasn’t on the Wilmington police’s radar when they initially investigated Riley’s murder.
With Kevin, Riley’s father, as the only suspect in their mind, the police were confident they had found their man. From 2004 to 2009, Scott roamed freely and was not suspected. But when the FBI began investigating the case, they started questioning everyone all over again. They also decided to comb through Wilmington to find any clues that would lead them to the killer. During one of these searches, the FBI came across a woman who claimed that she was the ex-girlfriend of Scott Eby.
When asked about the murder, she said that Scott had acted nonchalantly and carelessly when she mentioned Riley’s murder to him. Wanting to chase the lead down, they decided to visit Scott. When the FBI visited Scott in prison, he was doing time on an unrelated charge of sexual assault. Initially, he denied having to do anything with Riley’s murder but immediately after that, Scott told his mother, over a recorded prison call, that he might be going away to jail for life. A few days later, the prison where Scott was incarcerated reached out to the FBI and informed them that Scott had tried to commit suicide and had even written a letter with the subject “A Confession to Murder.”
The FBI then extracted Scott’s DNA and found it to be an exact match to the crime scene one. When Scott was questioned a second time, he confessed and told authorities that he was committing a burglary in the neighboring house and had broken into the Foxes’ living room to escape. There, he saw Riley and kidnapped her before sexually assaulting her in a public washroom. Scott also confessed to binding and gagging the toddler before drowning her to death. With a detailed confession on their hands and compelling DNA evidence, the FBI charged Scott Eby with the murder of Riley Fox.
Where Is Scott Eby Now?
After his arrest, Scott was charged with first-degree murder and predatory sexual assault. Once produced in court, he pleaded guilty to the charges and accepted a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. At his hearing, Melissa, Riley’s mother, addressed him through a powerful victim impact statement and said, “I came to face you so you would know how important standing up for Riley was to me. She was defenseless that night, and that makes you a coward and a monster.” Presently, Scott Eby is incarcerated at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Pontiac, Illinois.
Read More: Riley Fox Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
