Palatine man admits to stabbing, killing Rochelle woman in 2022

OREGON – A Palantine man pleaded guilty Friday to killing a Rochelle mother in her apartment in September 2022 and will spend the next 33 years of his life in prison for first-degree murder.

In an emotional hearing in a packed courtroom at the Ogle County Judicial Center in Oregon, Gary C. Freeman, 29, admitted to stabbing Devin K. Gibbons, 28, on Sept. 18, 2022, in her apartment at 503 Seventh Ave. in Rochelle.

Through a plea agreement, Freeman was sentenced to 35 years in prison with 731 days of credit for time served.

Freeman was charged in February 2023 with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of residential arson and one count of concealment of a homicide after Gibbons was found dead inside her apartment when Rochelle police and firefighters were dispatched to her address at 10:46 a.m. for a smoke investigation.

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

The first-degree murder charges, Class M felonies, said 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.”

Freeman pleaded not guilty to all of the charges March 1, 2023, and had been held in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest Feb. 28, 2023.

On Friday, Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Huntley told Judge Anthony Peska that a plea agreement had been reached on one count of the charges. The other charges were dismissed as per the plea agreement.

Freeman, who appeared in court with his attorney Robert Kerr, sat motionless at the defense table as Huntley told the court that if the case were to go to trial, the state could prove that Freeman – the father of one of Gibbons’ two children – stabbed her with the intent to kill her.

“The defendant stabbed Devin Gibbons, causing her death,” Huntley said.

“We concur that those would be the facts,” Kerr said.

Freeman’s jury trial had been scheduled to begin in June.

“If you plead guilty today, there will not be a jury trial,” Peska told Freeman. “You are waiving all those rights. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, sir,” Freeman said.

“How do you plea as to count one of first-degree murder?” Peska asked.

“Guilty,” Freeman replied, as some of Gibbons’ family and friends attending the hearing sobbed and gasped. At least 25 other people watched the proceedings via video through Zoom with their microphones muted.

Freeman declined to make any statement, and Kerr said the defense had no witnesses to call in his defense.

Huntley asked that three people be allowed to make victim impact statements.

Lisa Gleason of Palatine, Gibbons' aunt, took the witness stand first.

“In our family, Devin was the beginning of the next generation. She was the first daughter, granddaughter, niece. When she was 3, she was enveloped in the love of the Jackson clan and became more. Sister, goddaughter, cousin,” Gleason said. “As she matured, she became friend, best friend, confidant, co-worker, mentor, role model and, last but not least, mother.

“Mother. That word holds so much meaning. Love, comfort, support, strength, protection, safety, home,” Gleason continued while wiping tears from her eyes. “Devin embodied all of those words. She came into her own when she became a mother.

“She was determined to raise her children in a safe, stable and loving home, and she was succeeding. She was awe-inspiring. She was taken from her children by the selfish act of one man. This man,” Gleason said, looking briefly at Freeman, who sat at the defense table with Kerr.

Gleason said Freeman’s actions had brought “anguish, grief and pain” to Gibbons' entire family.

“Nine years ago, he refused to accept the birth of his daughter. Like the poor excuse of a man that he is, he did not step up to the responsibility of fatherhood and chose to not tell his family or fiancée he had a child,” Gleason said. “On Sept. 18, 2022, our world was shattered, our spirits and our hearts broken. I still flashback to the phone call I got from Michaela [Devin’s sister]. That call changed the trajectory of our lives.”

She said the family learned more “horrifying” details of Gibbons' death in the next few days, noting that Freeman had “stolen so much from so many people.”

“She won’t be with us for holidays, for birthdays, weddings, other special events that happen in life. She will not be there for her children: for their first lost tooth, the first words they learn to read, carving pumpkins and decorating Easter eggs. She will not be there for their high school experiences. She will not be able to help [them] get ready for prom, graduation, a wedding, for grandchildren. She would have been an amazing grandmother,” Gleason said.

“She worked hard for the life she had and would have continued to prosper and shine. This man robbed Devin’s family and friends of her smile, her love, her cheerfulness and the joy of simply having her in our lives. Our loss is immeasurable. The thought of this crime and why it was committed is unfathomable. How is this justice? This man is still alive. He can still talk to friends and family. We don’t have that option. She is gone. We will be walking wounded for the rest of our lives.”

Gibbons' brother, Matthew, said his sister’s murder had left a void in all of her siblings’ hearts.

“Every day since this happened, we have had overwhelming grief,” he said. “The trauma has affected us in many ways. Losing Devin is something we will carry for the rest of our lives, and that cannot be undone.”

Another family member chose not to give their statement, having to leave the courtroom as they were overcome with emotion.

Peska then asked Freeman if he wanted to say anything.

“You don’t have to say anything, but the floor is yours,” Peska said.

“No, sir,” Freeman said.

That prompted one person to abruptly leave the courtroom, yelling that they hoped Freeman died in prison. Another person also was asked to leave the courtroom.

Peska told Freeman that he would be in custody for the next 33 years – until 2058 – and then be subject to three years of mandatory supervised release.

After the sentencing hearing, Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said his office had reviewed the plea agreement with Gibbons’ family and law enforcement officers who had worked on the case.

“This brings closure and certainty to the family,” Rock said. “[Freeman] took responsibility and pleaded guilty to stabbing her. This is someone who took their loved one. This term of imprisonment shall be served at 100%.”

Rock said the guilty plea follows an extensive criminal investigation led by the Rochelle Police Department and his office, which included Huntley and Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse.

“I would like to thank the Rochelle Police Department’s Detective Sgt. John Kaltenbach and Detective Elvis Baneski and Assistant State’s Attorneys Allison Huntley and Heather Kruse for their hard work on this case,” Rock said.

At the time of Freeman’s arrest, 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, 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 Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center.