Police find deleted text messages in case against Streator man charged with killing woman

A Streator man will be held in the La Salle County Jail for at least the next two weeks after prosecutors charged him with strangling Jessica Balma inside a Streator residence.

Joshua R. Casey, 38, made his first appearance Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court. He would face up to 60 years if convicted of first-degree murder. Casey also is charged with concealment of a homicidal death, which carries up to five years.

There was no open-court reading of the factual basis for Casey’s arrest. Assistant Public Defender Douglas Kramarsic asked for time to prepare for a detention hearing and/or for a private attorney to enter an appearance on Casey’s behalf.

Casey mostly stared at the defense table as Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. admonished him about his charges.

“Yes, sir,” Casey answered in a low voice when asked if he wished to postpone detention.

The judge then scheduled a March 20 hearing to determine whether Casey will be detained while awaiting trial. Cash bonds were abolished by the SAFE-T Act, but to date, no person charged with murder in La Salle County has been granted pretrial release.

A companion document filed Friday in anticipation of the detention hearing spelled out a grisly crime scene found Tuesday, March 4, inside a residence in the 1100 block of East Elm Street. There, Streator police found the 37-year-old Balma dead from strangulation.

The scene also showed what prosecutors termed intent to remove her body from the scene.

According to Friday’s pleading, Casey was developed as a suspect after exhorting at least one other person to help him move the body. Police also recovered deleted text messages from Casey’s phone in which he told a witness he’d killed Balma.

“Casey’s actions ... further show planning and calculation in isolating the victim and securing alone time with the victim in order to commit this offense leading to Jessica Balma’s violent cause of death,” prosecutors wrote.

Additional details, including a motive, still are emerging. A news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office.