A 46-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a north suburban endocrinologist with whom he shares a child, Barrington police said Tuesday.
William R. Zientek is accused of shooting and killing Olga Duchon, 42, Sunday in the 400 block of West Russell Street, in what police describe as a domestic dispute. The police found Duchon around 5:40 p.m., apparently suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington where she was pronounced dead, police said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office determined that Duchon, of Vernon Hills, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, police said. Zientek resides at the same Barrington address where the shooting occurred, police said.
Duchon, a well-known endocrinologist, filed an emergency protective order in McHenry County against Zientek on November 17, 2021, alleging that Zientek had firearms in his home and that she feared for her life. The petition states the two shared a young child.
Duchon wrote that her mother called her at work to tell her she found a gun on the couch and that she didn’t feel safe alone in the house with Zientek, according to the petition. Duchon called the police and returned home to learn that Zientek had several guns, but had also reported some guns missing.
“I had to leave the house because I didn’t feel safe there and the ‘missing gun’ is a lie and makes me fear for my life and that of my daughter,” the petition states.
Duchon also said in the petition that, in the past, Zientek had threatened to kill her if she left him or cheated on him.
“I can’t sleep, my daughter is having trouble adjusting to her new environment and she is unable to sleep. Me and my parents are afraid to take walks outside,” she wrote. “I am unable to concentrate and work properly, I miss days and now office staff no longer feel safe and are increasing security in several buildings.”
In December 2021, a McHenry County judge signed an order stating that both parties must stay away from each other except to facilitate parenting time.
On December 2, 2021, Zientek filed a motion requesting parenting time with their daughter, born in 2020, according to McHenry County court records. About six months later, Duchon and Zientek agreed to a schedule and shared parenting responsibilities.
Just hours before her death, Duchon was the featured speaker at a conference on obesity management in Wheeling, according to Maria Hrycelak, president of the Ukrainian Medical Organization of North America Foundation. She called Duchon “a very bright, intelligent and well-educated young woman.” Duchon previously worked for Northwestern University Health System until 2023.
Zientek’s first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.
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