Duane Meyer Found Guilty On All Charges In 2016 Byron Fire Deaths

OREGON — A jury on Thursday night found Duane Meyer guilty on all charges stemming from a 2016 house fire in Byron that killed his ex wife, 31-year-old Margaret “Maggie” Meyer, and their 3-year-old son, Amos. Meyer, 43, was convicted of four counts of first degree murder, two counts of aggravated arson, and one count of concealment of a homicidal death following a trial that began Jan. 5 after years of delays. Prosecutors argued Meyer strangled Maggie Meyer before intentionally setting fire to the home in the 2000 block of Silverthorn Avenue in October 2016 to conceal the killing, pointing to cell site data, digital evidence, and extensive text messages, while the defense maintained there was no physical evidence placing him inside the home and challenged the reliability of the technology. Meyer did not testify. He has been held in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest in October 2019. Under Illinois law, the guilty verdicts for multiple murders make Meyer eligible for a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison, with sentencing to be scheduled at a later date.