Palatine man accused of killing Rochelle woman in 2022 to appear in court again in December – Shaw Local

OREGON – A court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11 to hear the pleas of a Palatine man accused of fatally stabbing a Rochelle woman in September 2022 and then setting her apartment on fire.

Gary C. Freeman, 29, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of residential arson and one count of concealing a murder in connection with the death of Devin K. Gibbons, 28, of Rochelle.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges on March 1, 2023 and has been in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest on February 28, 2023.

Freeman appeared in court Wednesday with his attorney, Robert Kerr, attending remotely.

Ogle County Assistant Prosecutor Allison Huntley said her office has filed six pleas and asked that they be closed to the public until trial.

Attorneys file motions in limine when they want to exclude certain evidence from being presented to a jury. The motions are usually discussed before a trial begins so that the judge can decide on evidentiary issues.

“We want to respond to at least two of the applications,” Kerr said.

Ogle County Judge Anthony Peska has scheduled the next hearing for Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.

Gibbons was found dead in her Rochelle apartment at 503 Seventh Ave. on September 18, 2022. found after Rochelle police and firefighters were dispatched to that address at 10:46 a.m. to conduct a smoke investigation.

The fire was deemed suspicious and additional investigators arrived after Gibbons' body was discovered.

The first-degree murder charges, a Class M felony, allege that Freeman “knowingly” stabbed Gibbons “with the intent to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm” and that “the murder was cold, calculated and “was committed in a premeditated manner,” according to the indictment, according to a preconceived plan, scheme or design.”

The concealment of a charge of murder, a Class 3 felony, said Freeman knew Gibbons “died by homicide” and “knowingly concealed” her death by leaving her body in her apartment and then setting the fire . The residential arson charge is a Class 1 felony.

In August, Judge John “Ben” Roe agreed to allow prosecutors to view a transcript of a juvenile case in which Freeman allegedly testified.

At that hearing, Huntley said Freeman testified in the juvenile case in May 2024 and made statements relevant to the prosecution of his criminal case.

Because juvenile proceedings are confidential, a court order was required to obtain the transcript. Kerr did not object to the state's request to see the transcript.

At the time of Freeman's arrest, prosecutors said many agencies were involved in the investigation, including the Rochelle Police Department, the Ogle County Sheriff's Office, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office, the Illinois State Police crime scene investigators and the Ogle County Coroner's Office in Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District, the FBI offices in Rockford and Chicago, the Schaumburg Police Department, the Palatine Police Department, the Sterling Police Department and Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center.