Courts

Trial date could be set soon for suspect in 2021 quarry murders at West Salem

Published

2 years ago

January 22, 2023

One suspect in the murders of three men at a La Crosse County quarry has a trial set for this summer. A second suspect could have a trial date soon, possibly depending upon a court hearing in La Crosse on Monday.

Khamthaneth Rattanasack is charged with the shooting deaths that occurred 18 months ago near West Salem, but his defense attorney recently asked for more time to prepare evidence. Judge Elliott Levine will check on the status of Rattanasack’s case.

The co-defendant, Nya Thao, is scheduled to have a two-week trial this June.

The three victims–Peng Lor, Nemo Yang, and Trevor Maloney–were shot and killed outside the quarry in July of 2021. Rattanasack is accused of ordering Thao to shoot the men, because one of them owed him about $600.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.