Dr. Olga Duchon
Courtesy of Northwestern Medicine
Barrington police have charged a 46-year-old man with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a renowned doctor Sunday evening.
Barrington resident William R. Zientek is accused of firing the bullet that killed 42-year-old endocrinologist Olga Duchon at his townhouse on the 400 block of West Russell Street. He is set to appear in a Cook County courtroom in Rolling Meadows Wednesday for a detention hearing.
William R. Zientek
The shooting occurred hours after Duchon had spoken to colleagues at an event in Wheeling Sunday afternoon.
“This is a terrible thing that happened,” said pediatrician Maria Hrycelak. “We said goodbye to her at four o’clock, and an hour and a half later she was tragically killed.”
Hrycelak was one of several colleagues who had gathered at Cooper’s Hawk in Wheeling to hear the 42-year-old Vernon Hills doctor’s presentation Sunday. She specialized in diabetes.
Authorities believe Duchon drove from the Wheeling event sponsored by the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America to Zientek’s townhouse in Barrington, where she was shot at about 5:30 p.m.
Authorities did not comment on the relationship between the shooter and victim, but have called the shooting “a domestic-related incident between family members.” Neighbors believed Zientek and Duchon were married.
Duchon was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy Monday. The results indicated that Duchon, of the 800 block of Saugatuck Trail, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Organizers of the event Duchon was at earlier in the day were stunned by her death.
“We are all shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic passing of our colleague Dr. Olga Duchon,” the association said on its Facebook page Monday. “Just yesterday we had the pleasure of her company at our UMANA meeting. We extend our most sincere condolences to her family and friends.”
Hrycelak also described Duchon as a “very private person.” She added Duchon had a child.
Barrington police cordoned off a townhouse on the 400 block of West Russell Street in Barrington after a well-regarded doctor was fatally shot there Sunday evening.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
Connor Etling, a resident in the Arbors townhouse complex, where the shooting took place, said he was in his family room Sunday evening.
“Our townhouse shares a portion of the wall with the house that had the incident,” he said.
He said he never spoke with the neighbors; a man, woman and a child, but would always wave. He assumed they were Ukrainian, because there were Ukrainian tags on their cars.
Etling doesn’t normally hear his neighbors, but that evening, while he was sitting on his sofa, he heard a cry.
“I immediately assumed it was their daughter,” he said. “But it was very subtle because of how well those walls are insulated.”
He said he put his ear to the wall, hoping everything was OK.
“Our walls are so thick, so we never hear our neighbors,” he said. “And for me to hear something, I can only assume that it was a loud voice.”
Etling didn’t hear the gunshot.
“We can’t believe this happened in Barrington — in our neighborhood,” he said. “This is insane.”
Etling said he was also unaware of any strife in the couple’s relationship.
“We didn’t know they were separated, because we would always see them together,” he said.
Duchon founded HLS Endocrinology in Mundelein. She was board certified in internal medicine, endocrinology and obesity medicine. According to the HLS website, she was most passionate about the treatment of diabetes.
“Dr. Duchon’s believes being a physician is a humbling profession, and believes treating patients is a privilege,” the HLS website states.
She went to medical school at Bukovina State Medical University in Ukraine.
She completed her internal medicine training in Milwaukee and her fellowship in endocrinology at the University of Chicago.
After the completion of the fellowship, she joined Northwestern Medicine.
A spokesman for Northwestern Medicine said Duchon left the health system last summer.
“However, she remained affiliated with our organization as a member of our medical staff and continued to treat patients independently,” Chris King said.
“We are learning about this tragic event in real time and we are devastated to hear this news. Our sympathies go out to her family during this difficult time,” he added.
She returned to practice endocrinology in the Crystal Lake/Huntley area before moving closer to home and family in Mundelein, according to the HLS website.
