One of the two men who were murdered and found dead in a wooded area next to a Salem Walmart Wednesday afternoon has been identified as 41-year-old Andrew Ross Guempel, whose last known address was in Arizona, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday.
Authorities are still waiting to release the name of the other man who was killed, as his next of kin has not yet been notified of his death, the district attorney’s office said.
Salem police found the bodies of the two men after they were called to 450 Highland Ave. shortly after 2:20 p.m. on April 23, the district attorney’s office said previously. A man walking his dog discovered one of the bodies and notified authorities.
Police arrested 30-year-old Jay Blodget in connection with the killings within a day of finding the bodies, the district attorney’s office said. He is charged with two counts of murder and pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in Salem District Court on Thursday.
Jay Blodget, 30, appeared in Salem District Court for his arraignment on two murder charges on April 24.(POOL CAM/Boston 25)
A judge held Blodget without bail during the arraignment. Court filings indicate he is homeless and was living in the woods behind the Walmart near where the bodies were found.
In court on Thursday, prosecutors said Guempel and the other man died of “blunt force trauma” and were stabbed. Their bodies were hidden under dirt and other “materials,” prosecutors said.
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 on Thursday, Blodget’s attorney, Michael Phelan, said it was “way too early” to discuss motives or other parts the case. The attorney plans to “definitely explore whether there’s mental health issue,” though there’s been no definitive answers so far, he said.
About a week before the two men’s bodies were found, Blodget was arrested and charged with breaking and entering after he broke into into a storage container near the Walmart with a hacksaw, according to court documents.
Blodget’s next court date is scheduled for May 28.
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