Jay Ostrem, a former mayor and retired law enforcement sergeant, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without parole — and never once said he was sorry.
A former small-town mayor with more than two decades in law enforcement was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life terms in prison — without any possibility of parole — for the 2024 murders of three men in Centerville.
Jay Ostrem, who once served as mayor of Centerville and spent years as a police officer before entering politics, was convicted in March of three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Paul Frankus, Zachary Frankus, and Timothy Richmond. On Thursday, a judge at the McCook County Courthouse handed down the maximum sentence on all three counts — to be served back to back.
“You took my children from me, my sons. Paul and Zachary were good men, who had just begun to live their lives.”
— Denise Frankus, mother of Paul and Zachary
No remorse, no explanation
Before delivering the sentence, the judge said it was clear that Ostrem had expressed no remorse for his actions. His silence throughout the proceedings left victims’ families without answers — or closure.
Paul and Zachary’s aunt, Katie Cambern, did not hold back during her impact statement. “No parent should have to go through the brutal murder of their children,” she said, adding that the family would never know why it happened “because you are refusing to admit or explain or take responsibility, or show remorse or guilt.” She called Ostrem “the definition of pure evil.”
A packed courtroom, four days of trial
Ostrem’s trial began March 16, 2026, with opening statements at the McCook County Courthouse. Four days later, on March 20, the jury returned its verdict: guilty on all three counts of first-degree murder. Throughout the trial, jurors heard body camera footage, 911 calls, witness testimony, and expert testimony. Physical evidence recovered from the scene included a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun, shotgun shell casings, and spent rifle rounds.
Thursday’s sentencing drew a standing-room crowd of family and friends of the victims. Several requested life imprisonment without parole in their impact statements — a sentence the judge ultimately imposed in full.
From badge to defendant
Ostrem’s fall from prominence makes his case all the more striking. He began his law enforcement career as a police officer for Gillette, Wyoming, in July 1982, eventually rising to the rank of sergeant before retiring in December 2003. He then served as a Turner County law officer from 2007 to 2014. At some point he entered local politics, becoming mayor of Centerville — a position that made his 2024 arrest a seismic local story.
Now, at the close of Thursday’s proceedings, the man who once carried a badge and held elected office will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
