In a remarkable series of admissions under oath, former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx stated last month that she personally felt two exonerated individuals, whose certificates of innocence were unchallenged by her office, were actually guilty of “a heinous act of murder.”
One of these individuals has recently reached a substantial wrongful conviction settlement with the city of Chicago, pending approval by the City Council. His alleged accomplice is set to present his case to a federal jury next week.
During a four-hour deposition, Foxx disclosed that her announcement at a City Club of Chicago luncheon, where she said she would not seek a third term, was improvised. She admitted lacking a factual basis when she told attendees that Marilyn Mulero, a woman whose wrongful conviction lawsuit prompted the deposition, “went to prison for a crime which she didn’t commit” and was “wrongfully convicted.”
Mulero is reportedly using these spontaneous remarks as evidence of her innocence, according to an attorney who informed Foxx during the deposition.
‘A heinous act of murder’
Foxx volunteered during questioning that she believed two men, who were exonerated and later awarded certificates of innocence for the 1998 stabbing deaths of Mariano and Jacinta Soto in Bucktown, were guilty: Arturo DeLeon-Reyes and Gabriel Solache.
Convicted in 2000, DeLeon-Reyes was sentenced to life, while Solache was given the death penalty. In 2003, Gov. George Ryan commuted all death row sentences to life terms.
Confessions obtained by Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara were central to the prosecution’s case against the two men. Guevara has been involved in cases leading to 43 exonerations, most occurring during Foxx’s tenure, costing the city tens of millions in settlements, including a $29 million payout earlier this year for four cases.
Foxx testified she granted Guevara immunity to testify about the DeLeon-Reyes and Solache cases, despite his history, because she believed the accused committed the crime. “We believed that the evidence suggested that the defendants had committed a heinous act of murder,” she stated.
However, in a 2017 hearing, Judge James Obbish found Guevara lied on the stand, even with immunity. “If he would lie after being given immunity under oath, why would this court… believe that he was telling the truth when he first testified?” Obbish questioned.
Foxx’s office dropped the charges against both men eight days later. Without legal status in the U.S., Solache and DeLeon-Reyes were detained by federal authorities for deportation to Mexico.
In 2018, both men filed federal lawsuits and sought certificates of innocence to declare their innocence, clear their names, and gain eligibility for compensation. Foxx’s administration opposed these petitions for nearly five years before withdrawing the opposition without explanation. Solache received his certificate in November 2022, followed by DeLeon-Reyes the next year.
Last week, Solache’s attorneys reached a settlement with the city, awaiting City Council approval, as reported by WTTW. The settlement amount has not been disclosed, but Council approval is needed for amounts over $100,000.
DeLeon-Reyes is set to present his case to a federal jury next Monday, with his attorneys filing a motion to exclude Foxx’s deposition statements from the courtroom.
‘But you want to ask me about Jussie’
The deposition was related to a separate federal lawsuit filed by Mulero and Madeline Mendoza, two women exonerated after convictions for the 1992 murders of Hector Reyes and Jimmy Cruz in Humboldt Park, also investigated by Guevara.
Guevara’s attorney, Timothy Scahill, questioned Foxx about meetings between her, her staff, and the Exoneration Project, a nonprofit with lawyers largely from Loevy & Loevy, a firm active in wrongful conviction claims against the city.
Gov. JB Pritzker granted Mulero clemency in 2020 after 26 years in prison, despite opposition from Foxx’s office. Her conviction was vacated when Foxx’s office withdrew its objection in August 2022, followed by Mendoza’s in January 2023.
Throughout the questioning, Foxx often stated she had no recollection of Mulero’s case specifics or any investigations into her office’s decisions, for which she was ultimately responsible.
At one point, Scahill played a video from Foxx’s April 25, 2023, City Club luncheon appearance, where she announced she would not seek a third term. Mulero was present and approached Foxx before the event.
“I was surprised to see her,” Foxx testified, adding she didn’t recall meeting Mulero before and that her presence was unsolicited.
“I remember she came and introduced herself as Marilyn Mulero. She had tears in her eyes. And I was like, Mulero, that sounds vaguely familiar. And she reminded me that her case had been one of the cases that had been vacated,” Foxx recalled.
Once on stage, Foxx said she discarded her prepared talk and improvised a nearly 45-minute speech, “to the frustration of my team.”
Midway through, she expressed frustration over the Jussie Smollett case overshadowing her administration. As a contrast, she asked Jose Cruz, another exonerated individual in a Guevara-related case, to stand as she briefly recounted his story. She similarly highlighted a woman exonerated after disgraced officer Ronald Watts planted drugs in her car, and acknowledged Anjanette Young, involved in a notorious mistaken CPD raid.
“But you want to ask me about Jussie,” Foxx noted, before mentioning a fourth name: Marilyn Mulero.
Off camera, Mulero stood to applause. Foxx described Mulero’s wrongful conviction as a young girl, spending most of her formative years in prison due to a crime she didn’t commit and was wrongfully convicted based on evidence and testimony from a corrupt officer.
“Had there been some finding from the State’s Attorney’s Office… in which there had been some finding that she was innocent?” Scahill asked.
“Not that I’m aware,” Foxx responded.
“So I guess in your own words, what was the basis for saying that Ms. Mulero went to prison for a crime she didn’t commit?”
“I certainly regret making an off-the-cuff statement about Ms. Mulero’s case,” Foxx admitted. “I talked to her immediately upon arriving, she approached me. I had not seen her, and she had told me her story. I was recounting what she was telling me because I had never seen her before. And the emotions of it all is what that statement was generated by, not based on any information that had come subsequent to the investigation that happened.”
Scahill pressed on, asking if Foxx was merely echoing Mulero’s words in the moment’s heat.
“That’s a fair statement. Yes,” Foxx acknowledged.
“Okay,” Scahill continued. “Are you aware that Ms. Mulero has cited these comments both in her lawsuit in this case and she cited them in her petition for certificate of innocence sort of implying that you had made some finding that she was innocent?”
“I was not aware of that,” Foxx replied.
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