Former South Dakota mayor charged in triple-murder shooting

Lauren Irwin

28 May 2024 at 10:52 pm·2-min read

Former South Dakota mayor charged in triple-murder shooting

A former South Dakota mayor has been charged in a triple-murder shooting.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a press release Tuesday that a 64-year-old Centerville man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the Monday deaths.

Jay Ostrem is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond in Minnehaha County, the release said.

Jackley said law enforcement had secured the scene and there is “no further threat to the public.”

The names of the three victims have not been released since family members are still being notified, Jackley said.

Ostrem served as Centerville mayor from May 2009 until he resigned in November 2011. He was accused of sexual assault in a federal lawsuit and was a former member of law enforcement, but his certification expired in 2016, Dakota News Now reported.

CBS News reported that the victims were two brothers aged 26 and 21, and a 35-year-old man. A probable cause affidavit did not specify a connection between the third victim and the two brothers.

The incident was reported around 10 p.m. Monday.

CBS News reported that a man called police to report that his brother had been shot by “a guy from across the street.” The caller was on the phone when he said he also was shot, and then he stopped talking.

The outlet reported that Ostrem was arrested with an AR-style rifle on the ground near him and a handgun in his pocket.

Dakota News Now reported that a Game, Fish and Parks conservation officer reported the smell of alcohol coming from Ostrem.

Authorities found the three victims in the home across the street from Ostrem’s.

Authorities also reportedly spoke with a female family member of Ostrem’s who said she was sexually assaulted by a neighbor while he slept in the house May 23 and added that Ostrem left the home in a rage when she told him about the incident Monday.

Jackley said the case is being investigated by South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation.

Centerville is about 40 miles south of Sioux Falls. It has a population of 918 people, according to the 2020 census.

Updated May 29 at 9:32 a.m. EDT

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