‘I’ll own him’: Family of Cassandra Gross not giving up until man behind bars for good

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Cassandra Gross has been missing since April 2018 but her mother, Kathe, said she’s not giving up or backing down until the man she believes is responsible is behind bars for good.

“If he’s convicted and found guilty, I own him. I own every breath. I own every meal he eats. I own every clanking of the cell door because he thought he owned my daughter. Now, I’ll own him,” Gross said.

Thomas Stanko has been in jail on charges not related to the disappearance. Officials believe murder charges will be filed against him soon.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Gross said. “Physically and mentally it wipes you out.”

Two days after she spoke to her daughter on the phone, she was reported missing when she didn’t show up for work and her dog was spotted wandering the streets in Latrobe. The next day, her burned out car was found near Twin Lakes Park in Hempfield.

Kathe Gross said she’s not sure what investigators found that linked Stanko to her daughter, but she always knew in her heart he was responsible.

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