Knox County Detective: Marcy Oglesby said she concealed the dead body of Rick Young

GALESBURG — A Maquon woman charged with concealing a dead body in a storage unit pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to new murder charges filed by the Knox County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Knox County prosecutors amended their charges against Marcy Oglesby, 50, on Monday with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery by administering a dangerous substance and concealing of a homicidal death.

Oglesby was charged with concealment of a death in October 2022. The charges were filed after a foul odor led law enforcement to discover a decomposing body in a storage unit across the street from her home in Maquon. Due to a lack of DNA, the body has still not been officially identified.

But during a preliminary trial in the Knox County courthouse on Wednesday, the prosecution called Jeremy Moore to the stand, a Knox County Sheriff’s Department detective who testified Oglesbly told officers the dead body was Rick Young, the former Maquon police chief who she had been in a dating-relationship and living with for approximately 20 years.

Moore also testified that Oglesby told law enforcement she was present when, she said, Young died from a fall and she had concealed his death so he could be buried in an Indian burial ground as he wished. Moore testified that Oglesby’s “godmother” said Oglesby had been poisoning Young with medication and eye drops.

Circuit Judge James R. Standard found probable cause for the state to proceed. Oglesby’s defense, through Chief Public Defender David Hansen, objected, saying the state has not met the burden of probable cause and demanded a jury trial. A pre-trial will take place in the Knox County courthouse on Thursday at 10 a.m.

“We are confident at the conclusion of this trial she (Oglesby) will be found guilty of all charges,” Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin said after the preliminary hearing.

Detective recalls opening the box the body was found in

Moore was not initially dispatched to Roberts Self Storage, located at 105 E. 3rd St. in Maquon, on Oct. 7, 2022, he said. Instead, he joined other law enforcement officers there after the storage facility’s owner, Lisa Roberts, reported that a foul odor was emanating from storage unit No. 29.

Roberts informed law enforcement Oglesby was renting storage unit No. 29, Moore testified. Officers then went to 114 E. 3rd St., where Oglesby lived. Oglesby was informed of the smell and accompanied officers to the facility where she opened storage unit No. 29.

Inside, Moore said he noted the foul odor and observed numerous belongings and a large box. Moore testified that Oglesby provided several different reasons for the odor, including that the box contained wet clothing from her basement and a dead possum.

There was fluid on the floor that had drained from the box and it appeared that cat litter had been sprinkled over the fluid, Moore testified. Cross-examined by the defense, Moore added that Oglesby told officers a soda can had spilled inside the storage unit.

Oglesby began to voluntarily open the box, Moore testified, but then she stopped and asked to speak with a Knox County Sheriff’s deputy.

Oglesby told the deputy that there was a human body in the box but did not immediately identify who it was, Moore testified. Oglesby said she thought she had wrapped the body in plastic well enough that the odor would not have been a problem, Moore testified.

Moore said he observed a decomposing body inside the box whose head was wrapped in a pillowcase and lower-half was wrapped in plastic.

Detective: Oglesby said she present when Young died

Shortly after Oglesby was detained, she began complaining of chest pain, Moore said, and she was taken to the OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg. There, Oglesby was interviewed by Moore and a sergeant with the Knox County Sheriff’s in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2022.

Moore testified that Oglesby said Young had been sick with COVID-19, but he had not seen medical help. Moore testified that Oglesby said she had been giving Young over the counter medication.

Oglesby attributed the cause of Young’s death to an injury he sustained from a fall in the bathroom, Moore said. Moore testified that, after this fall, Oglesby said Young wanted to be helped inside his recreational vehicle. After he was inside the vehicle, Oglesby said she heard his neck “snap” and Young stopped breathing.

Moore testified that Oglesby said Young died sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2021.

An autopsy of the body found several compounds in its muscle tissue, including the active ingredients in the antidepressant medication Lexapro and an active ingredient found in in eyedrops, Moore testified Cross examined by the defense, Moore said that the initial autopsy of the body showed it sustained no fractures before death.

Oglesby gave multiple reasons as to why she did not report his death to the authorities, Moore testified. Oglesby told them she was upset by Young’s death and it had triggered her post traumatic stress disorder and that Young wished to be buried in an Indian burial ground near Maquon and she was unsure how to get his remains there, Moore testified.

Moore also said Oglesby told police she had utilized Young’s phone to send messages to his son, Steven Young. Moore said Steven was interviewed on Oct. 13 and corroborated that he had received text messages from his father during the time that, according to Oglesby, Rick Young was dead.

Detective: Oglesby’s “godmother” bought eye drops used to poison Young

While Oglesby was being interviewed in the hospital, Moore said a 76-year-old woman who lived with Oglesby and Young at 114 E. 3rd St. who Oglesby described as her “godmother” was simultaneously being interviewed at the residence.

Moore was not present at this first interview but said he was present at an interview with the woman approximately a month ago. She has not been arrested.

Moore testified that in October Oglesby’s “godmother” initially refused to answer whether she knew if Young was alive or dead, but eventually told law enforcement she knew it was his body in the storage unit.

Moore testified that Oglesby’s “godmother” first said Young died after he fell while trying to retrieve a step ladder from the bathroom, but she eventually told police that Oglesby had been intentionally poisoning Young by putting medication and eyedrops in his food and drinks.

Two searches were completed at 114 E. 3rd St., Moore said. The first resulted in four phones and two laptops being submitted into storage. A second search turned up more phones, the discarded packaging of a Walgreens brand pill crusher and over 20 bottles of eyedrops, Moore testified.

A receipt from a Dollar General in Elmwood, Illinois for bottles of eyedrops and a similar receipt for eye drops from a pharmacy in Elmwood with Oglesby’s name on it was also found, Moore testified. ging

Cross-examined by the defense, Moore testified no eyedrops were retrieved from the house during the first search and that Oglesby’s “godmother” said she purchased approximately 20 bottles of eyedrops herself.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Maquon woman charged with poisoning former chief of police