Round Lake Beach man denies killing man who dated his stalking victim
A Round Lake Beach man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he killed a Libertyville man two days before Christmas for dating a woman who authorities say the accused was stalking.
Kenneth S. Seplak, 37, of the 1400 block of North Lake Shore Drive, faces three counts of first-degree murder for the Dec. 23 slaying of David E. Gorski of Libertyville. Gorski, 30, was found shot fatally that night behind the wheel of his car on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville, authorities said.
Seplak, who is free after posting a $300,000 bond, is scheduled to face trial May 15. He is on a 24-hour curfew and must wear a GPS monitoring device at all times. He also is ordered to not have contact with the family of the victim, or possess guns or ammunition.
Authorities say Gorski was shot to death after he and a Wauconda woman attended a movie at AMC Hawthorn 12 theater in Vernon Hills. Investigators said the woman and Gorski recently began dating, and traveled to the movie theater that night in separate cars.
Authorities say Seplak previously was accused of stalking the woman, who police described as a prior acquaintance of the Round Lake Beach man.
Prosecutors said GPS records from Seplak's mobile device show he was at the Vernon Hills theater at the same time as Gorski and the Wauconda woman. The GPS also shows Seplak's vehicle drove north on Milwaukee Avenue near where Gorski was shot, then to a house near Antioch, authorities said.
A man at that house later gave police a .38-caliber handgun and ammunition recovered after Seplak visited, authorities say. The bullet recovered from Gorski matched the weapon, and gunshot residue tested from the handgun matched what was found on Seplak, authorities said.
In court Wednesday, Seplak attorney Steven McCullom asked Lake County Judge Judge Mark Levitt to take a $15 daily fee associated with the GPS monitoring device out of Seplak's posted bond. However, Levitt balked, saying Seplak must pay the fee out of his own pocket.
"I expect that fee to be paid," Levitt said.
Seplak is due back in court March 6.