GALESBURG, Ill. — A Knox County judge has sentenced an Illinois woman to 50 years in prison after she was found guilty of poisoning her longtime boyfriend, a former police chief and concealing his body in a storage unit.
Marcy L. Oglesby, 53, was convicted in June following a bench trial on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery. On Monday, Circuit Judge Andrew Doyle handed down the sentence, giving Oglesby credit for 326 days already served in pretrial detention.
The victim, Richard “Rick” Young, served as chief of the Maquon Police Department and was described by prosecutors as a man who “loved her and who cared for her for nearly 30 years.” Knox County State’s Attorney Ashley Worby said during sentencing, “She poisoned him and watched him suffer.”
Authorities discovered Young’s remains on Oct. 7, 2022, inside a storage unit rented by Oglesby at Roberts Self-Storage in Maquon, a quiet rural village roughly 60 miles south of the Quad Cities area.
Investigators say Oglesby used over-the-counter eye drops to slowly poison Young over several months in 2021. Detectives later found multiple discarded eye-drop bottles, a pill crusher, and receipts linking Oglesby to the purchases. A December 2022 toxicology report revealed tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in eye drops, in Young’s body.
According to court documents, the investigation initially began as a concealment-of-death case. Prosecutors first charged Oglesby only with hiding the body, but as new evidence surfaced, charges were upgraded to murder and attempted murder in February 2023.
Her legal team argued the new charges violated Illinois’ speedy trial law, and for a time, the case was dismissed. However, the Fourth District Appellate Court later ruled that concealing a death and causing a death were “not the same criminal act,” reinstating the more serious charges.
During the trial, a key witness, Karen Doubet who lived with the couple told police that Oglesby had poisoned Young’s food and drinks “with eye drops and some crushed medication.” Investigators said Oglesby’s motive may have stemmed from wanting Young out of the home they shared.
Despite the evidence, Oglesby insisted she was innocent, claiming Young died from complications of COVID-19. She admitted to storing his body but told the court she did so because he allegedly wanted to be buried in an “Indian burial mound.”
“My allocution today will have to take a slightly different path because I respectfully disagree with the court’s findings,” Oglesby said before sentencing. “He didn’t go into that box immediately. I put him back to bed and continued to talk to him for three days.”
After four days of testimony and only five minutes of deliberation, Judge Doyle found Oglesby guilty. She will serve her 50-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections and is not eligible for parole.
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