He was shot in the right side of his bulletproof vest, a hit which felt like “a sledgehammer”, before a fatal blow to his upper chest, Filenko said.
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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. A news conference is planned Thursday.
He emphasized the investigation was being conducted as a homicide probe, though detectives weren’t ruling anything out, including the possibility of suicide.
Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Gliniewicz, a 30-year-police veteran, had radioed in to dispatchers on September 1 that he was in solo pursuit of three suspicious men before he was found lying facedown in a remote, marshy area of a village south of the Wisconsin-Illinois state line.
He and Filenko stressed that the investigation remains very active as it enters a second month. 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. Two officers arrived to help Gliniewicz but found him already dead on the ground. They expect to send up to 40 samples for further testing by Friday, Filenko said.
Filenko said they are trying to be transparent because “I’ve heard the word conspiracy quite often”. One of the DNA samples has been identified as coming from a male, Filenko said.
Authorities have released few other details in the case, saying they don’t want to compromise the investigation or any potential prosecution.
Minutes later, backup officers arrived and discovered Gliniewicz had been shot and killed. Gun shot residue tests could not determine if the Lieutenant fired the gun or someone else. Asked whether it was possible that Gliniewicz’ death was a suicide, however, he said only that “nothing is off the table”.
It was impossible to tell whether the traces of DNA were from the day of the officer’s death or prior to it, he said.
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Thursday, before Filenko talked to reporters, Covelli summarized the scope of the ongoing investigation, which he said “continues to be an extraordinarily complex” effort that has included “upwards of 400 leads” as well as investigators working around the clock.
