Ogle County prosecutors can review juvenile hearing transcript they say includes murder defendant’s testimony

OREGON – An Ogle County judge has agreed to allow prosecutors to review a transcript of a juvenile proceeding during which they said a man accused with murder testified.

Judge John “Ben” Roe agreed to allow the state’s attorney’s office to obtain the May 7 transcript that includes testimony by Gary C. Freeman, 29, of Palatine, who is accused of fatally stabbing a Rochelle woman and then setting her apartment on fire in September 2022.

Freeman has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, one count of residential arson and one count of concealment of a homicide in connection with the death of Devin K. Gibbons, 28, of Rochelle.

Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Huntley filed a motion Aug. 20 asking Roe to release the transcript from the juvenile hearing.

“On or about May 7, 2024, the defendant testified in the juvenile proceeding and, upon information and belief, the defendant made statements relevant to the prosecution of the criminal case,” Huntley wrote in the motion. “The people wish to obtain and review the transcript of the juvenile hearing for use at the trial in the criminal case.”

Because juvenile proceedings are confidential, a court order was necessary to obtain the transcript.

Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Vos asked Roe to allow the release of the transcript during an Aug. 21 hearing. Freeman’s attorney, Robert Kerr, did not object to the state’s motion.

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

The fire was deemed suspicious, and additional investigators arrived at the scene after Gibbons body was discovered.

Freeman has been held at the Ogle County Jail since his arrest. His next court appearance is at 1 p.m. Sept. 25.

The first-degree murder charges, Class M felonies, allege that Freeman “knowingly stabbed” Gibbons “with the intent to kill her or do great bodily harm,” and that the “murder was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner, pursuant to a preconceived plan, scheme or design.”

The concealment of a homicidal death indictment, a Class 3 felony, alleged that Freeman knew Gibbons “had died by homicidal means” and “knowingly concealed” her death by leaving her body inside her apartment and then starting the fire. The residential arson charge is a Class 1 felony.

At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said many agencies worked on the investigation, including the Rochelle Police Department, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police, the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office, the American Red Cross, Illinois State Police crime scene investigators, the Ogle County Coroner’s Office, the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District, the FBI Rockford and Chicago offices, the Schaumburg Police Department, the Palatine Police Department, the Sterling Police Department and the Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center.