Pictured Charles Gibson ( left ) and suspect Ollie Rockman.
At a Nov. 24 press conference at Area 3 headquarters, 2452 W. Belmont, police announced that they had arrested a suspect in the murder of a popular Chicago high school teacher.
Police arrested Ollie Rockman, 49. Detectives connected Rockman to the murder scene where Charles Gibson, 54, a Gage Park High School special education teacher, was killed Oct. 30.
Police said that Gibson met Rockman at Charlie's, a gay country-and-western bar, on Oct. 22. On that night, they left together and went to Gibson's condominium at 1052 W. Balmoral. On Oct. 30, witnesses said they saw Rockman at the condo building looking for Gibson. On Oct. 31, friends who were unable to contact Gibson asked police to check on him. A locksmith opened the door to Gibson's residence, and police found him dead in a hallway. His nude body had several stab wounds.
Area 3 police commander Michael Chasen said witnesses provided a sketch of the man asking for Gibson on Oct. 30. They noticed that he wore an identification card in a leather holder around his neck, the Sun-Times reported.
Police determined that the attacker had suffered a cut during the murder and left evidence in the apartment, Chasen said. Detective Michael Conway and gang specialists identified Rockman and found him Nov. 21 at Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was being released after unrelated treatment. Witnesses from Gibson's building and Charlie's then identified Rockman in a photo lineup.
Gibson was one of three gay men on the North Side who had been murdered in the past year and a half. However, police say Rockman is not a suspect in any of those murders and that this case is not related to any of those cases.
However, police warn that the public should not relax because this case has apparently been solved. Police news affair director David Bayless told Windy City Times that 'it's important that people not let their guard down. This [ incident ] occurred because the victim brought someone in that he didn't know very well. Ultimately, whether there's one offender or three, it doesn't change how people should act about bringing strangers into their homes.'