The retrial of Nya Thao is now before the jury.
The prosecution and defense rested their cases Friday after a four days of testimony in La Crosse County Circuit Court. Thao is charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting deaths of Peng Lor, 24, Nemo Yang, 24, and Trevor Maloney, 23. The three were shot execution-style outside a quarry north of West Salem during the early morning hours of July 23, 2021.
Thao was tried for the three murders in June 2023. The trial ended in a hung jury. A second defendant, Khamthaneth Rattanasack, 46, Wausau, pleaded guilty to the three murders. He was sentenced in January to life in prison.
Thao and Rattanasack are accused of transporting the three victims to a quarry north of West Salem after they became convinced that Yang had stolen $600. A witness for the prosecution said Rattanasack handed a pistol to Thao, who shot the three victims in the back of the head. The witness testified she was allowed to drive away from the scene unharmed.
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Rattanasack testified for the prosecution in the first trial but wasn't called to the stand during the retrial.
Judge Elliott Levine dismissed the jury for the weekend. Closing arguments and jury instructions are set for Monday.
Thao is being held in the La Crosse County Jail on $500,000 cash bail.
La Crosse Tribune reporter Steve Rundio can be reached at [email protected].
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