There was nothing in Dennan Bruce Crosby’s history to predict his fiery end.
The B.C. Coroners Office has named Crosby as the 48 year-old man responsible for a police standoff in Dufferin on Thursday, May 17, that ended in an explosion and fire that left him dead and destroyed one home.
Crosby strapped himself with explosives and entered the house at 1486 Cannel Dr. at about 5:30 p.m.
For about six hours, he held the woman living there, Sherry Young, hostage, finally releasing her after a long conversation with an RCMP hostage negotiator.
Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said that, while Crosby wasn’t known to local police, he had previous dealings with the law in Alberta in the 1980s and 1990s.
Learned didn’t give out specifics, but said incidents had involved property and drug offences.
Learned said Mounties had heard nothing about Crosby that would indicate he could be capable of his actions.
“There was nothing that had been brought to our attention that would suggest the actions that he took could be either predicted or even suggested,” said Learned.
“There was just nothing.”
Learned also stuck by the Mounties’ explanation of Crosby’s relationship with his hostage, that the two had previously had a romantic relationship.
Young’s boyfriend, Dave Madore, has said Crosby was only her co-worker, but Learned said statements taken after the standoff indicate the Young and Cosby were in an “adult dating relationship” between April and September of 2011.
At the time of the standoff, police said Crosby appeared to be distraught about their earlier breakup.
The two also worked together at a Kamloops-based business, Learned said, and it appears Crosby lived in the city for an undefined period of time.
He also appears to have spent time in Langley.
Learned said Surrey RCMP were asked to look into Crosby as well and found no evidence of further explosive devices at his most recent Lower Mainland address.