Faces 20-60 years for Maquon murder
By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post
GALESBURG – Marcy Oglesby was led from a Knox County courtroom to jail last week, possibly never to be free again.
After a bailiff placed Oglesby in handcuffs, the person who might have been second-most responsible for that situation was the one in tears.
“I’m just very relieved that we were able to get justice for Richard Young. That’s what it’s about,” Knox County State’s Attorney Ashley Worby said after a judge convicted Oglesby of Young’s murder.
A path that began with Young’s death in late 2021, continued to the discovery of his body a year later and included murder charges that were dropped and reinstated, came to a four-minute conclusion June 26 in a gray-painted, wood-paneled room on the second story of the Knox County Courthouse.
Following lunch on the fourth day of a bench trial, Judge Andrew Doyle found Oglesby guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery regarding the poisoning death of Young. He spent 30 years as a police officer in Maquon, which has about 220 residents.
Law-enforcement officers found Young’s body in October 2022 in a Maquon storage unit after neighbors complained about an odor. Oglesby, 53, who admitted hiding Young’s remains, was arrested shortly thereafter.
Oglesby was found not guilty of concealing a homicide. According to Worby, that verdict and Oglesby being on pretrial release from jail were linked to the earlier dismissal of the murder charge. Doyle did that in early 2023 because of speedy-trial concerns, but a state appellate court overruled him.
The next scheduled court appearance in Galesburg for Oglesby is Sept. 3, for her sentencing. The murder charge mandates a 20-to-60-year state-prison term, to be served in full. Until then, Oglesby is to remain in the county jail.
Oglesby decided not to testify, according to one of her attorneys, public defender Christopher Kanthak. Clad in a pastel-pink T-shirt and black shorts, Oglesby departed the front of the courtroom before Worby and friends of Young exchanged hugs and well-wishes in the back.
This was Worby’s first successful murder prosecution since she became state’s attorney last December. She was an assistant state’s attorney under Jeremy Karlin when Oglesby first was charged.
“So many hours over the course of years to get here,” wet-eyed Worby said. “And hours of sleep lost and time away from my family to make sure that Richard can rest in peace. I have to keep this emotional distance so I can get through it. There’s just a huge amount of relief and release for everyone.”
‘The Visine Killer’
If someone writes a book about this case, it could be titled “The Visine Killer.” The prosecution maintained Oglesby put eye drops and other medication in her longtime boyfriend’s food and drink over three or four months beginning in the summer of 2021.
Young’s death, in late October or early November of that year, was from tetrahydrozoline intoxication, according to Dr. Amanda Youmans, who performed the autopsy in Peoria. Tetrahydrozoline is the active ingredient in eye drops. The drug is harmless when used as intended but can be fatal if ingested.
“This was the first time I had an autopsy where this drug was detected,” Youmans said June 24 on the witness stand. “It’s significant, because it’s an over-the-counter eye medication. A lot of people use it.”
In her closing argument two days later, Worby said Oglesby’s two-pronged motive – financial and romantic – was as old as time.
To access Young’s bank accounts, Oglesby initiated purchase of an 80-acre Knoxville-area farm that had a listed price of $800,000. She and Young were to reside there. In evidence offered in court, Young texted friends about how he was planning to purchase a tractor.
But after the deal fell through, Oglesby drained at least $60,000 from Young’s savings, according to Worby.
“And she is just spending it,” Worby said. “On what, we don’t know. … She just impulsively spends gobs of money that is not her own. She has no source of money other than Richard Young’s bank account.”
Oglesby worked for years in the medical field but had no recent gainful employment, according to Worby. Oglesby intended to pursue an art-related career, possibly with a Nigerian man nicknamed “Sonny.”
In an interview police recorded shortly after Young’s body was found, Oglesby accused Young of being stingy. She also said she and the Nigerian never met in person. They communicated online.
“More like a fantasy, more like something that filled in the blanks,” Oglesby said during the interview, which the court heard June 25. “We’re 6,224 miles apart. I was with someone who was 22 years older than me and not the most affectionate person in the world. I had a midlife crisis.”
Not long after the farm deal was aborted, 71-year-old Young tested positive in August 2021 for COVID-19. He didn’t consult a doctor, according to court testimony. He texted associates about feeling dizzy, nauseous and unsteady.
“That’s when the light bulbs go off,” Worby said. “She’s not going to be able to pay back this money, and Richard is going to be upset she’s taken over 60 grand from him.
“Perhaps Marcy caught something on TV about eye drops, and she got an idea. Rick is ill. She wants to get rid of him. How is she going to get out of it? This is her opportunity.”
Worby also referred to testimony Galesburg police officer Timothy Spitzer offered June 25. He conducted digital analysis of Young’s cellphone and determined Oglesby commandeered it beginning in November 2021.
Topics accessed on the phone before that date included firearms, trucks and men’s clothing, Spitzer said. Afterward, topics changed to art sales, art galleries and chicken recipes. A message thread with a Nigerian area code also was found.
Oglesby impersonated Young in responses to text messages his phone received after October, Spitzer’s evidence indicated. Selfies of Young taken between July and November – there were none after that – showed him becoming increasingly gaunt and bruised. “Haunting images,” Worby said.
‘Doesn’t make sense’
On the final day of the trial, the defense called its only two witnesses. One was Karen Doubet, Oglesby’s 79-year-old godmother, who earlier in court implicated Oglesby and alleged her eye-drop abuse. They and Young lived together in Maquon.
The other witness was Craig Chatterton, a forensic toxicologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton, Alberta. A paid witness, Chatterton disputed Youmans’ conclusions about how Young died.
Chatterton said tests of muscle tissue, which in Young indicated sky-high levels of tetrahydrozoline, were not as accurate as tests of blood. That option wasn’t available because Young’s body had decomposed to the point of liquefication and mummification.
“There is little if any interpretive value in samples of this particular nature,” Chatterton said.
Chief Public Defender David Hansen cited Chatterton’s opinion in his closing argument and also impugned Youmans.
Hansen implied Doubet, who testified under a plea bargain, was not trustworthy because she admitted she lied to police initially. He said Oglesby left no digital footprint regarding how she might kill Young, a cancer survivor who smoked two packs of cigarettes daily.
“The bottom line is there are too many questions raised here, too many inconsistencies, lack of evidence and lots of speculation. Speculation are not facts,” Hansen said. “There’s just too much that doesn’t make sense here.”
Doyle sided with the prosecution, which called 26 witnesses.
Young’s three sons reside out of state and did not attend the trial. Worby said she’s been in touch with them, as well as others who knew someone people in Maquon called “Rick the Cop.”
One of those friends, Todd Mason, couldn’t hide his emotions as he departed the courtroom following the verdict. He couldn’t hide his opinion, either.
“All I’ve got to say is it’s a good day for a good day,” a choked-up Mason said. “I’m glad the outcome was in the state’s favor.”
