Identities of 3 murder victims pending following family notification
The former mayor of a small South Dakota town has been charged in a Memorial Day triple murder.
Jay Ostrem, 64, of Centerville, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder following the shooting deaths of three people Monday night, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Tuesday.
"There is no further threat to the public," Jackley said in a statement.
The slayings at a Centerville home were reported around 10 p.m. Monday, according to a press release from Jackley's office. The names of the three victims are being withheld until their family is notified.
Local reports say Ostrem previously served as a city councilor and mayor of Centerville, which is in Turner County. The small town has less than 1,000 people and was named Community of the Year last month by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, according to the Argus Leader newspaper.
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The Minnehaha County Jail, where 64-year-old Jay Ostrem is said to locked up for an alleged triple murder on Memorial Day. (Google Maps)
Ostrem is being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on $1 million cash-only bond.
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Centerville, S.D., is shown in relation to Sioux Falls. (Google Maps)
The South Dakota Capitol is photographed in Pierre, S.D. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A woman who answered the phone at the Turner County Sheriff's Office said the sheriff was still on the scene but is expected to release Ostrem's booking photo at a later time.
South Dakota's Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the deaths along with the Centerville Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Beresford Police Department, Viborg Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, Turner County Sheriff's Department and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, the attorney general's office said.
