Arrest, confession, questions
in Amity triple murder
By Elna Seabrooks
A confession and extradition proceedings to return Thayne Ormsby to Maine from New Hampshire so he can face charges in the gruesome June 23 triple murder in Amity may not be enough for some who knew the victims, although a break in the case is welcome news.
Ormsby was arrested on a fugitive from justice charge last Friday afternoon in Dover, N.H., after Maine State Police detectives and Dover, N.H. detectives located and interviewed him. The day after the murders, while staying in Orient at a home not far from the homicide scene, Ormsby had given Maine State Police detectives a Dover address where they could reach him during the investigation.
According to a police affidavit, the 20-year-old confessed to the alleged stabbing of Jason Dehahn, 30, Jeffrey Ryan, 55, and Ryan’s 10-year-old son, Jesse Ryan.
Before word of the arrest got out Friday, one friend of Dehahn’s asking not to be named, said he was a few years older and “could remember when [Jason] was a little kid bringing his bicycle over so I could fix his flat tires. Right here in downtown Amity the biggest thing is someone gets caught speeding. And, then, you get this? As far as I’m concerned, when they find the guy, they can hang him from the nearest telephone pole.”
Open investigation
Ormsby could be facing 25 years to life imprisonment if convicted. Whether or not he’s guilty or acted alone is still to be determined in court.
Lt. Gary Wright of the Maine State Police said on Tuesday that the investigation is still open and the department is following through on any information they develop. So far, according to the affidavit, Ormsby voluntarily gave detectives his DNA and fingerprints which forensic teams have linked to the scene of the homicides.
Before returning to North Carolina from Amity, Dehahn’s aunt, Paulette Hanscom, said it was a very difficult time for Dehahn’s parents and the rest of the family, but, they were doing the best that they could. Hanscom said “there would have to be more than one person involved in the killings. Jason was such a strong young man.” She added that Jason and Ryan were best friends and their children played together. “We’re grateful that the police have handled this as quickly as they did,” said Hanscom.
Dehahn leaves behind three children and a wife. A fund for their educational needs has been set up. (See related article by Dehahn’s parents.)
Another Dehahn family friend, also asking to remain unidentified, said “Jason was like a son to me. He was a good person.”
Anger and grief over the loss of Dehahn, Ryan and Ryan’s son have left some reeling at the horrific stabbings in an area where some said, prior to the killings, they didn’t lock their doors. After news of the homicides, several area residents said they were prepared to protect themselves with firearms. Others looked into purchasing a gun or rifle.
Search teams look for clues
Just a few miles down the road from the Dehahn family home, a seasonal resident walking along U.S. Route 1 said she was in the area to prepare her camp for the Fourth of July holiday weekend and had seen helicopters overhead Friday afternoon.
As she described the scene, troopers and drug enforcement agents were searching the home of Robert and Joy Strout and their surrounding property situated on Route 1 near the Orient town line where Ormsby had been living for several weeks.
Ormsby implicated Strout in his alleged attempts to hide evidence and escape authorities in statements made to police. Ormsby was found Friday at the Dover, N.H. apartment of Robert Strout II.
By late Friday afternoon, a state police dive team searched a nearby swampy bog with a metal detector looking for the knife Ormsby claimed to have thrown away after the killings, according to the sworn affidavit. On Saturday, divers recovered a weapon believed to have been used in the murders. Further processing at the State Police Crime Lab is expected. Ormsby gave no motive for killing Dehahn or the child. But, also according to the affidavit, Ormsby claimed that Ryan was a drug dealer. So far, there has been no evidence that Ryan was dealing drugs. Court records show that Ryan had an operating after suspension violation in 2007. Ryan later pled guilty after an arrest warrant for failure to appear in court. His attorney said there were times when Ryan did not have access to a vehicle and that may have been a reason he did not show up for the court date.
Also according to the police affidavit, Ormsby retracted a statement that he threatened Robert Strout if Strout refused to assist him after he admitted to the killings and was covered in blood.
The affidavit also included graphic statements Ormsby made to police when he told Strout about stabbing the adults and the child.
Ormsby made his initial appearance Tuesday in a New Hampshire courtroom via video conference, with court-appointed counsel before any further proceedings. He’s scheduled to appear in court in Dover, N.H., July 16. It’s expected extradition will be addressed then. Maine charges are expected to be presented to the next Grand Jury session in Aroostook.
SEARCH FOR MURDER WEAPON — Trooper Dan Worcester searches a swampy bog on U.S. Route 1 in Orient where Thayne Ormsby claims he threw a knife used to kill a child and two adults in Amity in June.
