Troopers ID 2 dead found Sunday in Meadow Lakes

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers have identified the two people found dead inside a burned structure early Sunday morning in the Meadow Lakes area as Wasilla residents Ben G. Gross, 43, and Crystal S. Denardi, 30. Both died of gunshot wounds, according to an online dispatch issued by troopers Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred at a property on West Coal Road in Meadow Lakes. When troopers arrived at the location near Cloudy Lake early Sunday morning, they found an unattached garage/shop building on fire. Two people were found dead inside.

Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said a man was also found at the scene and was treated for injuries and released. Peters said the injured man is the same person who notified authorities of the incident. Troopers have not released the man’s name, but on Tuesday Peters said he suffered a gunshot wound.

Troopers believe whoever shot Gross and Denardi is still at large, Peters said.

Asked what the risk to the public was, Peters said the killer had selected Gross and Denardi for a specific reason.

“At this time we do not believe this was a random event,” she wrote.

The Mat-Su Borough water rescue team also responded to the scene of the shooting to assist in the search for evidence, Peters wrote.

Family members were on their way to claim Denardi’s remains from the State Medical Examiner’s office Thursday morning when they spoke to the Frontiersman. Crystal’s father, Jon Denardi, said the family was still reeling from the news.

“This is such a shock to us,” he said. “Hell, I don’t even know what I’m doing walking across the room sometimes.”

They recalled Crystal as a beautiful girl who studied at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Blinn College in College Station, Texas, before finishing her academic career at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona. She’d done some professional modeling, ranging from swimwear to wedding shoots, Jon Denardi said.

Denardi’s daughter studied “criminal justice and forensic science, ironically,” he said.

The violence of her death clashed sharply with her personality, Jon Denardi said.

“She loved her nieces and her family,” he said. “She was just a wonderful, wonderful person. I can’t imagine anybody doing this to her.”

Jon Denardi and Crystal’s brother, Randy Denardi, were working on the North Slope when the news came. Crystal Denardi had been expected at a friend’s wedding, when an anonymous person texted Patty Denardi, Crystal’s mom, and told her to contact state troopers concerning her daughter.

“We don’t know who texted her or how they got their number, but we’ve turned that information over to the police,” Jon Denardi said.

They’re also not sure how Crystal Denardi knew Gross, Patty Gross said.

“She tells me almost everything, but I’d never heard those names before,” she said.

Troopers haven’t told them much about the circumstances surrounding Crystal Denardi’s death, but family members said they were willing to accept that if it meant bringing her killer to justice, Jon Denardi said.

“We just want this coward brought to justice,” he said.

The Denardis urged anyone with information to call Alaska State Troopers with information. The phone number for the troopers is 352-5401.

The property is the same location where a house was destroyed by fire in February. According to Mat-Su Borough property records, the property is owned by murder victim Ben Gross and his ex wife, Erika J. Gross. Court records show the couple divorced in 2014 and that the property is currently in foreclosure proceedings.

The Gross family could not be reached for comment.

Troopers said Tuesday the second fire took place at a detached garage on the property.

On Monday afternoon, investigators could be seen on the secluded lakeside lot, which is located in a heavily wooded lot near the end of a gravel road. Police tape was draped across the muddy drive leading to the property.

The property where the murders occurred is the same location where a home burned in Feburary 2015. The cause of that blaze has not been disclosed.