Doctor found shot in home after lecture, Illinois reports say. ‘I just shook her hand’
Within hours of presenting a lecture in front of other medical professionals, a doctor died after being shot in a home, Illinois reports say.
“I was shocked, stunned. I didn’t believe it,” Dr. Maria Hrycelak, president of the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America, said of Dr. Olga Duchon, WMAQ reported. “I just talked to her. I just shook her hand. I said great presentation.”
Duchon, a 42-year-old endocrinologist, had just given a lecture Sunday, Nov. 17, to the UMANA Illinois chapter. She reportedly planned on meeting friends afterward, but she made a stop first.
“She said, ‘Ladies, just go ahead. Wait for me. I need to make a quick stop, and I’ll come join.’ And she never did,” said Yuliya Abushevich, a longtime family friend, said in an interview with WLS.
The Barrington Police Department said officers were dispatched to a home at 5:40 p.m. for a report of a shooting, and they found Dochan with a gunshot wound to her chest. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to police.
Officers referred to the shooting as a domestic-violence incident. Two days later, officers arrested 46-year-old William Sientek, who was charged with murder.
Police did not provide information of what led to the shooting.
“This is a terrible thing that happened,” Hrycelak told The Daily Herald. “We said goodbye to her at four o’clock, and an hour and a half later she was tragically killed.”
WLS reported Duchon filed a protection order against Zientek in 2021, but it was terminated within weeks.
Duchon was the founder of HLS Endocrinology Care in Mundelein and had completed her endocrinology fellowship at the University of Chicago after attending medical school in Ukraine.
She was also the mother to a 4-year-old girl, Isla, according to a GoFundMe, which referred to the mom as a “beloved physician and radiant soul.”
“Olga was not just a respected doctor; she was a beacon of hope and healing for people around her,” the GoFundMe states. “Her exceptional skills and heartfelt compassion made her a trusted figure among her patients and a source of pride for her family.”
UMANA said it was “shocked and saddened” by Dochan’s death.
Barrington is about a 45-mile drive northwest from Chicago.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Doctor found shot in home after lecture, Illinois reports say. ‘I just shook her hand’."