LaCROSSE, Wis. (Court TV) — A man has been convicted in the execution-style murders of three people after facing a second jury at his retrial.
Nya Thao (L) and Khamthaneth Rattanasack (R) were charged in 2021 with killing three men in Wisconsin. (LaCrosse County Jail)
Nya Thao was convicted of 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 as part of a dispute over money.
Thao was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 50 years.
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
SENTENCING 12/3/24
- Nya Thao was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 50 years.
DAY 6 – 8/13/24
- Nya Thao was found guilty of all charges.
DAY 5 – 8/12/24
- WATCH: Triple Murder Over $600 Trial: Prosecution Rebuttal Closing
- WATCH: Triple Murder Over $600 Trial: Defense Closing Argument
- WATCH: Triple Murder Over $600 Murder Trial: Prosecution Closing Argument
DAY 3 – 8/8/24
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Michael Lewko testified that Nya Thao, who Lewko had known for 15 years, admitted involvement in the killings while they were in neighboring cells in the COVID lockdown cell block.
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Lt. Michael Valencia, who’s part of the Investigations Division at the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office, recalled a wig being removed from Nya Thao’s head when he was arrested.
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Michael Vang did not dispute the authenticity of Facebook messages exchanged between his Facebook account and an account belonging to Nya Thao, wherein he disclosed the location of Nemo, Peng and Trevor just a short time before they were shot and killed at the quarry.
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Like Bridget Schlicht, he indicated an expectation that someone would get beat up over the death, but didn’t think ‘Black’ was actually going to kill Nemo, much less Peng and Trevor.
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Vang also said he tried to pay the $600 debt on Nemo’s behalf but was rebuffed because it wasn’t his debt.
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Todd Weckler recalled getting some “stuff” from a woman who had recently split up with Kham Rattanasack. He seemed to consider Kham’s stuff as abandoned property and took it home, partly to burn the clothes (Weckler advised he lives in the country where they can burn things in a barrel).
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Weckler said a gun, bullets, and two holsters fell out of the bag of clothes when he took it out of his car. He later turned the gun and accessories over to law enforcement, after some initial reluctance.
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Special Agent Jay Yerges who is part of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Criminal, Investigations Division, recounted his interaction with Todd Weckler and Todd’s initial reluctance to share information.
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Flora Johnson testified that she saw Nya Thao with a handgun in his waistband at the Wharf bar in Onalaska in the week leading up to the triple homicide.
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.
- 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.
