The man suspected of killing two Santa Monica women more than a decade ago pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
Edric Dashell Gross, 46, was originally scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges on Aug. 17 at the LAX branch courthouse after he was arrested Aug. 15 following an extensive five-year investigation by the Santa Monica Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit.
He is accused of the 2001 murder of Jacqueline Lee Ovsak and the 2002 murder of Dana Caper.
Both homicides were investigated until leads ran out and the cases went cold.
In September of 2007, investigators assigned to the department’s cold case unit, re-opened both investigations and through DNA processing and new investigative leads, Gross was identified and linked to both murders.
Gross was booked at the Santa Monica Jail for murder and his bail was set at $1 million.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Larry Nicols at 310.458.8939 or Sergeant Ira Rutan at 310.458.8959 or the Santa Monica Police Department (24 hours) at 310.458.8495.
