GALESBURG, Ill. (WMBD) — A Maquon woman accused of poisoning a former police chief more than two years ago will go to trial later this month, a judge ordered.
Earlier this month, Knox County Circuit Judge Andrew Doyle set a three-day bench trial for Marcy L. Oglesby, who was facing counts of concealment of a homicidal death first-degree murder and aggravated battery in connection with the death of Richard Young.
She chose to let a judge rather than a jury weigh the evidence in the case and decide on a verdict. The trial is to start on June 23. If convicted of all charges, she faces up to 60 years in prison.
On Oct. 7, 2022, his remains were found in a storage locker in Maquon, a village along Illinois Highway 97 and Knox County Highway 20, about a mile north of Illinois Highway 8. Prosecutors believe she poisoned the former chief with eye drops. The two had reportedly been in a long-term relationship.
In May, she pleaded guilty to forgery and unlawful possession of a weapon. Both charges were linked to the former chief’s death. She was sentenced to time served in the county jail which was more than seven months and one year of conditional discharge, a form of non-reporting probation.
She was charged with murder in February 2023 but her attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges a month later, based up a violation of her speedy-trial rights which require the state to prosecute her case within 120 days.
The defense attorney argued the murder counts were not filed within 120 days and thus, must be thrown out. She had initially been charged with concealment of a homicidal death. A Knox County judge agreed and tossed the charges out. But a trio of judges from the appellate court disagreed and reinstated the charges.
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