HOULTON, Maine — Attorneys for a 21-year-old accused in the brutal slaying of two men and a 10-year-old boy in the Aroostook County town of Amity in June 2010 have filed court documents seeking a change of venue for the trial.
Assistant Attorney General Bill Stokes said Wednesday that he expects a decision on the request to move the trial of Thayne Ormsby to be made when jury selection begins in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton on April 4.
Stokes said Ormsby’s attorneys, James Dunleavy and Sarah LeClaire of Presque Isle, are seeking a change of venue based on pre-trial publicity in the case. The only other superior court in The County is located in Caribou, 60 miles north of Houlton, but superior court Justice E. Allen Hunter, who has presided over the case thus far, also sits in Washington County.
Stokes acknowledged Wednesday that the case has received a lot of publicity, but he felt that a suitable jury could be found in Houlton.
Ormsby, an Ellsworth native who was living in Orient at the time of the killings, is accused of stabbing to death Jeffrey Ryan, 55, Ryan’s son Jesse, 10, and Ryan family friend Jason Dehahn, 30, all of Amity. All three were found dead about 27 hours after the killings at the Ryans’ home on U.S. Route 1. The victims were stabbed to death with a combat-style knife that Ormsby reportedly always carried with him, according to police.
Ormsby pleaded not guilty in July 2010 to three counts of murder in connection with the deaths and to an arson charge in connection with the theft of Jeffrey Ryan’s truck, which was set on fire in Weston after the killings.
Ormsby reportedly told police he killed Jeffrey Ryan because he believed Ryan was a drug dealer. Ryan’s family has denied the claim, and a criminal background check on Jeffrey Ryan revealed no history of drug-related offenses.
Police linked Ormsby to the crime scene through DNA and fingerprint evidence obtained from a beer can and cigarette butt in Ryan’s home.
Late last year, Justice Hunter denied a defense motion to suppress statements that Ormsby made to Maine State Police detectives during two separate interviews in June and July 2010.
Also, for his alleged role in helping to conceal evidence in connection with the triple homicide, Robert Strout, 64, of Orient was arrested in September 2010 and charged with hindering apprehension and arson. While free on bail, Strout was arrested again in August 2011 on an unrelated drug offense.
He pleaded guilty to all the charges against him in October 2011 and will be sentenced after he testifies against Ormsby at the trial. Under a plea agreement, he will serve at least two years in prison on the charges but not more than four years.
Strout remains free on bail.
In the weeks before the killings, Ormsby lived a short distance from the crime scene at the Orient home of Strout and his wife, Joy Strout. Strout told police last year that a bloodied Ormsby came to his home after the killings and threatened to kill his family if he did not help Ormsby cover up evidence of the crime, including helping to dispose of the clothes Ormsby was wearing and the knife used in the killings.
Strout later drove Ormsby to New Hampshire to live with his son. That is where Ormsby later was arrested.
Two weeks have been set aside for jury selection, with the trial set to begin after that process is complete.
Dunleavy and LeClaire could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Taxpayer money doesn’t need to be spent on this case. He admitted to it; put him away.
Unfortunately, taxpayers money will pay for his stay in prison.
It’s sad when people don’t understand how or why our system of justice works.
It’s even sadder when someone kills three people.
sure move it TO MY BACK 40
what a waste of time. They could move the trial to Alaska and the results would be the same. Guilty on all three counts.
If only we could ask the victims… I’m sure they would have the “RIGHT ANSWER”!
I would say move it so his lawyer doesn’t win on some technicality. We all know the results no matter if they hold the trial on the moon, unless moves it to Florida and finds Casey Anthony’s Lawyers and jurors. However, I must say, he doesn’t have Casey’s attractive looks. There is something to that double standard and too pretty for jail. He won’t qualify. For the record I didn’t find CA, attractive, but obviously many of those jurors did, as she was found innocent. Florida hasn’t spent one dime of its resources looking for a “real” murderer either.
Or maybe you just don’t understand the concepts of “evidence” and “reasonable doubt”…
I understand everytime there in an attractive woman on the stand and many times an attractive man, there is reasonable doubt……. Funny how they never find reasonable doubt on similiar cases when she isn’t pretty. Just a fact. These child molestation cases get me the worst. Pretty school teachers and women who get off because some jury “thinks” the boy got lucky. A 28 year old woman who looks 20 molesting her students, is a 28 year old woman who knows better then sleep with her 14 year old students. Same jail time for her as for a man, I don’t care how young or pretty she is . What is good for a man is great for a woman. Same with childsupport. Woman who walk away, should be paying, according to their salaries, just like men.
This trial could be moved to anywhere in the state, but that doesn’t mean people haven’t heard about it and formed an opinion, regardless of the evidence. You, Thayne Ormsby, have already admitted to this horrid crime. End of story!
Clearly guilty. Too bad our laws forbid us from putting this monster to death immediately. Instead, we have to clothe, house and feed him for the rest of his life. Who’s being punished, Ormsby or the taxpaying public? Killing an innocent person is unforgivable but murdering a 10 year old boy? Animal.
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Strout later drove Ormsby to New Hampshire to live with his son. That is where Ormsby later was arrested.”
Seems obvious to me there’s more to this than anybody is talking about. Why would you take someone that did this to stay with your son in another state ?
The irony is that Strout is an admitted drug dealer and Ormsby was staying at Strout’s house but said he committed the murders because he thought the victims were drug dealers.
Yes, that is a fact! Strout had know Jeff for years, he’d been his father-inlaw for years. Strout wanted Jeffs medication and that is why two men and a young child are dead! Over pills!!!!…. Strout is the dealer and Ormsby needs to man up!
Because Strout is(probably) involved with the killings and he knows the truth!!!! Jeff had a very bad back that he took pain medication for. (I grew up with Jeff.) It is my belief that Strout wanted the drugs that Jeff was prescribed for his bad back. I wish Ormsby would man up and spill his guts on what the Strouts involvement is in this case. He owes it to the victims and their families to know the truth.
Exactly! Strout couldn’t have been too afraid of him to take him to stay with one of his sons’ downstate?! As involved as he is, they should NEVER have pleaded him out. That makes me angry.
I wouldn’t want ANY of you on my jury if I ever needed one! Do you believe everything the press writes? I’m not saying this man did not kill these people, he may have. Were any of you there when the police did their interview? No you were not. So I would say you are basing him being guilty on what you have read in the papers and saw on tv. And guess what, that is probably why his lawyer will win the change of venue…..
He admitted to it, there are no other suspects, he has been in jail for over a year now, he showed up at Strouts house covered in blood, Strout helped him and burned the truck!! I think thats pretty overwhelming evidence hes GUILTY!!! So move the trial a whole 60 miles north and see what changes!
Dude admitted to it. Doesn’t matter where he’s tried.
He brutally killed a 10 year old child. For that crime alone he should be strung up in the nearest tree.
it just needs to get over its not fair for the families to have to wait this long!they did it, ormsby and strout,lock them up strout should have never been let out he should be right in there to (locked up)!!!!!its a waste of time and money throw away the key!!!!!!
an eye for an eye………..
I have a change of venue for him, how about change it to an Electric Chair.
only thing this guy needs is rope to be hung from
Fair trial? Think the ten year old got a fair sentence? Just admit your guilt and go to prison. It’s to bad we don’t have capital punishment. That would be a fair sentence for him…