A Knox County woman convicted of murdering the former police chief of Maquon is now in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, but proceedings in the long-running case are ongoing as her defense counsel lays the groundwork for an appeal.
Public defenders David Hansen and Chris Kanthak are trying to get Marcy L. Oglesby, 53, a new trial.
A hearing on the post-trial motion originally scheduled for this week has been pushed back to Dec. 9.
Hansen and Kanthak maintain the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Oglesby fatally poisoned Richard Young, whose partially mummified remains were found in a storage unit across the street from the couple’s Maquon home in October 2022.
They allege the state’s medical and toxicological evidence did not establish a reliable or medically certain cause of death, though expert witnesses for the state testified during a June bench trial that Young died of tetrahydrozoline intoxication.
Tetrahydrozoline is the active ingredient in over-the-counter eye drops. Given the advanced stage of decomposition of Young’s remains, blood samples were not available for toxicology. So the state’s toxicology evidence was based on testing of decomposed skeletal muscle, for which there are no established testing limits.
They also argue the testimony of the state’s key witness, Karen Doubet, was inconsistent, conflicting, and selective. Doubet, a godmother figure to Oglesby who lived in the home, was also charged with murder in the case, but those charges were dropped by the state in exchange for her testimony against Oglesby.
Hansen and Kanthak are asking Judge Andrew Doyle to either vacate the murder conviction or grant the motion for a new trial.
“At minimum, a new trial is warranted, as the evidence presented was legally insufficient to maintain a criminal conviction for first-degree murder,” reads the amended motion for a new trial filed before Oglesby’s sentencing hearing last month.
The long-running case
A denial of the motion for a new trial would clear the way for the defense to file an appeal.
If Oglesby appeals her conviction, it would be the second time the case has reached the appellate court.
She was initially charged with concealment of a death following the discovery of Young’s remains. As the investigation progressed, charges were upgraded in February 2023 to murder, concealment of a homicide, and aggravated battery with a toxic substance.
But in March 2023, Judge Doyle granted a defense motion to dismiss the murder charges over speedy trial concerns.
The Fourth District Appellate Court reinstated the murder charges later that year. The Illinois Supreme Court later denied Oglesby’s petition for leave to appeal following the appellate court’s decision.
A tale of olden times
During a four-day trial bench in June, Knox County State’s Attorney Ashley Worby presented evidence that Oglesby poisoned Young with eye drops and other medication, then hid his body inside two cardboard boxes and scooted it across the street to the storage unit.
Worby also detailed how Oglesby gained access to Young’s bank accounts with the promise of them buying a home together in the country, stealing tens of thousands of dollars from him.
Meanwhile, Oglesby was in an online, romantic relationship with a man from Nigeria, which the state presented as motive. Worby called it “a tale of olden times”— a financially motivated murder with a love triangle.
Judge Doyle has sentenced Oglesby to 50 years in prison, with credit for time served in the Knox County jail.
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