5 key pieces of evidence that point to Fox Lake officer suicide

Key evidence led investigators to conclude just in the past week and a half that longtime Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz staged his suicide to look like a murder to cover up thefts from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post and other wrongdoings, said George Filenko, commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. Here is some of the evidence Filenko cited:

• Funds "in five figures" were unaccounted for in the Explorer Post account over seven years, which was controlled by Gliniewicz.

• Gliniewicz's deleted emails and text messages, recovered by the FBI, incriminated Gliniewicz and others and revealed his fears of being discovered. "This situation right here would give her the means to CRUCIFY me if it were discovered," says one text message from Gliniewicz, apparently referring to Village Administrator Anne Marrin.

• Gunshot residue showed Gliniewicz's gun had been placed under his protective vest before the fatal shot was fired, striking his upper chest. Despite the close range, Gliniewicz did not fight for his life. There were no wounds on his hands; his uniform wasn't rumpled; his microphone still was clipped to his shoulder lapel.

• Three individuals matching the description given by Gliniewicz in his last police radio call were located and had "rock-solid alibis." Gliniewicz might have driven past them and gotten the idea to use their descriptions, Filenko said.

• The crime scene, in hindsight, appeared to be carefully staged, with Gliniewicz's pepper spray, baton and glasses laid out at intervals. Gliniewicz had staged scenes for Explorer training.