WI v. Nya Thao: Triple Murder Over $600 Trial

LaCROSSE, Wis. (Court TV) — A man accused in the execution-style murders of three people will face a second jury as his retrial begins on Tuesday.

Nya Thao (L) and Khamthaneth Rattanasack (R) were charged in 2021 with killing three men in Wisconsin. (LaCrosse County Jail)

Nya Thao is charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the killings of three men, allegedly as part of a dispute over money.

Thao was charged alongside Khamthaneth Rattanasack in 2021 for the deaths of Peng Lor, Nemo Yang and Trevor Maloney, who were shot to death outside the entrance of a Wisconsin quarry. Prosecutors say at least one of the men was believed to have stolen $600 from Rattanasack before the shooting.

Rattanasack pleaded guilty in Oct. 2023 and was sentenced to life in prison . A condition of the sentence is that he is not allowed to seek early release until he’s served at least 35 years.

Thao’s first trial, held in the summer of 2023, ended in a mistrial when a jury could not agree on a unanimous verdict. Rattanasack testified at that trial, admitting that he used the gun but placing the blame for the shooting on Thao, WXOW reported.

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES

DAY 2 – 8/7/24

• Bridget Schlicht testified she was at the rock quarry where the killings took place and gave a detailed account of the events that led up to her driving two of the three eventual homicide victims to the quarry.
  • Schlicht testified she thought, at worst, one of the victims was just going to get “beat up” for absconding with $600 that belonged to a man she knew as “Black.”
• Seth Barna recounted his wife finding a Glock in April 2023 while they were picking up roadside litter.
• Deputy Cody Ratkovich testified about responding to Barna’s call and recovering the firearm.
• Jessica Crawford, a firearm and toolmark examiner, testified about forensically linking the recovered firearm to the casings and bullets recovered at the crime scene in July 2021.

DAY 1 – 8/6/24

• Prosecutors opened by telling jurors that an eyewitness at the scene will testify that the defendant Nya Thao shot all three victims’ execution-style over an unpaid debt.
• Defense in its opening said Thao is a bystander in this horrific crime and government witnesses who will testify his client was the triggerman are making the claim because they are more afraid of the codefendant –who the defense says had the motive, the gun, and a history of violence.
  • WATCH: WI v. Nya Thao: Opening Statements
• Prosecutors call the pathologist  who testified that all three victims died of multiple gunshot wounds each suffered at least one gunshot blast to the head.
• A crime scene investigator testified all the spent cartridge casings recovered from the crime scene were of the same caliber and type.