More details shared in Streator murder case, including a possible motive as Casey ordered detained

A Streator man charged with murder was denied home confinement with an ankle monitor at a Thursday hearing. Joshua Casey then was returned to the La Salle County Jail to await a jury trial scheduled for July 14.

Casey, 39, appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court for an appearance with counsel and arraignment on charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. He faces up to 60 years if convicted of killing Jessica Balma, who was found to have died March 4 from strangulation.

Apparently unable to retain private counsel the past few weeks, Casey asked for and was granted the services of a public defender Thursday.

Assistant Public Defender Doug Kramarsic promptly asked for pretrial release, contending that Casey’s criminal history comprises nonviolent offenses and that Casey poses no threat to any member of the public.

Kramarsic also characterized the case against Casey as “hearsay on top of hearsay.”

Hearsay or not, Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. said there was enough evidence of planning, both in Balma’s death and the alleged attempt to hide her body, to make Casey a risk to the public.

Cash bonds were abolished by the SAFE-T Act, and all criminal suspects have a presumption of pretrial release, but no person charged with murder in La Salle County has been granted pretrial release to date.

In arguing for Casey’s detention, Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Greg Sticka said a series of witnesses placed Casey at the Streator residence where Balma’s body was recovered. One of the witnesses, Ryan Pfalzgraf, told police that Casey asked him to help dispose of Balma’s body.

Sticka also disclosed, for the first time, the suspected motive in Balma’s killing. Casey, he said, told a witness that he blamed Balma in part for the handling of drugs that led to a fatal overdose. (The identity of the overdose victim was not disclosed in open court.)

Sticka also pointed out that the state isn’t relying on witness statements alone. A search warrant was executed on Casey’s truck, Sticka said, and crime scene technicians found blood in the truck. Gloves were found in Casey’s residence, he said, and those also were found to be bloodied.

Investigators also retrieved deleted text messages from Casey’s phone. These, Sticka said, included the words “The time is now,” “Jessie at Ryan’s” and “She’s about to be here alone.”

Sticka urged the court to consider the personal safety of witnesses in ruling whether to grant Casey pretrial release.

“It’s clear that [Casey] is willing to act violently against individuals he has intention to harm,” Sticka said.

As Sticka read aloud the evidence favoring detention, Casey pivoted in a swivel chair, rubbed his hands and shook his head. He turned to face supporters heard sniffling in the spectator gallery, but La Salle County corrections officers nudged him to turn back and face the judge.

The judge’s decision to deny pretrial release entitles Casey to a speedy trial within 90 days, so Ryan set a motions hearing for July 3, followed by a final pretrial conference July 10. Few murders, however, proceed at the first trial setting.