One of the two men who was killed and found dead in a wooded area next to a Salem Walmart last week has been identified as 42-year-old Oregon resident Jonathan Thompson, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
The district attorney’s office previously identified the other man whose body was found as 41-year-old Andrew Ross Guempel. His last known address was in Arizona.
Salem police found Thompson and Guempel dead near the Walmart at 450 Highland Ave. on April 23, the district attorney’s office said previously. Officers responded to the scene shortly after 2:20 p.m. after a man walking his dog discovered one of the bodies and called 911.
Police arrested 30-year-old Jay Blodget in connection with killing the two men less than a day later, the district attorney’s office said. Blodget pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder during his arraignment in Salem District Court last week.
Blodget was ordered held without bail. Court filings indicate that he is homeless and was living in the woods behind the Walmart on Highland Avenue.
Jay Blodget, 30, appeared in Salem District Court for his arraignment on two murder charges on April 24.(POOL CAM/Boston 25)
During Blodget’s arraignment, prosecutors said that Guempel and Thompson died of “blunt force trauma” and were stabbed. Their bodies were hidden under dirt and other “materials.”
Blodget also “made statements implicating himself in the two murders” after he was taken into police custody, prosecutors said. He is believed to have been the only person involved in the killings.
Outside the courthouse, Michael Phelan — Blodget’s attorney — said it was “way too early” to discuss motives or other parts the case. The attorney plans to “explore whether there’s a mental health issue,” though nothing on that front is yet clear, he said.
About a week before Thompson and Guempel’s bodies were found, Blodget was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, according to court documents. He was accused of breaking into a storage container near the Highland Avenue Walmart with a hacksaw.
Blodget is due in court again on May 28 for a probable cause hearing. No further information about the case has been released.
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