LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — A man has been convicted in the 2021 fatal shooting of three men whose bodies were found outside a Wisconsin quarry.
A La Crosse County jury found 37-year-old Nya Thao of Onalaska guilty Tuesday of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of illegal possession of a firearm, the La Crosse Tribune reported.
It was Thao’s second trial for the murders; his first ended in a jury failure last year. His sentencing is scheduled for October 14.
Thao and Khamthaneth Rattanasack were both charged with the July 2021 murders of Peng Lor and Nemo Yang, both 24, and Trevor Maloney, 23. Their bodies were found outside the entrance to a quarry about 14 miles northeast of La Crosse on the Minnesota border.
Prosecutors said Rattanasack was convinced that at least one of the three stole $600 from him. A woman who was with the victims told police that Rattanasack ordered them to get on their knees and gave Thao the gun, with which Thao shot her multiple times.
Rattanasack pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder as an accomplice in October. He was sentenced to life in prison in January.
La Crosse County Sheriff John Siegel said Tuesday’s verdict “closes the door on a gruesome crime committed not just against three individuals, but against our entire community.”
The Associated Press sent an email to Thao’s attorney Thursday morning seeking comment on his client’s sentencing.
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