WASILLA -- Alaska State Troopers are looking for any connection between an apparent homicide in the Valley and a suspicious fire Monday night that destroyed a cabin about a mile from where the body was found.
At just after 7 p.m. Monday, troopers in Palmer responded to an abandoned vehicle on Barry's Resort Drive, a residential road between Palmer and Wasilla that dead-ends at an Elks lodge.
There troopers discovered the body of a 26-year-old Wasilla man, Jeremiah C. Butler, sprawled across the front seat, troopers spokesman Greg Wilkinson said. Butler had been shot in the left side, Wilkinson said.
About the same time as the troopers made their discovery, firefighters responded to a fire about a mile away that was sending flames through the roof of an unoccupied cabin.
Central Matanuska-Susitna Fire Chief Jack Krill arrived at the small cabin on a large wooded lot along East Wolverine Avenue and reported the fire at 7:23 p.m.
Firefighters entering the cabin noted its mangled front doorknob and other signs of forced entry, Krill said. They also found that flames sprayed with water flared up again, a sign that an accelerant might have been used, Krill said.
"We don't know if it's related or not," he said. "But five minutes after the fire call went out there was a shooting. The body was on Barry's Resort Drive. That all happened pretty close together."
The Alaska State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire as arson, deputy fire marshal supervisor Carol Olson said.
Palmer-based investigators are examining any possible link between the body and the fire, Wilkinson said. Troopers are treating the death as a homicide, he said. He declined to comment Tuesday on whether investigators had linked the fire with Butler's death or whether they had identified suspects.
According to a database of public records, Marsha Dionne of Washington state owns the cabin at 5965 E. Wolverine Ave. Brandon Henry, 21, lists the cabin as his residence on voter rolls, according to the same database.
The cabin, a small A-frame with a loft, appeared heavily damaged Tuesday. A "Welcome to Marsha's Cabin" sign hung at the entry. A for-sale sign topped a private property sign tacked on to a spruce tree near the end of the driveway.
Calls made to a number listed on one of the signs were not returned.
Krill, who did not know the cabin resident by name, said the resident's aunt reported the fire. She was visiting from Hawaii and staying nearby.
Relatives contacted the cabin resident, he said, but the chief never saw him at the cabin.
The Alaska State Medical Examiner's office plans to perform an autopsy on Butler's body, Wilkinson said. Investigators are examining the vehicle, in which he was found, at the State Crime Detection Laboratory in Anchorage.
It could be several days before the investigation is complete, he said.
Daily News reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached in Wasilla at 1-907-352-6711 or zhollander@adn.com.
