DA identifies second victim in Salem double murder

The second of two men who were found dead in a wooded area near a Walmart in Salem last week has been identified, prosecutors said.

Jonathan Thompson, 42, of Oregon, was identified as one of the two men who were murdered, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Andrew Ross Guempel, 41, of Arizona, was identified Saturday as the other victim.

Thompson and Guempel’s bodies were discovered April 23 by a man walking his dog next to the Walmart on 450 Highland Ave. in Salem, the DA’s office said. Salem police found the two men with stab wounds and signs of blunt force trauma.

Jay Blodget, 30, is charged with two counts of murder in connection to the deaths, according to the DA’s office. Blodget was held without bail after his arraignment April 24, and he is due back in court May 28.

Blodget, who is homeless, was previously arrested April 18 for breaking into a storage container in the woods near where the bodies were found, according to an incident report. He was released later that day, court records showed.

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