Former South Dakota mayor arrested for triple shooting in city he represented

A former South Dakota mayor has been arrested and charged with three counts of murder for a triple slaying in the area he represented.

Jay Ostrem, 64, was arrested in connection with the deaths of three victims Monday evening. He was arrested by the Turner County Sheriff's Office, where he also reportedly served as a detective.

The incident was reported on May 27 around 10 p.m. at a residence in the city of Centreville.

“Jay Ostrem was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, and law enforcement secured the scene,” Attorney General Marty Jackley said. “There is no longer any threat to the public.”

Mr. Ostrem worked in law enforcement for more than two decades in Wyoming and South Dakota, according to media reports. He served as mayor of Centerville about a decade ago, but exact dates were not immediately available.

The names of the three victims, aged 21, 26 and 35, have not yet been released by police pending notification of next of kin. It appears that two of the men were brothers.

Mr. Ostrem is being held on $1 million cash-only bail in the Minnehaha County Jail following the incident, according to the State Attorney General's Office.

Authorities have not specified a motive for the crime. However, in a complaint filed Tuesday, obtained by the South Dakota Spotlight, Mr. Ostrem justified his actions by claiming that they were in retaliation for a sexual assault against his wife.

One of the three men killed was the alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault, the complaint states. Another was a relative of that man, who called police to report the shooting before he was shot.

A man had called 911 to report that his brother had been shot by “a guy across the street” and that the shooter had returned home.

Police said the man remained on the phone with a dispatcher when a gunshot rang out, then yelled that he had been shot. After that, police said, he remained silent.

“After some time on the phone with the dispatcher, the caller then reported that he had been shot,” the affidavit states, reported by Sioux Falls live. “Shortly after reporting that he had been shot, the man stopped communicating with the dispatcher.”

A third man was also found dead in the house, although his relationship to the brothers was not made clear.

The affidavit said Mr. Ostrem's wife told police the fatal events occurred after she disclosed to him that one of the victims had sexually assaulted her at their home on Thursday evening while he was sleeping.

The man lived across the street from the Ostrems.

By The projector, upon learning of the incident, Mr. Ostrem “got up and stormed out of the house.” His wife remained inside until police arrived, which happened shortly after Mr. Ostrem was found walking near his home with an “AR-style rifle” and a .380 pistol.

A South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conservation officer was the first to encounter Mr. Ostrem after the shooting, the affidavit said, who noticed “an odor of consumed alcohol.”

He obeyed the officer's orders to stop and told the officer he had a gun in his pocket.

An initial court date for Mr. Ostrem on the Turner County charges has not yet been set.