The suspect in the Streator strangulation will stand trial for murder on June 1.

Joshua Casey, 39, appeared Monday in La Salle County Circuit Court for a status hearing. Hewould face up to 60 years if convicted of killing Jessica Balma, who was found dead on March 4. The cause of death was manual strangulation.

Casey was given a new trial setting. Jury selection would begin June 1. A final pre-trial conference is set for May 13. Those dates could be altered, however, when Casey next appears for a status hearing on March 23.

Casey is one of four people with pending murder charges in La Salle County. Scheduled first for trial this year is Nicolaus J. Phillips, 26, of Spring Valley, the suspect in the 2023 shooting death of Eric Clements of Ottawa.

Still awaiting trial dates are 24-year-old Chastity Furar, who is accused of supplying Phillips with the gun and driving him to Clements’ home, and double-slaying suspect Ronald Martin Jr., 46, of Sheridan. Both await motion hearings in March.