Thayne Ormsby

Case record: State of Maine v. Thayne M. Ormsby

People

• Thayne M. Ormsby, defendant, also referred to as Thayne M. Ormsby / Thayne M. ORMSBY.
• Jeffrey Ryan (age 55), victim.
• Jesse Ryan (age 10), victim.
• Jason Dehahn (age 30), victim.
• Trooper Carman Lilley, Maine State Police responder.
• Detectives Dale Keegan and Adam Stoutamyer, Maine State Police detectives who interviewed Ormsby.
• Detective Josh Haines, wrote an affidavit.
• Detective Micah Perkins, Maine State Police detective who found a knife.
• Detective Adam Stoutamyer, interviewed Ormsby.
• Dr. Marguerite DeWitt, former state medical examiner witness.
• Dr. John Lorenz, psychologist for the defense.
• E. Allen Hunter, Superior Court Justice who presided over trial and sentenced Ormsby.
• Deputy Attorney General Bill Stokes, prosecutor at sentencing and trial.
• James M. Dunleavy, attorney for Ormsby.
• Sarah E. LeClaire, attorney for Ormsby.
• Robert Strout (age 63), testified and was later sentenced on hindering apprehension and arson.
• Joy Strout (age 63), co-resident; connected to search and sentencing context.
• Robert Strout II, referenced as Strout’s son in New Hampshire.
• Tamara Strout, Strout family daughter; Jeffrey Ryan had a relationship with her.
• Maria Ormsby, Ormsby’s mother.
• Janice Wilbur, Ormsby’s grandmother.
• Steven Ormsby, Ormsby’s uncle.
• Nichole Edwards, mentioned only as a category reference in the scraped text (no case fact provided beyond the name appearing in the prompt narrative).
• Melanie Dutra, daughter of Jeffrey Ryan; Jesse Ryan’s sister.
• Ashley Ryan, Jeffrey Ryan’s daughter.
• Shannon Ryan, Jeffrey Ryan’s son.
• Robert Dehahn, Jason Dehahn’s father.
• Skyler Dehahn, Jason Dehahn’s 12-year-old daughter.
• Bridgette Ireland, Skyler’s mother; Jason Dehahn’s partner in testimony context.
• Marie Vincent, Jesse Ryan’s aunt.
• Taunya Strout, one of Strout’s daughters referenced in the investigation.
• Jake Dehahn (age 27), brother of Jason Dehahn.
• Nick Sambides Jr., writer attribution in one report segment (not a participant in the case proceedings).

Timeline

• June 23, 2010 — Jason DeHahn’s brother made multiple visits to Jeffrey Ryan’s Amity residence seeking Jason DeHahn; on the third visit he shined a flashlight inside the trailer, saw “a large amount of blood,” retreated, and called his father; the father discovered the body of Jesse Ryan (age 10) inside the trailer; he left and called 911.
• June 22, 2010 — Ormsby was convicted of stabbing deaths of Jeffrey Ryan, Jesse Ryan, and Jason Dehahn, and of arson related to Jeffrey Ryan’s truck; the convictions referenced killings on this date.
• June 23, 2010 — (as described in the arrest report segment) victims were found stabbed to death; the burned remains of a pickup truck were later located in Weston.
• June 29, 2010 — Ormsby was interviewed in Dover, N.H., by Detective Keegan and Detective Adam Stoutamyer.
• July 2, 2010 — Ormsby provided oral and written confessions during the interview where he later confessed to killing the Ryans and Dehahn; after this interview he was arrested and charged with three counts of murder and one count of arson, and returned to Maine after waiving extradition.
• February 2011 — Ormsby moved to suppress all oral and written statements made to law enforcement.
• May 2011 — Ormsby amended his not guilty pleas to include pleas of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity and elected a two-stage trial pursuant to 17–A M.R.S. § 40 (2012).
• June 30, 2011 — The court heard Ormsby’s suppression motion and denied it by written order.
• April 4, 5, 6, and 9, 2012 — Jury selection was held.
• April 13, 2012 — Jurors found Ormsby guilty on three counts of murder and one count of arson.
• April 19, 2012 — Jury found Ormsby criminally responsible for his crimes (phase two verdict).
• June 7, 2012 — Sentencing hearing in Aroostook County Superior Court; Ormsby was sentenced to concurrent life terms for each murder and a consecutive fifteen-year term for arson.
• June 7, 2012 — Ormsby was sentenced to three life terms in prison without parole.
• October 29, 2013 — Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision: “Judgment and sentences affirmed.”
• September 9, 2013 — Oral argument in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (Maine SJC docket context).

Background

Ormsby was tried for the stabbing deaths of Jeffrey Ryan, Jesse Ryan, and Jason Dehahn in Amity, Maine, and for arson involving Jeffrey Ryan’s truck. The case proceeded under a two-phase trial structure after Ormsby pleaded both not guilty and not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

Ormsby moved to Orient, Maine, in the weeks before the murders to live with Robert and Joy Strout. Court testimony revealed there was animosity between the Strout family and Jeff Ryan because Ryan had once had a relationship with Tamara Strout, and Tamara eventually had a child with Ryan. Strout told Ormsby that Ryan was a drug dealer, and the narrative said there was no evidence to support that.

The offence

Victims and injuries

• Jeffrey Ryan (age 55) died of multiple sharp-force injuries.
• Jesse Ryan (age 10) died of multiple sharp-force injuries; Jason Dehahn’s throat had been cut.
• Jason Dehahn (age 30) died of multiple sharp-force injuries, with throat cutting described.

Findings at discovery

On June 23, 2010, after the third visit by Jason DeHahn’s brother, the father discovered Jesse Ryan’s body inside the trailer, and another officer showed Trooper Lilley the body of Jeffrey Ryan found outside in a shed. About ninety minutes later, another officer showed Lilley the body of Jason Dehahn located in bushes on the Ryan property.

Truck and arson

After the killings, Jeffrey Ryan’s burned pickup truck was located in Weston. Ormsby was found guilty of arson for burning Jeffrey Ryan’s truck after stealing it from the murder scene. Ormsby was also convicted of arson related to burning the truck.

Investigation

Evidence and forensic connections

Police collected evidence from the scene, including cigarette butts and beer bottles, and submitted it for forensic DNA testing. Testing revealed a full DNA profile of an unknown male on a beer bottle and cigarette butt found at Jeffrey Ryan’s residence.

Ormsby was tied to the crime scene using fingerprint and DNA evidence. The narrative said DNA from a beer bottle and cigarette left at the scene matched Ormsby’s DNA.

Ormsby’s confession

Maine State Police detectives obtained a detailed confession from Ormsby. The decision-making narrative included that Ormsby confessed to killing three people.

The court’s appellate discussion also included that Ormsby confessed to the murders during the July 2 interview and was arrested afterward.

Additional knife evidence

Defense introduced and trial testimony addressed two knives:

• A knife prosecutors identified as the murder weapon was shown to Dr. Marguerite DeWitt, who said its size and shape were consistent with the wounds.
• A “survival-type knife” with a serrated edge was found under the front passenger seat of a tan Lincoln automobile owned by Robert Strout. Detective Micah Perkins testified it had red-brown stains and was sent to the Maine State Crime Lab, but he did not know the results.

Arrest

Ormsby was arrested in New Hampshire late Friday evening in the arrest report segment, and he was described as being wanted in connection with the slaying of three people, including a 10-year-old boy.

Ormsby was held on a fugitive charge in Dover, N.H. The narrative stated that he told Maine State Police Detective Dale Keegan that he had stabbed all three to death.

Trial

Charges and verdict structure

Following pleas of not guilty and not criminally responsible by reason of insanity, the trial occurred in two phases:

• Phase one: whether Ormsby was guilty or not guilty of committing the charged crimes.
• Phase two: whether Ormsby was criminally responsible or not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

Evidence described at trial

Jurors were told the trial involved a video of Ormsby’s confession. In a later narrative segment, Ormsby’s videotaped confession included statements about stabbing Jeffrey Ryan “multiple times” in the back when Jeffrey Ryan turned away to show Ormsby some nails in a woodshed behind the trailer.

Dr. Marguerite DeWitt testified and said all three victims died of multiple stab wounds, and from the positions their bodies were found in, each did what little he could to protect himself or escape his attacker.

Jurors asked for a read-back of medical examiner testimony after deliberating nearly two hours; the read-back took about 1½ hours and concluded about 2:55 p.m., with verdict announced about 3:15 p.m.

Jury verdicts

• On April 13, 2012, a jury returned verdicts of guilty on each count: three counts of murder and one count of arson.
• On April 19, 2012, the jury returned verdicts of criminally responsible on each count.

Ormsby did not react when the verdict was read but asked corrections officers to remove him from the courtroom seconds after the jury left the courtroom.

Relatives of the victims were quoted describing expectations for the verdict and referencing that Ormsby confessed.

Sentencing

On June 7, 2012, Superior Court Justice E. Allen Hunter sentenced Ormsby:

• to three concurrent life terms for each of the three murders; and
• to a consecutive fifteen-year term for arson.

The narrative stated that because parole in Maine was abolished in 1976, Ormsby would spend the rest of his life in prison. The sentencing context included that the arson sentence would be served consecutively with the life sentences.

The narrative also stated Ormsby was ordered:

• to pay for funeral expenses of the victims; and
• to pay money into the victims’ compensation fund.

Prosecutor and defense positions at sentencing

Deputy Attorney General Bill Stokes requested that Ormsby be sentenced to life in prison for the slayings and 30 years on the arson charges, describing the deaths and the 10-year-old victim.

Defense attorneys James Dunleavy and Sarah LeClaire requested that Ormsby be given a chance to get out of prison one day, without asking for a specific length of time to be served.

Court’s sentencing remarks and considerations

Hunter acknowledged Ormsby was denied “social justice” because of physical abuse and deprivation in his childhood, but found it not enough to mitigate the severity of killing three people.

Hunter took into account victim impact, including conscious pain and fear, and considered:

• Jesse Ryan’s young age;
• that Ormsby showed no remorse;
• testimony from Dr. John Lorenz that Ormsby was subjected to physical abuse and neglect as a child, did not receive needed counseling after removal from his mother’s custody as a 12-year-old, had deep-rooted problems and was “deeply disturbed,” and was psychologically immature at the time of the murders even though he was 20 years old;
• and Hunter’s statement that he must hold Ormsby accountable.

Hunter also considered the case comparison mentioned: Hunter said he did research and found only one person in Maine had killed more people, convicted murderer Christian Nielsen, who murdered four people in Newry in 2006. Hunter stated Ormsby was tied for second place in Maine’s annals of mass murder.

Quote at sentencing

Ormsby sentenced to three life terms in prison without parole on June 7, 2012

(As written in the prompt narrative’s status field; no additional verbatim courtroom quote appears for Hunter’s conclusion in the provided text beyond the quoted snippets already embedded in the prose sections.)

Appeals

Ormsby appealed the judgment of conviction and the sentences following jury verdicts convicting him and finding him criminally responsible for three counts of murder and one count of arson.

Ormsby argued, inter alia:

1. the court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements made to the Maine State Police;
2. the court erred in declining to instruct the jury concerning the potential consequences of a verdict of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity;
3. the court improperly imposed three concurrent life sentences on the murder convictions and a consecutive fifteen-year sentence on the arson conviction.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court:

• addressed the denial of the motion to suppress, the proposed insanity-verdict jury instruction issue, and sentencing.
• concluded there was no error and stated: “Judgment and sentences affirmed.”

Outcome

• The convictions for three counts of murder and one count of arson resulted in three life terms and a consecutive fifteen-year arson term.
• The appellate court affirmed the judgment and sentences.

Aftermath and related proceedings

Robert Strout sentencing

Robert Strout was sentenced on May 23 on charges of hindering apprehension and arson for his role in helping Ormsby conceal evidence in the murder investigation. The narrative stated Strout was serving four years in prison as a result of a plea deal with the state.

Appeal deadlines referenced

The sentencing narrative included that Ormsby’s attorneys indicated they would appeal the guilty verdicts in the murders, and stated that attorneys had 21 days to file the appeal.

Other details

Ormsby’s stated motive to police

Ormsby told police he killed Jeffrey Ryan because he believed Ryan was a drug dealer.

Ormsby’s interview and Miranda-related quotations (verbatim)

The appellate discussion included the following verbatim dialogue during the July 2 interview:

KEEGAN: Thayne. I want the truth.
ORMSBY: I know you want the truth, [b]ut I'm gonna have to plead the 5th at this point.
KEEGAN: Ok, alright. Does that mean you want to stop talking or?
ORMSBY: For a minute. ․ ORMSBY: I don't want my name released [to the press].
KEEGAN: Oh ok, ok, one step at a time. You're responsible for this right?
ORMSBY: I won't say.
KEEGAN: Ok. Why don't you go have some ․ We'll get a cigarette break. Ok, Adam [Stoutamyer], you'll go out and have a little cigarette.
STOUTAMYER: ․ coffee.
KEEGAN: We'll talk some more?
ORMSBY: Possible. ․
ORMSBY: You know I am glad at this point, so I'd be willing to tell you everything you want to know.
KEEGAN: I'm sorry, what?
ORMSBY: Perhaps I do need a lawyer?
KEEGAN: Ok. Go have a smoke, we'll come back and we'll finish this up.

Other quotations included in the appellate reasoning (verbatim)

“Social justice”

“Mr. Ormsby is tied for second place in the annals of mass murder in Maine,” he added grimly.

“Deeply disturbed.”

“But I must hold him accountable,” Hunter said.

Statements in the record about the interview room conditions and Miranda

The appellate narrative stated that Ormsby was not restrained in any way during the interview, the door was left ajar several inches, plain clothes were worn, and a video recording supported the factual findings.

Background education and incarceration

The narrative stated Ormsby received his high school diploma while incarcerated on the murder charges.

Ormsby’s family presence and statements

The sentencing narrative described multiple victim-family impact statements and Ormsby’s reactions, including that Ormsby raised his eyebrows and seemed taken aback when family members spoke, cried for a few moments when his mother talked about a Mother’s Day note, and asked that he not speak in court, after which Hunter spoke.

Additional personal details included in the arrest report segment

• Ormsby was described as an Ellsworth native who moved to Orient.
• Ormsby lived with his uncle from age 12 until 17, and his removal from his mother’s home was attributed to physical abuse.
• A Facebook profile belonging to Thayne Ormsby listed Ellsworth as his hometown; his friends were described as coming from Ellsworth High School; Tamara Strout and Mariah Ryan were also listed as friends.
• His quote was: “I have but two passions… Love & War.”

Confession and additional motive dispute item

Ormsby’s videotaped confession was described as including that he stabbed Jeffrey Ryan “multiple times” in the back when Jeffrey Ryan turned away. The murder investigation narrative stated that Robert Strout told police Ormsby knifed Jeff in the wood shed because he believed Ryan was dealing drugs. It also stated Ormsby gave no motive for killing Jesse Ryan or Dehahn and that a criminal background check on Jeffrey Ryan revealed no history of drug-related offenses.