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Oglesby pleads not guilty to poisoning former police chief

East Third Street in Maquon, Illinois.
Jane Carlson
/
Tri States Public Radio
Prosecutors say Marcy Oglesby poisoned Richard Young in the house on the right then hid his body inside a storage unit on the left.

Marcy Oglesby, 50, is charged with murder in the case.

A Maquon woman pleaded not guilty to charges she poisoned the village’s former police chief with eye drops and hid his dead body in a storage unit.

Marcy L. Oglesby, 50, appeared before Ninth Circuit Judge James Standard in Knox County court for a preliminary hearing on amended charges filed by Knox County prosecutors this week.

The amended charges are murder, aggravated battery by administering a toxic substance, and concealment of a homicidal death.

The state called Jeremy Moore, a detective for the Knox County Sheriff’s department, to the stand.

He testified that deputies responded to the storage unit at 105 E. Third St. in Maquon on Oct. 7, 2022, to investigate a report of a foul odor.

Oglesby, who lived across the street at 114 E. Third St., was identified as the owner of the storage unit.

Deputies then went with Oglesby to the storage unit, where they found a large box in the middle of the floor.

Oglesby initially told deputies the smell came from wet clothes or an animal.

Moore testified that as Oglesby was about to open the box she paused, and asked to tell a deputy something in private.

“In a nutshell, that there was a body in the box,” Moore said.

Oglesby was detained and initially charged with felony concealment of death.

Investigators determined that Oglesby had been in a relationship with Richard Young, the former police chief of Maquon, for about 20 years.

He had lived at the house Oglesby owned along with a third person who identified herself as a godmother to Oglesby.

Both Oglesby and the godmother later told investigators it was Young’s body in the box, and he had died from a broken neck after falling in the bathroom.

Oglesby told investigators Young died between Christmas and Thanksgiving in 2021.

She said Young was mentally and financially abusive, and she did not alert authorities to his death, because she was upset and wouldn’t be able to fulfill his final wishes to be buried at an Indian Mound near Maquon.

But Moore testified the godmother changed her story during a subsequent interview, saying that Oglesby had poisoned Young by putting antidepressant medication and eye drops in his food and drink.

Autopsy results for the decomposed body are still incomplete, due to insufficient DNA.

But Moore testified toxicology reports indicated the presence of Tetrahydrozoline, a drug used in over-the-counter eye drops, and anti-depressants in his muscle tissue.

Warrants were also executed for the home and electronic devices.

Moore said evidence suggests Oglesby was using Young’s phone after his death and sending text messages pretending to be him, including to Young’s son.

A search of the house found a Dollar General receipt for eye drops and packaging for a pill crusher from Walgreen’s, Moore said.

Oglesby also faces charges for selling firearms that belonged to Young.

Ninth Circuit Judge James Standard said probable cause was met for the amended charges.

Public defenders David Hansen and Chris Kanthak are representing Oglesby.

Hansen said he objected to the state’s late filing of amended charges and demanded a speedy jury trial.

Tri States Public Radio produced this story.  TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.

Jane Carlson is TSPR's regional reporter.