Confessed killer in Riley Fox case dies in prison

The man serving a life sentence for the 2004 rape and murder of a Will County girl in a case that grabbed national headlines has died in prison, officials said.

Scott Eby, 52, who was convicted after he confessed to the murder of Riley Fox, 3, died in custody, officials with the Will County state’s attorney’s office confirmed Friday.

The news of Eby’s death was first reported by the Joliet Patch.

The Illinois Department of Corrections wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday evening. Searches in the department’s online inmate database did not show an entry, though Eby is still listed on the Illinois State Police’s sex offender registry.

Riley’s death gained widespread media attention after Will County authorities initially accused her father Kevin Fox of assaulting and killing his daughter, who Eby abducted while she was asleep in flamingo pajamas with a Dora the Explorer blanket.

Police had said Fox confessed to the murder and sexual assault in a videotaped…