‘It’s hell living through it’: family wants answers 4 years after Cassandra Gross disappearance

LATROBE, Pa. — The area surrounding Unity Cemetery is a spot both police and Cassandra Gross’ mom have searched time and time again since April of 2018.

In the four years since Cassandra disappeared, no one has been charged in her death.

“It seems like yesterday,” Kathe Gross said.

1,460 days — that’s how long it’s been since Cassandra disappeared.

“It’s every day, from the time you get up until the time you go to bed,” Kathe Gross said.

Cassandra’s dog was found wandering in Unity Township, and her burned SUV was found in a remote part of Twin Lakes Park; but Cassandra was never found.

A judge declared her legally dead from a homicide.

“The evidence is there, all they’re going to get; So what is the hold up?” Kathe Gross said.

Still, she waits. She sifts through every article, every piece of evidence she has collected over the years.

“There’s something there, somewhere, that will connect the whole thing... If I can find the missing piece to the puzzle, it’ll just make everything go together,” Kathe Gross said.

When a new district attorney took office in a January, she was hopeful that her daughter’s case would finally get the justice she has been longing for.

“Who says she’s a priority, she’s not showing me that she is a priority. A priority means you do it,” Kathe Gross said.

No one has ever been charged in Cassandra’s death.

“They can’t tell me that it’s the feds, they’re waiting for the feds; the feds tell me they can file the charges at any time, it has nothing to do with our case, so why aren’t they doing it?” Kathe Gross questioned.

Tom Stanko, an estranged boyfriend of Cassandra’s, remains the person of interest for investigators.

Stanko is currently jailed on unrelated federal and state charges

His last four years behind bars are not enough for Cassandra’s family.

“I don’t care if you take him to trial and he’s found innocent. I want him guilty, he is guilty. But if he’s found innocent, it’s still closure. It’s as much as I can do within the law,” Kathe Gross said.

She said she intends on more searches with cadaver dogs, and holding more rallies at the courthouse.

The district attorney, Nicole Ziccarelli, sent Channel 11 this statement:

“Since I took office in January, the Cassandra Gross case has been a priority for my office as it continues to be for the Pennsylvania State Police and the Westmoreland County community as a whole. I have been briefed on numerous occasions by PSP and have assigned additional assistant district attorneys and detectives to participate in these briefings with me. I can tell you that this is a very active investigation and we are committed to solve Cassandra’s disappearance.”

$10,000 reward offered to help investigators find out what happened to Cassandra Gross

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