30 Days Later, Detectives Have No Idea Who Killed Fox Lake Cop - Or If He Killed Himself

posted Oct. 1, 2015

A full month after a Fox Lake police lieutenant died from a single bullet wound, detectives still don’t know who pulled the trigger — or even if the veteran officer died by his own hand.

“This is still an ongoing homicide investigation,” Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said of the effort to determine who killed Lt. Charles Joseph “G.I. Joe” Gliniewicz.

But when asked whether suicide had been ruled out by detectives, Filenko replied, “Nothing is off the table.”

During a Thursday morning press conference outside the Fox Lake police station, Filenko released a few new details about the investigation. He said nine unknown DNA samples were recovered from Gliniewicz’s body, three of which were “acceptable” for testing. One of the three was confirmed to have come from a male. Filenko also said more than 100 individuals — “anyone who had direct or indirect contact with Lt. Gliniewicz” — have been swabbed for DNA comparison against the samples.

The remote area where Gliniewicz, 52, was found showed signs a struggle had taken place, Filenko said, but he refused to elaborate on what those signs might be.

Filenko also said Gliniewicz was shot twice. One round hit the front of his torso but did not penetrate his bulletproof vest, he said, comparing the impact to the blow from a “sledgehammer hitting you in the side.” The second, fatal shot hit Gliniewicz’s “upper left chest region.”

Gunshot residue testing conducted on Gliniewicz’s hands shed no light on the veteran officer’s death, Filenko said. Gliniewicz may have fired a gun, he said, or his hands might merely have been close to one when it discharged.

“In other words, these (test results) are inconclusive,” he said.

Filenko confirmed Gliniewicz was killed with his own handgun but would not say how many times the .40-caliber pistol had been fired or where it was found in relation to the lieutenant’s body.

Gliniewicz was killed shortly after he started his shift the morning of Sept 1. He had been walking around a secluded section of the sleepy northern Illinois town for about 20 minutes when he radioed in that he had spotted two white men and a black man he believed to be “suspicious.” He then reported that he was going to confront them, police said.

After first declining an offer to send backup officers, Gliniewicz called in for assistance and said the men were running into a swamp. Two officers arrived to help Gliniewicz but found him already dead on the ground.

The day before, Gliniewicz met with village leaders about vandalism and reports of squatters in that same area, Filenko said.

Filenko said he provided the additional information to give the public a sense of “transparency” and refuted any notion of a “conspiracy.” He also said the investigation was complex and very active.

“It’s not that we’re in any type of stall pattern here,” he said, “or a holding pattern.”

This story is developing. Check Patch today for updates.