McHenry man, 18, is third person charged in Wisconsin slaying
A McHenry man is the third person charged in connection with the killing of a 60-year-old man found shot to death last year in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, police said.
Joshua C. Grimaldi, 18, was arrested Tuesday on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a body, both as parties to a crime, Wisconsin court records show.
Also charged with those same offenses are Joey L. Miracle, 18, of Twin Lakes, and Thomas R. Wilton, 20, of Trevor, Wisconsin. All three men are being held in the Kenosha County Jail on $1 million bond, according to Wisconsin circuit court filings.
Thoma's body was found Nov. 6 buried in a wooded area behind the Tan Oak Apartments in Twin Lakes, where he lived, authorities said in December after the arrests of Miracle and Wilton.
He was reported missing Oct. 19, five days after family members last saw him, according to police. His body was found by a man working on a bike track that ran through the wooded area behind the apartment complex.
Thoma's remains were identified through dental records. The Milwaukee medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy, and preliminary findings indicated he had been shot in the back of the head, according to a criminal complaint.
Grimaldi was arrested after police and partner agencies conducted a "comprehensive investigation" including "numerous interviews, reviewing hundreds of hours of digital evidence and serving several search warrants," according to a Twin Lakes Police Department news release.
"Through the investigation, significant evidence was gathered and led investigators to identify Grimaldi as the third person connected to this horrific tragedy," according to the release.
When interviewed Tuesday by detectives, Grimaldi said he lived in the Tan Oak Apartments with Miracle and another friend in October, according to the criminal complaint. Grimaldi said he did not know Thoma "personally" but had seen him around the apartment complex.
Grimaldi told authorities that Miracle said he wanted to kill Thoma because he believed him to be a "pedophile crackhead," according to the complaint.
During an interview with detectives, Grimaldi at first denied being at the apartment complex during the time Thoma was killed. He eventually admitted to going with Miracle to be a lookout while Miracle shot Thoma in the woods, according to the complaint.
Grimaldi is due back in court Thursday, and both Wilton and Miracle are due back in court March 30. If convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, each faces life in prison.
Attempts to reach Thoma's family and attorneys for the defendants were not returned.