Illinois Woman Gets 50 Years for Poisoning Ex-Police Chief Boyfriend With Eye Drops, Hiding Body in Storage Unit
MAQUON, ILLINOIS — A 53-year-old Illinois woman will spend the next five decades behind bars for poisoning her longtime boyfriend — a former police chief — with a “copious amount” of eye drops and later hiding his body in a storage unit.
Marcy L. Oglesby was sentenced Monday to 50 years in state prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery in the 2021 killing of Richard “Rick” Young, her boyfriend of nearly 30 years and the former chief of the Maquon Police Department.
Knox County Judge Andrew Doyle handed down the sentence following Oglesby’s conviction in a June bench trial, crediting her with 326 days served in custody.
“She killed a man who loved her and who cared for her for nearly 30 years,” said Knox County State’s Attorney Ashley Worby during sentencing. “She poisoned him and watched him suffer.”
Body Found Hidden in Maquon Storage Unit
Investigators uncovered the crime nearly a year after the killing when Young’s decomposed body was discovered on Oct. 7, 2022, inside a storage locker Oglesby had rented at Roberts Self-Storage in Maquon, a small town about 60 miles south of the Quad Cities.
At first, prosecutors charged her only with concealment of a non-homicidal death, believing Young had died naturally. But a later toxicology report revealed tetrahydrozoline — a chemical commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops — inside Young’s body.
That discovery turned the case upside down.
‘Copious Amount’ of Eye Drops Used in Poisoning
According to testimony from Knox County Sheriff’s detectives, a woman who lived with the couple told police Oglesby had poisoned Young’s food and drinks for months by adding eye drops and crushed medication.
Detectives later found:
- Numerous discarded eye-drop bottles,
- A pill crusher and packaging, and
- A Dollar General receipt for eye drops at Oglesby’s home.
“Prior to interviewing the witness, detectives were unaware someone could even be poisoned by eye drops,” court documents noted.
The toxicology report later confirmed a lethal level of the chemical compound in Young’s system, consistent with prolonged ingestion.
Defense Claimed Death Was Natural, Appeals Rejected
Oglesby initially claimed Young died from complications related to COVID-19 and said she only stored his body because his “last wish” was to be buried in a Native American burial mound.
Defense lawyers sought to have the murder charge dismissed on speedy-trial grounds, and at one point, the trial judge briefly agreed. But a higher court reinstated the murder charge, ruling the concealment and poisoning were “separate criminal acts.”
After a four-day trial, Judge Doyle deliberated for just five minutes before delivering a guilty verdict.
Oglesby remained defiant at sentencing.
“I respectfully disagree with the court’s findings,” she told the judge. “He didn’t go into that box immediately. I put him back to bed and continued to talk to him for three days.”
A Community Still Haunted
The murder of Richard Young stunned the tight-knit Maquon community, where he was remembered as a kind, devoted officer who continued helping others even after retirement.
Worby called the killing “a betrayal of trust and love that spanned decades.”
Oglesby, who maintained her innocence, is currently incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections. She will not be eligible for parole until her late 70s.
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