FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 21, 2024

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces Jay Ostrem (Ah-strum) of Centerville was arraigned Thursday in Salem on nine felony counts in the May 27 shooting deaths of three people in Centerville.

Ostrem, 64, had earlier been indicted by a Turner County Grand Jury on three counts of First-Degree Murder, three counts of Second-Degree Murder, and three counts of Felony First-Degree Murder While In the Commission of a Burglary.

During Thursday’s hearing, Ostrem entered three pleas to the nine charges: Not Guilty, Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, and Not Guilty But Mentally Ill.

The victims were identified as Paul Wyland Frankus, 26; Zachary Frankus, 21; and, Timothy Richmond, 35.

Ostrem’s next court appearance is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 22 in Salem. He remains held on a $1 million cash only bond in the Minnehaha County Jail.

The defendant is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

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