Jury finds Superior man guilty of murder in North Shore dismemberment trial

DULUTH — Jacob Colt Johnson, 37, was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder for the killing of Ricky Balsimo Jr., whose body was found in pieces in 5-gallon buckets weighted with concrete and dumped a mile offshore in Grand Portage Bay.

A jury deliberated for about three hours before offering its decision to a full courtroom Wednesday afternoon at the St. Louis County Courthouse. Members of the Balsimo family, who didn't miss a day of the trial, exhaled and grabbed hands when the verdict was read. Kim Balsimo, Ricky's mother, tucked into her husband's body; Rick Balsimo Sr. has been wearing his late son's short-sleeved plaid shirts to court every day.

Raquel Turner, Ricky's younger sister, said the family is happy with the verdict and relieved.

"It'll never bring Ricky back, but in the eyes of the law, we got our confirmation," she said.

Johnson, of Superior, Wis., didn't flinch when the verdict was read, but he called over his shoulder "love you, babe" to a supporter as he was handcuffed and led from the courtroom.

Johnson claimed self-defense in the shooting. The mother of his child, Meagan Bieroth, testified that Balsimo was acting out of character. They were all in Johnson's SUV, driving around the Twin Cities late at night, and Balsimo waved a knife and threatened their lives. Johnson would later tell a witness, "He was going to kill us all."

Johnson was in the passenger seat when he shot Balsimo several times.

Robert West, who was found guilty earlier this year for his role, testified that Johnson dismembered Balsimo in an RV in rural Wisconsin. West drove to Grand Portage and went out on Lake Superior with a commercial fisherman, then dumped the body claiming it was his late-grandmother's dead dog and valuables.

In her closing argument, defense attorney Nora Huxtable described the prosecution as playing a carnival game — distracting the jury with evidence from cellphones, underwater video and photographs from the autopsy. Only about 30 minutes of testimony came from the scene of the shooting — from Bieroth, the only witness from in the car who testified, Huxtable said.

"Keep your eye on the real issue," Huxtable said, describing Johnson as trapped in an enclosed space with a man tripping on methamphetamines and brandishing a knife.

Johnson had options that night, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Daniel Vlieger said in the prosecution's closing argument. He could have stopped the car, called Balsimo's parents — or contacted the police.

"He could've done anything other than what he did," Vlieger said in his hourlong closing argument.

Johnson will be sentenced Sept. 11 at the Cook County Courthouse. He also faces charges in Wisconsin for mutilating a corpse and for an unrelated charge of possessing a firearm.