Stillman Valley man accused of killing ex-wife, son will remain jailed

August 01, 2024 at 6:00 pm CDT

OREGON — A Stillman Valley man accused of killing his ex-wife and their 3-year-old son in 2016 will remain in jail as his case proceeds through the court system despite claims from his defense attorney that his client’s incarceration is inhibiting their ability to prepare for trial.

Duane Meyer, 42, will remain in custody at the Ogle County Jail as he awaits a February jury trial on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated arson and one count of concealment of a homicidal death. The charges are in connection with an Oct. 19, 2016, Byron house fire in which Meyer’s ex-wife, Margaret “Maggie” (Rosko) Meyer, 31, was found dead.

The couple’s son, 3-year-old Amos Meyer, who was also home at the time of the fire, was later pronounced dead at a Rockford hospital.

Meyer has been held in the Ogle County Correctional Center since Oct. 9, 2019.

Meyer’s attorney, Christopher DeRango of Rockford, told Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe on Thursday that Meyer should be released from jail because he has no prior criminal record, is not a threat to the community, has no record of violent behavior, and can’t adequately help with trial preparation because of limited visiting times at the jail.

But Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten said there was ample evidence pointing to Meyer’s guilt, including autopsy reports and text messages prosecutors claim he sent as he planned to end Maggie’s life to “eliminate” the problem.

“There are numerous messages,” said Leisten. “He was making specific threats to kill or injure Maggie Meyer. They are vicious and show a clear intent to hurt her.”

In previous hearings, DeRango and Leisten have both said numerous cellphone records and data will be part of the evidence presented.

DeRango again argued that text messages sent by Meyer before the deaths were only part of a “contentious” divorce and not indicative of anything nefarious.

“This was a contentious divorce,” argued DeRango. “There’s not a single allegation that he was abusive to his wife or child.”

“He [Meyer] was obsessed with ending her life,” Leisten argued. “The texts show planning and a conspiracy to have Maggie Meyer killed.”

DeRango also told Roe he has been unable to meet with Meyer as needed due to limited visiting hours and days at the jail. DeRango said limits set by jail personnel have not allowed him sufficient time to meet with Meyer as they prepare for trial.

“It is virtually impossible to see my client on mundane issues let alone prepare for trial,” DeRango said, arguing that 20,000 pages of discovery have been generated in the case.

DeRango said Meyer could be released on home confinement and wear a GPS monitor.

“He is willing to do the GPS monitoring at his own expense and he would live with his parents who are pillars of the community,” DeRango said.

He also argued that Meyer is not a flight risk since he was a suspect in the deaths for three years before being charged in 2019.

“All of these can be addressed with pretrial release conditions,” DeRango said.

“There is a difference between being a suspect and being charged,” Leisten said when referring to Meyer as a flight risk. “He is a danger to the Ogle County community.”

Roe denied the request for pretrial release. In explaining his ruling, he said text messages prosecutors say Meyer sent to a girlfriend three days before the deaths indicated a presumption of guilt to hold Meyer in custody. Roe said one of the alleged texts made by Meyer said “I owe her a trip six feet due south” while another said “I’m just trying to flush her”.

“These text messages go beyond a contentious divorce,” said Roe. “There is something psychologically not right.”

Roe said the totality of those texts in combination with the severity of the charges carried weight in his decision to keep Meyer in custody.

In June, Roe denied DeRango’s request for more details on what a state witness has to say about phone records that could be used at trial.

DeRango sought additional disclosure, including a written summary of testimony that he believes prosecutors intend to use from FBI analyst Joseph Raschke, who analyzed cellphone data before the fire. Leisten has said Raschke will testify about Meyer’s cellphone data and how it relates to cell towers in the area and DeRango would have the opportunity to cross-examine Raschke during the trial.

In November 2022, Roe ruled that Duane Meyer’s cellphone records would be allowed as evidence at the trial.

On Thursday, Roe also said DeRango had raised “serious concerns” about limited meeting times at the jail. He instructed the state’s attorney’s office to find out what the policy is for defense attorneys’ requests regarding consultations with jailed clients.

“I don’t know what can be done about that, but it is of the utmost importance,” Roe said. “I do want to hear more about what is going on at the jail. I would rather get an answer to that sooner than later.”

Roe set the next status hearing for 3 p.m. Sept. 5.

Maggie (Rosko) Meyer was a teacher at the Chana Education Center at the time of her death. She filed for divorce in 2014, and court records show that the divorce was finalized in September 2016.