Monday morning testimony has concluded in Westmoreland County court in the trial of Thomas G. Stanko, who is charged with the 2018 murder of Cassandra Gross.
State police trooper testimony that began late last week continued. 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. Prosecutors are tasked with connecting Stanko to her disappearance through a trail of forensic evidence and personal belongings.
Testimony from state police experts on Monday highlighted several forensic challenges for the prosecution.
An extensive dig conducted in a burn area behind the home of Stanko’s mother’s home in May 2020included excavation equipment, sifters and ground penetrating radar. No remains were found, Kendgia said.
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Scientist Ashlee Mangan testified that a sample suspected to be blood, discovered in a toolbox on Stanko’s truck, was determined not to be blood.
Furthermore, Dr. Hai Sheng Li testified that DNA belonging to Gross was not found on any of the burned materials recovered by investigators.
Retired Trooper Brian Kendgia also detailed a massive 2020 excavation behind the home of Stanko’s mother that utilized ground-penetrating radar and heavy machinery, but ultimately yielded no human remains.
Both the prosecution and defense have stipulated that any bones found during various searches of Stanko’s properties were either from animals or were human remains not linked to the Gross case.
Despite these forensic gaps, the prosecution focused on specific circumstantial items intended to link Stanko to the disappearance.
Kendgia described 40 burned items found in a grass field where Stanko was arrested on April 13, 2018, noting that Stanko allegedly emptied them from a bag as he attempted to flee from officers.
While scientist Nicholas Plumley testified that many of those discarded items were unidentifiable, he noted that burned arms from eyeglasses recovered in Stanko’s burn pit are similar to a specific pair Gross purchased shortly before she vanished.
Additionally, Li confirmed that Stanko’s own DNA was found on a makeup pad and brush discovered in his bathroom.
Prosecution witness testimony is expected to continue throughout the afternoon. If Stanko is convicted of first-degree murder, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.