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.