Sources tell Chicago media outlets Lt. Gliniewicz's death will be ruled suicide; update Wednesday

LAKE COUNTY, Illinois -- Authorities in Lake County, Illinois have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning, November 4th to announce "significant new information" related to the September 1st shooting death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

The Chicago Tribune reports a press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office indicates a news conference has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m.

On Twitter Tuesday evening, a reporter with FOX 32 in Chicago said sources tell FOX 32 the task force investigating Gliniewicz's death has concluded it was a suicide.



By Tuesday night, multiple media outlets in the Chicago area, including FOX6's sister station WGN, were reporting Gliniewicz's death will be ruled a suicide.

Lt. Gliniewicz, an Army veteran and father of four, was on his way to work on September 1st in the cruiser he had taken home the day before, when he said three suspicious men piqued his interest. He sent word over his radio that he was pursuing the trio on foot.

A few minutes later, he requested backup. Radio communication dropped off. Colleagues did not hear his voice again.

The backup units found their fellow officer dead, roughly 50 yards from his vehicle, officials said.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

While Lake County officials said the case is being handled as a homicide, other theories remain on the table, including the possibility of a self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound -- with Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd saying he couldn't make a determination on the manner of the officer's death -- whether homicide, suicide, accidental or undetermined -- until he received further information from police.

Officers identified and interviewed three people caught on video taken by a home security system and a truck driver near the shooting scene. It was determined they were not involved in the shooting.

On October 1st, one month after the shooting, Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Detective Christopher Covelli told reporters the Gliniewicz investigation is extremely complex. He said no theories have been eliminated in the case. Covelli also said his investigators have followed up on 400 leads -- and are working hard to keep the community informed.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko said there were indications a struggle took place at the scene where Lt. Gliniewicz's body was found -- and that Lt. Gliniewicz was shot twice.

The first shot entered the right side of the front of Gliniewicz's vest. That shot was severe enough to incapacitate the lieutenant. Filenko described the shot as being "similar to that of a sledge hammer hitting you in the side."

Filenko said the second shot was the fatal shot -- and occurred in the upper left chest region of Lt. Gliniewicz.

Lab results from the gun shot residue part of this investigation are inconclusive. Filenko said the results show the weapon could have been fired by Lt. Gliniewicz -- or he could have been in close proximity of the weapon being fired.

DNA belonging to someone other than Gliniewicz was found on his gun recovered at the crime scene, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Memorial for Fox Lake Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

Since the shooting, there have been no confirmed sightings of the three men the officer said he was pursuing, authorities said.

Gliniewicz planned to retire in August, but he was asked to stay on for another month.

WGN reports in investigating this case, it has learned the village sought approval to pay more than $25,000 to a private detective agency to investigate its former chief of police.

The chief, WGN reports, was placed on paid administrative leave after a village administrator started questioning what she called lax discipline of another officer.

That officer was accused of verbally and physically abusing a man in custody. The incident happened in December, but the village review didn't begin until eight months later, WGN reports.

The chief resigned after being put on leave.

Two days later, Gliniewicz was asked by that administrator to help with an internal police review, WGN reports.

The next day, Gliniewicz died after being shot twice with his own weapon.

WGN Investigates received permission to visit the crime scene for an in-depth investigation. CLICK HERE for more from WGNTV.com.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz