Woman accused in false manhunt can't cite Gliniewicz case

The defense attorney for a Vernon Hills woman accused of setting off a false manhunt for two men accused of killing Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was denied an attempt to obtain the complete investigation surrounding the Fox Lake officer's death.

Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti ruled Wednesday the Gliniewicz investigation "has absolutely no relevance" in the court case against Kristin Kiefer, 21, who is charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts of filing a false police report.

Defense attorney Gal Pissetzky requested the state turn over the entire Gliniewicz investigation in case anything in the files could help him prove Kiefer was not at fault for escalating a manhunt after she told police she was confronted by two men who fit an initial description of Gliniewicz's alleged killers.

"We have a right to review the information in that investigation to see if there is anything in there that would help my client," Pissetzky said.

Authorities said Kiefer phoned the Fox Lake nonemergency police number Sept. 2 and told police she was traveling north on Route 12 when she had car trouble.

She told police two men - one black and one white - approached her stopped car near a cornfield and asked for a ride to Wisconsin. Her description of the suspects matched descriptions of two of the three men police believed killed Gliniewicz one day earlier, authorities said.

Kiefer told police she ran back to her car after talking with the men and that one of the men tried to force open her car door.

Kiefer later admitted to police that had she made up the story after DNA and fingerprint tests on the car came up empty, police said.

The ruse resulted in 85 law enforcement officers, two helicopters and several canine units descending on the cornfield to search for the men, authorities said.

Police said Kiefer told investigators she lied because she wanted attention from the family employing her as a nanny. Authorities said Kiefer chose the Volo location because she was aware of Gliniewicz's death in nearby Fox Lake.

Gliniewicz was found shot to death Sept. 1 in a swampy area of Fox Lake. In November, investigators announced Gliniewicz had killed himself to cover up his embezzlement of funds from the Fox Lake Police Explorers unit.

Rossetti set Kiefer's trial for April 18. She is due back in court April 6 for pretrial.