The Latest: Officer's family has no comment on findings
ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (AP) - The latest developments in the investigation into the September shooting death of an Illinois police officer. (All times local):
3:25 p.m.
Lawyers for the family of an Illinois officer who authorities say staged his own death to look like others killed him say the family has no comment on that finding and continues to cope with his death.
Attorneys Andrew Kelleher Jr. and Henry Tonigan issued a brief statement Wednesday hours after authorities revealed the findings of their investigation into the Sept. 1 shooting death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.
Their statement doesn't mention the investigation's findings but says it "has been another day of deep sorrow for the Gliniewicz family."
The officer's son, D.J. Gliniewicz, said weeks ago that his father "never once" thought of killing himself.
Authorities say Gliniewicz had been embezzling money from a youth group he oversaw and felt he could soon be exposed.
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2:30 p.m.
Residents of an Illinois town that celebrated a police officer as a hero after his death say they're upset to learn that he killed himself after embezzling money from a youth program he oversaw.
Tim Pederson was a member of the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post that Lt. Charles Gliniewicz oversaw. Now a 22-year-old corrections officer, Pederson says he's "still processing" the news about Gliniewicz, whom he looked up to.
His mother, Kathy Pederson, says residents are taking down posters they put up to honor Gliniewicz and some want to get back money that they donated to support his family.
Investigators said Wednesday that Gliniewicz elaborately staged the scene to make it appear he had been slain while pursuing suspects.
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11:40 a.m.
Authorities say an Illinois officer who staged his own death to look like others killed him in the line of duty felt that auditors were close to discovering that he'd been embezzling money from a youth program he oversaw.
Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko says the Village of Fox Lake was conducting an internal audit that police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz believed would lead to him.
Gliniewicz was found dead with gunshot wounds on Sept. 1 after telling dispatchers he was pursuing three suspicious men. A massive manhunt and two-month investigation followed. Authorities announced Wednesday that they concluded he killed himself.
Filenko said the investigation into the embezzlement "strongly indicates" at least two other people were involved, but he refused to provide details.
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11 a.m.
Authorities are defending the time it took to conclude an Illinois police officer killed himself and was not slain.
Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko told reporters Wednesday that police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz elaborately staged a crime scene, scattering his pepper spray, baton and other equipment before shooting himself twice on Sept. 1.
Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Christopher Covelli added that investigators had to filter through thousands of pages of financial documents, 6,500 pages of text messages and 40,000 emails.
Filenko said detectives wanted to be certain before releasing a definitive conclusion. He said they only arrived at that point about a week and a half ago.
He said, "We don't jump to conclusions. We go where the facts lead us."
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10:25 a.m.
Authorities say an Illinois police officer who killed himself in what they say was an elaborately staged suicide embezzled money from a police program for seven years.
Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko led the investigation into the Sept. 1 shooting death of Fox Lake police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.
Filenko said Wednesday that Gliniewicz had been stealing and laundering money from the Fox Lake police explorers club, which he oversaw. He says Gliniewicz spent thousands of dollars of the money to pay for personal purchases, mortgage payments and travel, among other things.
On the day he died, Gliniewicz radioed that he was chasing three suspicious men. His death led to a large manhunt, but no arrests were made.
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10:05 a.m.
Authorities say an Illinois police officer whose fatal shooting this summer led to a large manhunt carefully staged his own death after committing criminal acts.
Lake County investigators announced their findings Wednesday into the Sept. 1 shooting death of Fox Lake police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.
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8:10 a.m.
An official briefed on the two-month investigation into the shooting death of an Illinois police officer has told The Associated Press that authorities are going to announce that he killed himself.
The death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz in September triggered a massive manhunt and an outpouring of grief in the quiet town and surrounding communities.
Shortly before his death, Gliniewicz radioed dispatchers that he was pursuing three suspicious men, but speculation about a possible suicide mounted as investigators struggled to find solid leads.
The official who spoke to the AP about the impending announcement insisted on anonymity because he isn't authorized to brief the media.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said only that the Wednesday morning news conference will reveal "conclusive results" of the investigation. A sheriff's office spokesman refused to provide details ahead of the announcement.
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Reporting by Associated Press writer Don Babwin in Chicago.
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This story has been corrected to show that the shooting took place in September, not August.