Drug charges filed in wake of death of NIU student from Des Plaines

Three men are facing criminal charges for, police said, obtaining the LSD that contributed to the death of a 19-year-old Northern Illinois University student from Des Plaines.

Oluwarotimi "Timi" Okedina fell to his death Sept. 26 from the 11th floor of the Stevenson Towers residence hall on NIU's DeKalb campus.

NIU police said Okedina was under the influence of LSD and marijuana at the time of his death. Last week, authorities arrested three men for their role in obtaining the LSD that was found in Okedina's system, the police said.

Michael R. Kielhack, 20, of the 600 block of Woodbridge Drive in Elgin, was arrested Friday in his residence hall by NIU police.

Michael Z. Montgomery, 19, of the 1800 block of Abriter Court in Naperville, was arrested Thursday at his home by NIU police with assistance from Naperville and DeKalb police.

Thomas P. Quirke, 19, of the 200 block of Oakhurst in Aurora, turned himself in Friday at the DeKalb County jail.

Each of the men was charged with two felony counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.

Kielhack, Montgomery and Quirke were processed at the NIU police station and transferred to the county jail where they posted bail and were later released. Bail for Kielhack and Quirke was set at $50,000, and $5,000 for Montgomery, of which 10 percent was needed to be released.

Kielhack and Montgomery were NIU students at the time of Okedina's death, according to a news release. NIU officials said Quirke was never a student at the university.

Last month, the DeKalb County coroner ruled Okedina's death was an accident.

On Monday, NIU Police Chief Thomas Phillips said an investigation found that Quirke brought the drugs to NIU. Kielhack and Montgomery then sold the drugs on campus, according to police.

At the time of his death, Okedina was alone inside a room belonging to one of his friends, according to Phillips. He did not live in the dorm.

Okedina fell from the window sometime between 9:12 and 9:25 p.m. Police have said they believe the LSD and marijuana in Okedina's system "caused him to ignore the risk of exiting the room through the window."

"LSD is an hallucinogen," Phillips said. "Ingesting LSD has been known to impair judgment."

Okedina, a 2014 graduate of Maine East High School, was majoring in human resource management at NIU and was expected to graduate in 2018.

Kielhack and Quirke are due in court again Friday, and Montgomery on Dec. 10.

• Daily Herald staff writer Christopher Placek contributed to this report.