WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A Marathon County Judge has denied a request from Henry West to withdraw his no contest pleas and instead has set a new sentencing date for him.
The 67-year-old was in court on Wednesday where Judge Gregory Huber denied his request to withdraw the plea, which was announced this spring as part of a deal that dropped several charges against him stemming from the October 2019 incident.
West will now be sentenced on August 9th for a handful of charges including first-degree intentional homicide, arson, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
You may remember West is the man found guilty of killing Patty Grimm in the Pine Grove Cemetery and injuring two others. First responders then discovered that he had booby-trapped his Schofield apartment by altering a natural gas line and planting explosives in his unit. Had they gone off as planned, the explosion could have resulted in hundreds of additional injuries or deaths.
West was described as a disgruntled former employee of the cemetery who was upset about being fired. Cemetery officials say at the time of his firing they requested a police presence because they were concerned about how he would take the news. Investigators add that he was also in the process of being evicted from his apartment at the time of the incident.
