Knox County woman pleads not guilty to concealment of a death charge

GALESBURG, Ill. (KWQC) - A Knox County woman pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge alleging she concealed 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.

During a preliminary hearing, a judge hears testimony to determine whether there is enough probable cause for the case to move forward. The judge does not determine a defendant’s guilt or innocence at these hearings.

She has a pretrial conference Dec. 5. Court records show a bond reduction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Oglesby is charged with concealment of a death, a Class 4 felony.

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

She also is facing two counts each of possession of a firearm without requisite firearm owner’s identification card, a Class 3 felony, and forgery, a Class 3 felony.

Around 6 p.m. Oct. 7, deputies responded to the storage units at 105 E. 3rd St., Maquon, for a complaint of a suspicious odor.

Deputies met with the manager of the storage facility and the owner of the storage unit where the smell 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 from an opossum that had died in the unit.

Deputies asked the owner to open a large box 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.

According to deputies, decomposed human remains were found inside the box. Due to the condition of the body, deputies were not able to 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.