As testimony in the homicide trial of Thomas G. Stanko enters its fifth day, Westmoreland County prosecutors have shifted their focus to the physical evidence recovered from the defendant’s property.
The trial, presided over by Judge Michael Stewart, centers on the April 2018 disappearance of 51-year-old Cassandra Gross.
Stanko, 55, of Unity, is charged with criminal homicide and reckless burning. While Gross was legally declared deceased by the court in 2019, her remains have never been found. This week, prosecutors are tasked with connecting Stanko to her disappearance through a trail of forensic evidence and personal belongings.
Dr. Anne Levri took the stand Friday afternoon and testified she treated Stanko at a Latrobe-area MedExpress for facial injuries on April 13, 2018, nearly a week after Cassandra Gross was last seen.
Levri said Stanko had numerous abrasions on his head and forehead. Stanko claimed he was hurt when he fell 8 feet from a pine tree three days earlier, she said. His eyebrows were either shaved off or burned off, the doctor testified.
“I was skeptical,” Levri said in response to Stanko’s explanation. The cuts were not consistent with falling from a tree and she questioned his story that he shaved his eyebrows so that he could inspect a deep cut.
“I was skeptical,” Levri said in response to Stanko’s explanation. The cuts were not consistent with falling from a tree and she questioned his story about shaving his eyebrows to allow him to inspect for a deep cut.
— Rich Cholodofsky (@RichCholodofsky) February 6, 2026
After testimony from the doctor, Trooper Nicholas Iera testified he was part of a search at Stanko’s mother’s home on April 12, 2018. Burn pits were spotted in the yard with a gas can nearby and a newspaper from the day before. There were nearly 30 firearms at the property.
Iera said he and troopers searched Stanko’s home more than a year later, on July 16, 2019, and found makeup and burn medication in his bathroom with a receipt for the purchased items dated April 9, 2018, two days after Gross was last seen.
He said the makeup was first spotted a year earlier during a previous search by troopers. They were then found hidden behind the bathroom sink, Iera testified.
Morning testimony
State police investigator Matthew Pergar took the stand in the morning, presenting aerial photos of key locations tied to the case.
He provided a detailed account of the April 12, 2018, search of Stanko’s residence — conducted just three days after Gross’ family reported her missing.
During that search, investigators discovered the specific grocery items Gross had texted Stanko to purchase for dinner on the day she vanished.
Pergar further testified that Stanko’s white pickup truck was found parked behind the house. In the bed of the vehicle, Pergar noted he spotted suspected blood on a metal toolbox.
Police also found a spiral notebook, in it a handwritten note that read, “Thomas, I love you. Cassandra”
— Rich Cholodofsky (@RichCholodofsky) February 6, 2026
The focus of the morning testimony then moved to the contents of a fire ring and a burn barrel located on the property. Pergar testified that police recovered charred remnants of items belonging to Gross, including:
• Remains of two magazines with an address label on one of the magazines still bearing Gross’ name.
• Two metal arms from Coach brand eyeglasses and a clothing label with a “Michael Kors” stamp.
• A pink cloth with a brand label and a glass vial.
Pergar noted the vial was consistent with the specific medication Gross used to treat her diabetic dog.
He also said that investigators determined Gross had purchased Coach eyeglasses at a Westmoreland Mall store a month before she disappeared. Police bought an identical pair from the store and found they matched what was found in the burn barrel.
Pergar testified two metal arms from Coach brand eyeglasses, a pink cloth with a brand label, another clothing label with a “Michael Kors” stamp and a glass vile consistent with the medication Gross used to treat her diabetic dog were found among ashes in a burn barrel.
— Rich Cholodofsky (@RichCholodofsky) February 6, 2026