Murder charges have been reinstated against Marcy L. Oglesby, a 51-year-old woman from Maquon, Illinois, accused of hiding a corpse in a storage unit. The Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of reinstating the charges, including first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. The body found in the storage unit was identified as Richard Young, a former Maquon police chief who was in a relationship with Oglesby. The State’s Attorney’s Office added the murder and battery charges after further investigation. The defense counsel filed a motion to dismiss the charges on speedy-trial grounds, but the motion was granted and immediately appealed by the State’s Attorney’s Office. The appellate court ruled that the charges did not need to be filed at the same time, as the concealment of a non-homicidal death and the murder charges were separate acts. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2024. Linda Cook reported
The Knox County State’s Attorney, Jeremy S. Karlin, announced that murder charges have been reinstated against Marcy L. Oglesby, a 51-year-old woman from Maquon, Illinois. Oglesby had been previously accused of hiding a corpse in a storage unit. The Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court ruled on Tuesday to reinstate first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery charges against Oglesby.
The charges stem from the discovery of a body in a storage unit in Maquon on October 7, 2022. The remains were identified as Richard Young, a former Maquon police chief who had been in a relationship with Oglesby. Initially, the State’s Attorney’s Office filed charges of concealment of a non-homicidal death against Oglesby. However, after further investigation in February 2023, the State’s Attorney’s Office added the murder and battery charges.
In March 2023, Oglesby’s defense counsel filed a motion to dismiss the additional charges on speedy-trial grounds, arguing that the prosecution did not meet the required 120-day timeline. The compulsory joinder rule mandates that the state must prosecute charges known to them within 120 days that are part of the same act. Knox County Circuit Judge Andrew Doyle granted Oglesby’s motion to dismiss, believing that all charges should have been brought at the beginning and that the 120-day rule was violated. The State’s Attorney’s Office immediately appealed the decision.
The appellate court overturned the dismissal, stating that the other court had erred in its ruling. They clarified that because the concealment of a non-homicidal death and the murder charges were separate acts committed by Oglesby, they did not need to be filed simultaneously. The court emphasized that the alleged poisoning of Richard Young and the act of hiding his remains in a storage unit were distinct actions. Therefore, the compulsory joinder rule did not apply, and Oglesby’s speedy trial rights were not violated.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2024, in Knox County Court. Oglesby is currently out of custody on pretrial release..