Crime & Courts

Troopers: Wasilla man charged in 2015 Denali Highway double homicide

Alaska State Troopers say Wasilla resident Bruce Floyd Dowd Butler, 42, was arrested and charged Tuesday in connection with a nearly 2-year-old Denali Highway double homicide.

Bruce Butler has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Lynn Butler, 42, and Richard Casler, 61, according to a Tuesday dispatch. Both of the victims were Wasilla residents, troopers said.

Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Bruce Butler after consulting with the Palmer District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, troopers said.

Bruce Butler was taken into custody without incident at his Wasilla home around noon.

Troopers received a report on July 3, 2015, that a man and a woman were missing from their campsite near Mile 79 of the Denali Highway, not far from the Susitna River bridge.

Two days later, troopers said they found the bodies of Lynn Butler and Casler inside what they described as a "dilapidated trailer" in the area.

Authorities previously reported that autopsies showed the victims died from gunshot wounds.

[AST investigating deaths of 2 found along Denali Highway as double homicide]

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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