A late-evening shooting on May 27, 2024, in Centerville, South Dakota, left three men dead: 35-year-old Timothy E. Richmond and brothers Paul Wyland Frankus, 26, and Zachary Ryan Frankus, 21. The sequence began with a 9:44 p.m. 911 call from Zachary reporting that a neighbor had shot his brother with a shotgun; Zachary was shot during that call and the dispatcher lost contact. Officers arriving at a Main Street residence found all three men deceased inside.

A man was seen leaving the home as officers secured the scene; he was identified as 64-year-old Jay Edward Ostrem, a former Centerville mayor and former law enforcement officer. Ostrem was reportedly smelling of alcohol when taken into custody and was found in possession of a handgun and an AR-style rifle. Investigators recovered spent shotgun and rifle casings at the scene.

Court documents say Ostrem’s wife had told him on the evening of the killings that Paul Frankus had allegedly sexually assaulted her on May 23, and that Ostrem became enraged after learning of that allegation and left the house. Ostrem has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. The state Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the probe.

Does anyone have information about the victims, the defendants, or events in Centerville that week?