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The jury selection began for Robert Thomas West, 42, in Cook County District Court on January 24, 2023.
West, from South Range, Wisconsin, is one of three charged in the murder of a 34-year-old St. Paul man in June of 2021.
Judge Michael Cuzzo is presiding.
At the time of his arrest Cook County prosecuting Attorney Molly Hicken charged Robert Thomas West with one count of Aiding an Offender (accomplice to Felony Murder) and one count of Interference with a Dead Body (conceal body) for his involvement in the disappearance of
Richard Anthony Balisimo Jr.
The victim was last seen in St. Paul on June 20, 2021. Divers found Balisimo’s remains in Lake Superior off of the shore of Grand Portage on July 15 and July 16 in two five-gallon buckets and a large tote filled with cement and body parts
Two others face punishment for the crime. Jacob Colt Johnson, 35, of Superior, Wisconsin, has been charged with intentional second-degree intentional murder, and Tommi Lyn Hintz, 32, has already pled guilty to being an accomplice after the fact for the killing and dismemberment of Balsimo’s body.
The criminal complaint filed in the Cook County courthouse charges West with being an accomplice to felony murder after the fact. It is alleged that West helped dispose of Balsimo’s body, interfered with finding the body, and tried to conceal the crime.
An informant said West told them he had a dead body in the back of his truck.
After questioning, West admitted his involvement, allegedly confessing to prosecutors about his role in disposing of the body.
West has been held in the Douglas County Jail in unrelated charges to this case.
Richard (Ricky) Anthony Balisimo Jr. of St. Paul was reported missing by his family in late June 2021. When authorities failed to locate Balisimo, his family hired private investigators who found information that he was likely a victim of homicide. On July 15-16, officers found Balisimo’s remains in cement-weighted buckets off the Lake Superior shore of Grand Portage.
According to alleged statements by Hintz, she told West she knew a commercial fisherman in Grand Portage. Both West and Hintz drove the remains of Balisimo to Grand Portage, where West told the boat captain that he wanted to dispose of a large tote and two five-gallon buckets into the lake.
According to the medical examiner, Balisimo had been shot in the torso. West allegedly confessed to coming up with the plan to dispose of the body.
Attorney Stever Bergeson, who is representing Johnson, filed notice that he will argue that Johnson acted in self-defense and the defense of others.
The trial is expected to take up to three weeks but could be settled much quicker.
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