Transient killed two Santa Monica women, police allege

A decade after two women were killed in Santa Monica, cold-case detectives say they believe a transient was responsible for both deaths.

Edric Dashell Gross, 36, was arrested Wednesday at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles after a five-year investigation.

He is accused of killing of Jacqueline Lee Ovsak, 42, and Dana Caper, 41. Ovsak's body was found in 2001 in an abandoned building on 7th Street. Caper's body was found in Palisades Park in 2002.

The original cases went cold, but detectives picked them up again several years later.

Officials said DNA evidence was key in building the case against Gross. Prosecutors filed murder charges Thursday.

"The complaint also alleged the special circumstances of rape of both victims, residential burglary of one victim and multiple murder. The District Attorney’s Office will not decide whether to seek the death penalty until the case moves closer to trial," the D.A.'s office said in a statement.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Edric Dashell Gross. Credit: KTLA