Minnesota authorities said that a third suspect was apprehended in connection with the murder and dismemberment of a 34-year-old man last June.
The body of Richard Balsimo was chopped up in a Douglas County RV and placed in several five-gallon buckets and a tote bag before being tossed in Lake Superior.
The three suspects accused of perpetrating the gruesome crime went to the point of commissioning a commercial angler’s boat to drop the remains in the lake.
The owner of the boat told investigators that the trio claimed the remains belonged to a dog. Police later identified the suspects as Robert West, 40; Tommi Lynn Hintz, 31; and Jacob Colt Johnson, 35, who was arrested this week.
“These stiff penalties are warranted because of the barbaric nature of this crime,” investigator Justin Terch said.
“We continue to grieve for the Balsimo family, which received the closure it sought in Richard’s disappearance, but which also has had to deal with the gruesome details surrounding his murder.”
