By Shereen Siewert
The suspect accused of shooting three people, one fatally, in a Wausau cemetery is due in court Friday afternoon for an initial appearance.
Henry “Hank” West, 64, is being held on a $1 million bond and is expected to be formally charged today with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the Oct. 3 melee. West is accused of fatally shooting 52-year-old Patty Grimm, who was the manager of Pine Grove Cemetery, where the incident took place. William Buhse, 60, was critically wounded while 70-year-old Rosemelia Short was also shot and has since been released from the hospital.
Like Grimm, Buhse is also an employee, police said, while Short is related to an employee at the cemetery. All thee victims are from Wausau.
Unclear is whether West, who worked at the cemetery until 2012, will face additional charges connected to a fire at 121 Fulmer St., in Schofield, that police say was related to the shooting and was reported just minutes before shots rang out in Wausau. West lived at the Fulmer Street apartment complex and had been evicted, according to court records. Officers, firefighters, and the Marathon County Bomb Squad swarmed the complex the day of the shooting and evacuated residents and nearby businesses overnight.
Additional details about the shooting and related fire will be detailed in a criminal complaint this afternoon. West has no prior criminal history in Wisconsin, but neighbors tell Wausau Pilot and Review that West made troubling statements to them in the days leading up to the shooting, saying they would “see me on the news.”
Everest Metro Police Chief Clay Schulz confirmed the department has records pertaining to West, but an open records request submitted by Wausau Pilot and Review was denied on Oct. 10. In the denial letter, department officials said releasing the information could intimidate witnesses, jeopardize their ability to conduct follow-up interviews, or deprive West of a right to a fair trial.
Grimm’s death left family and friends shattered and rocked the city’s southeast side. Marathon County Board Supervisor Katie Rosenberg, who represents the district adjacent to and lives a block from the cemetery, posted a public statement on her official Facebook page in response to the shooting. She also read the statement aloud during an Oct. 17 County Board meeting.
“I was deeply saddened to learn that the person who was targeted and killed was someone who took joyful responsibility for the people’s history of Marathon County,” Rosenberg’s statement reads. “Patty Grimm, who worked at Pine Grove, was by all accounts a cemetery historian. She held a wealth of information that she gathered not because she was forced to or because it was part of the job. She was curious and wanted to help our community better understand our ancestors — personal and collective. She was very well known at the Marathon County Historical Society and by anyone who frequently visited the cemetery. Two weeks ago, Marathon County lost an amazing and dedicated woman.”
“Thank you to the emergency responders who quickly arrived on the scene and arrested the suspect. To Patty’s family, we are so sorry for your loss.”
