“As for the crime scene, Filenko say there were indications a struggle took place”.
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Nine unidentified DNA samples were found at the scene where a suburban Chicago police officer was found shot to death last month and the killing is still being investigated as a homicide, a police commander said.
Investigators in Illinois revealed new information in the investigation into the death of Police Lt. Charles Gliniewicz who was shot to death on September 1 on Thursday.
Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko said he was shot twice, the first one with the force of a “sledgehammer hitting you in the side”, NBC News reported; the second shot killed him.
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.
“In layman’s terms the weapon could have been fired by Lt. Gliniewicz, or he could have been in close proximity to the weapon being fired.”
It’s the only description of the suspects officials have, Filenko said on Thursday.
The investigator also said that it remains unclear who fired the gun that killed Gliniewicz.
No further details were provided on what the signs of the struggle were.
Despite a state-wide search by local and federal officers, police haven’t made any arrests or identified any suspects. Police have acknowledged that they have not ruled out the possibility of suicide.
But they did say that Global Positioning System data indicates Gliniewicz was on foot near the crime scene in Fox Lake 20 minutes before he radioed a report of suspicious activity. One of the three was confirmed to have come from a male.
The case remains a national mystery as the county coroner said it’s uncertain if Gliniewicz’s death was a homicide, suicide, or an accident.
“We leave no stone unturned”, Filenko said.
It is a marshy area that Filenko described as being like quicksand in a few types of weather.
Tho official reason for leaving the investigation was because “no wanted suspects or persons of interest had been identified for them to locate”, the agency 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.
