Knox County woman has pleaded not guilty to a concealment of death charge

GALESBURG, Ill. (KWQC) – A Knox County woman pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she hid a decomposing body in a storage unit.

Marcy Oglesby, 50, of Maquon, Illinois, appeared in Knox County Circuit Court and waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears testimony to determine whether there is sufficient cause to proceed with the case. The judge does not determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant at these hearings.

He has a pre-trial conference on December 5. Court records show a bond reduction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Oglesby is charged with concealing a death, a Class 4 felony.

According to court documents, between October 2021 and October 2022, he knowingly concealed the death of “John Doe,” who died by means other than homicide.

He also faces two counts of possession of a firearm, a Class 3 felony, and forgery, a Class 3 felony, without a firearm owner’s identification card.

On Oct. 7 around 6:00 p.m., deputies responded to the storage units at 105 E. 3rd St., Maquon, for a report of a suspicious odor.

Deputies met with the manager of the storage facility and the owner of the storage unit where the odor was coming from, deputies said in a media release.

The owner of the unit, later identified as Oglesby, unlocked it for deputies and said the smell was that of a dead opossum in the unit.

Deputies asked the owner to open a large safe inside the unit. According to deputies, the owner said there was a body inside the box.

Investigators, including the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigations unit, were called in.

According to deputies, they found decomposed human remains inside the box. Due to the condition of the body, the deputies could not make an identification.

Oglesby was arrested several days later.

Knox County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brad Davis said Monday that the remains have not yet been identified.

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