Palatine man accused of killing Rochelle woman in 2022 to appear in court again in December

OREGON – A Dec. 11 court hearing has been scheduled to argue motions in limine for a Palatine man accused of fatally stabbing a Rochelle woman and then setting her apartment on fire in September 2022.

Gary C. Freeman, 29, is charged with 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.

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

Freeman appeared in court Wednesday, with his attorney, Robert Kerr, attending remotely.

Assistant Ogle County State's Attorney Allison Huntley said her office had filed six motions in limine and has asked they be sealed to the public pending the trial.

Attorneys file motions in limine when they seek to exclude certain evidence from being presented to a jury, The motions commonly are argued before a trial begins, allowing evidentiary questions to be decided by the judge.

"We want to respond to at least two of the motions," Kerr said.

Ogle County Judge Anthony Peska set the next hearing for 1 p.m. Dec. 11.

Gibbons was found dead Sept. 18, 2022, in her Rochelle apartment at 503 Seventh Ave. after Rochelle police and firefighters were dispatched to that 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, 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.

In August, Judge John "Ben" Roe agreed to allow prosecutors to review a transcript of a juvenile proceeding during which they said Freeman testified.

At that hearing, Huntley said Freeman testified in the juvenile proceeding in May 2024 and made statements relevant to the prosecution of his criminal case.

Because juvenile proceedings are confidential, a court order was necessary to obtain the transcript. Kerr did not object to the state's motion to view the transcript.