GALESBURG, Ill. — Marcy Oglesby has been released from the custody of the Knox County Sheriff's Office on Monday, after having been initially charged with murder in the case of a body found decomposing in a storage unit in Maquon.
According to Knox County State's Attorney Jeremy Karlin, Oglesby was being held on charges of concealment of a death, forgery and invalid FOID registration.
The office had added charges of murder/strong probability to kill or injure, attempted murder, aggravated battery by ingesting a toxic substance and concealment of a homicidal death in early February, which were then dropped in late March.
Karlin explained to News 8 that the trial court's decision to dismiss the murder charges is currently under appeal in an appellate court, which may not reach a decision until later this year or early 2024.
"The court's decision, which we believe was made in error, requires us to release the defendant on the non-murder charges while the appeal is pending," Karlin said in an email to News 8.
Karlin said that if they failed to release Oglesby from custody, it could jeopardize any future prosecution of charges against her.
The State's Attorney is hoping the appellate court rules in their favor, which would charge Oglesby with the death of Richard "Rick" Young, a former Maquon police chief.
Family who attended the hearing on May 1 told News 8 that Oglesby was released on her own recognizance bond. Karlin explained that there are certain stipulations to that bond, including that Oglesby is not able to contact witnesses involved in the case, and is not allowed to leave the state of Illinois without court permission.
A family spokesperson shared with News 8 that they were "saddened and disappointed in how this case has played out."
On Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, Knox County deputies responded to the Maquon storage unit after complaints of a suspicious smell. The deputies contacted the facility's manager and Oglesby, the unit's renter, and began a search.
Oglesby claimed that the smell came from an opossum that had previously died in the unit. When police came across a large box that she refused to open, Oglesby admitted that there was a body inside it. She was then taken into custody and received her initial charge of concealment of death.