Mother, daughter plead not guilty to concealing man’s body in Richmond conservation area

A mother and daughter duo pleaded not guilty Friday to charges alleging that they moved the body of a man they believed was dead from a Richmond apartment and left him in “tall grass” in a conservation area, court records show.

Theresa Marie Stoen, 43, of Genoa City, Wisconsin, and Mikalah Marie Stoen, 24, of Richmond, each pleaded not guilty to two counts of concealment of a death, according to the indictments filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

Each is a Class 4 felony punishable by between one and three years in prison or between three and six years if eligible for extended sentencing. It also is probational.

The two are accused of moving the body of Alexander Oleston, 32, of Richmond, on or about April 28 from the address listed in court documents as being the apartment of Mikalah Stoen and concealing him in “tall grass” in North Branch Conservation Area, 11400 Keystone Road in Richmond, according to the indictment.

The Stoens said they believed he was dead when they left him in the conservation district, but it is not yet clear if he was, in fact, dead when they left him, McHenry County Conservation District Chief of Police Laura King said.

The McHenry County Conservation District police began investigating after the man was found deceased the following morning near the entrance of the conservation area by a conservation district employee, according to a news release issued by district police at the time.

The McHenry County Coroner’s Office and the conservation district identified the man as Oleston. He had “no signs of apparent injury,” according to the conservation district’s news release at the time.

As of Monday, a cause of death was not yet determined, King said. Attempts to reach the coroner were not immediately successful.

Oleston had no obvious physical signs to determine a preliminary cause, such as bludgeoning, gun shot wounds or knife lacerations, King said Monday.

In May, McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said he was performing toxicology and awaiting other lab reports, which can take several weeks.

The mother and daughter pair knew Oleston prior to his death, King said. Mikalah Marie Stoen worked with him at a fast food restaurant in Richmond.

The Stoens turned themselves into Richmond police the day after Olseton’s body was found, King said. They told police Oleston died in the Richmond apartment and they suspected his death was from drugs, King said. The women said they moved him from the apartment to the conservation district where he was found, King said adding the women cooperated with the investigation.

Oleston pleaded guilty in 2012 in Walworth County to second-degree sexual assault of a child when he was 22 years old, Wisconsin court records show. He was sentenced to two years in prison and 10 years of probation.

Oleston was ordered to register as a sex offender for 15 years, according to Wisconsin court records. He was charged twice in McHenry County with failing to report a change of address, once in 2020 and again in 2021. He pleaded guilty each time.

King said his death has nothing to do with his past criminal convictions and those crimes did not involve the Stoen women.

The women, who are being represented by attorneys from the McHenry County Public Defender’s Office, are due back in court Aug. 9. Their attorneys declined to comment.

Both women were released on bond. Theresa Stoen posted $2,400, or 10% of her bond, and her daughter posted $2,000, also 10%.