Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Jay Ostrem found guilty in 2024 Centerville triple homicide case – Legal Perspective
The verdict is in for a former Centerville mayor’s 2024 triple homicide case.
Jay Ostrem, 65, was found guilty Fridsy, March 20, by a McCook County jury for the murders of Paul Wyland Frankus, 26; Zachary Frankus, 21; and Timothy Richmond, 35.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Here is what happened in the triple homicide case
Ostrem was arrested May 27, 2024, after one of the victims, Zachary Frankus, called the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to report that his brother, Paul, had been shot at a residence in Centerville.
While still on the phone, Zachary Frankus was also shot. All three were found dead at the scene when officers arrived, previous Argus Leader reporting states.
Upon arrival, Ostrem was seen fleeing the scene but was apprehended without issue.
Ostrem, who had blood on his hands and smelled of alcohol, had within his possession a .380 handgun and an AR-style rifle in his possession, as well as spent shotgun shell casings and a spent rifle casing.
Who is Jay Ostrem?
With 20 years of law enforcement experience, Ostrem played a role in helping the city overcome state-level scrutiny when Nolan Clark, the city’s police chief at the time, faced an investigation for a crime not named publicly in 2006 by working for the city police department on weekends after a time when the town had little to no law enforcement, Argus Leader archives show. Clark later pleaded guilty to DUI in 2007 and Ostrem stopped taking those weekend shifts then.
Ostrem, a Gillette, Wyoming transplant, was also a Turner County Sheriff’s Office investigator in 2007 and a deputy in 2010. He assisted in the 2010 trial of Ethan Johns, who was convicted of killing sheriff’s deputy Chad Mechels and sentenced to life in prison.
He was also at the center of a two-year legal battle for Centerville between 2010 and 2012, when the city’s former police chief filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ostrem, who was the former mayor by that time.
He was mayor in 2010, and his law enforcement certification expired in 2016.