State Court Reverses Conviction In Santa Monica Strangulations

SANTA MONICA, CA – A state appeals court panel Monday reversed the conviction of a homeless man sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for strangling two women whose bodies were found in Santa Monica more than 15 years ago, ruling that the lower court erred in excluding some evidence pointing to a former boyfriend of one victim.

The first trial of Edric Daniel Gross, now 52, ended in a mistrial, with jurors declaring themselves deadlocked and leaning in favor of acquittal.

A second jury panel convicted Gross in June 2016 of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jacqueline Ovsak and Dana Caper and found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

During trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano allowed some circumstantial evidence that Caper's former boyfriend might be culpable, over the objections of prosecutors.

However, Solorzano excluded testimony from a witness who said the former boyfriend had asked him to provide an alibi for the time of the murder. Solorzano ruled it hearsay and said it lacked trustworthiness.

The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with defense attorneys that Gross' defense might have been bolstered by that testimony, saying that little else differentiated the two trials.

"There exists a reasonable probability Gross would have obtained a more favorable outcome at the second trial were it not for that error," Justice Dennis M. Perluss wrote.

The panel concluded the testimony was not hearsay as it wasn't offered to prove the truth but as consciousness of guilt.

Ovsak's body was found April 5, 2001, by construction workers in an abandoned building in the 1500 block of Seventh Street, an area the 42-year-old woman was known to frequent, according to police.

Ovsak was naked from the waist down except for a pair of socks and a telephone cord was wrapped around her neck. There was no indication of injury from a sexual assault, according to the court's summary.

Gross' DNA was found on her body and a T-shirt at the scene.

Caper's body was found Oct. 29, 2002, on the side of the bluffs in the 800 block of Palisades Park. The 41-year-old woman lived along the bluffs, Santa Monica police said. She had been strangled by hand and was also naked from the waist down with no evidence of a sexual assault.

Gross' DNA was found under her fingernails and on her body.

Both women were wearing multiple shirts or sweatshirts.

Police said DNA evidence and new leads helped identify Gross and link him to both killings when new investigations were re-opened in September 2007.

A defense witness testified that shortly before Caper's death, she had threatened to report her ex-boyfriend to police for inducing her to take methamphetamine and having sex with her. The boyfriend initially lied about the relationship and never testified at trial, invoking his privilege against self- incrimination.

Deputy District Attorney Keri Modder cited numerous similarities between the killings, noting that both women were homeless and were manually strangled in crimes that occurred about 1 1/2 miles apart.

At trial, Modder argued, "This was a signature crime. This was a person who killed in the same way, the same type of women."

That led the appeals panel to decide that both convictions should be overturned, as evidence potentially implicating an ex-boyfriend in Caper's death might also affect the jury's decision on Ovsak's killing.

"If it is reasonably probable at least one juror would have questioned whether Gross killed Caper, it is also reasonably probable the same juror would have had a reasonable doubt whether Gross murdered Ovsak," the opinion stated.

The panel remanded the case to the lower court for a new trial.

City News Service; Image via Shutterstock