Man indicted on murder charges in 2022 Rochelle apartment fire

OGLE COUNTY, Ill. (WIFR) – A Palatine man was arrested this week in connection with the Sept. 2022 death of an Ogle County woman.

Gary Freeman, 27, was taken into custody in Schaumburg, Ill. and transported to the Ogle County jail.

The Ogle County State’s Attorney’s Office issued charges Tuesday. Freeman faces four counts of first-degree murder, one count of arson and one count of concealment of a homicidal death. “It makes the defendant eligible if he’s found guilty, for a natural life sentencing,” said Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.

The charges stem from the death of 28-year-old Devin Gibbons, of Rochelle.

Emergency crews responded around 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022 to 503 7th Avenue for a report of smoke coming from the building. It was there that fire personnel found Gibbons inside the residence.

The state’s attorney said Wednesday that Gibbons was found with stab wounds inside the burning apartment. During investigation, Freeman was developed as a suspect.

Rock says while investigators do believe Freeman traveled to Rochelle with the intent to kill Gibbons, he wouldn’t disclose the nature of the two’s relationship.

“We realize this was cold and calculated. We believe there was premeditation and a plan involved when he came to Rochelle,” said Rock. “The facts are going to indicate that there was some type of relationship, and certainly violence was the end result.”

Freeman was taken into custody on a $10,000,000 bond and scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in Ogle County.

“We were very hopeful that we were going to be able to bring justice for Devin Gibbon’s family,” said Rock. The Rochelle Police Department and Ogle County State’s Attorney’s Office also credited a handful of agencies for the hundreds of hours they poured into the investigation.

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