Homicide arraignment held for Unity man accused of killing Cassandra Gross

Nov. 1—Thomas G. Stanko was arraigned Tuesday in connection with the death of Cassandra Gross of Unity, the first of many court hearings her mother Kathe Gross plans to attend in the homicide case.

"I'm going to every one," Gross said outside the courtroom after Stanko, 52, of Unity, was denied bail. "I wouldn't miss it."

Stanko was charged by state police Thursday, four and a half years after Cassandra Gross was reported missing on April 9, 2018. He was arraigned by video Tuesday from the Westmoreland County Prison by District Judge Tamara Mahady who explained his rights and charges against him of homicide, reckless burning, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Stanko told Mahady he may hire an attorney in a previous case to represent him on the new charges. Cassandra Gross' aunt, cousin, godmother and others sat in the front row during the brief hearing.

Afterwards, Mahady answered their questions about court procedures and the law.

"The criminal process is a slow one," she cautioned Gross' family.

Troopers zeroed in on Stanko as a potential suspect almost immediately after Gross was reported missing, searching two properties he owned at the time in Unity. Searches for her body conducted by Kathe and Harry Gross, as well as state police, have been unsuccessful.

Cassandra Edlyn Gross of Unity called her mom April 7, 2018, while driving on Route 30, headed to her Unity apartment. She'd just finished lunch with a friend at the Parkwood Inn in Southwest Greensburg. Mother and daughter made plans to see each other the next day.

After the call with her mother, Gross' phone connected to cell towers near Stanko's Macey Road home in Unity, according to the criminal complaint. Shortly after, it ceased contact with the network. Police said phone records showed Gross and Stanko, who had dated, talked throughout the day April 7, 2018, discussing grocery items and the possibility of getting together in the evening.

After Gross was reported missing two days later, Baxter, her blind, diabetic dog that has since died, was found wandering alone in the Beatty Crossroads area and her Mitsubishi Outlander was found burned along a rail line near Twin Lakes Park.

Police said they recovered several "partially destroyed items" that belonged to Gross from a burn barrel at the Macey Road home, including Coach eyeglass stems, a Michael Kors clothing tag and a broken medication bottle that might have contained insulin for Baxter.

On April 10, 2018, Stanko told investigators he hadn't seen Gross since they attended a concert together four days earlier. The complaint noted police talked to two of Stanko's past wives, who reported he was abusive toward them and threatened to dispose of their bodies in a secret location.

Stanko is at the county jail serving a seven-year federal gun sentence stemming from weapons police found during their searches. He has been incarcerated throughout the investigation on unrelated charges and has maintained his innocence, denying involvement in Gross's disappearance and death.

Gross would have turned 56 this year, on May 17. She was declared legally dead in January 2019.

A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 14.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .