‘He’s going to pay for it’: Mother of Cassandra Gross speaks out after long-awaited arrest in case

WESMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — “Right now, I’m numb. I’m just happy, but I’m sad because she’s dead, and I can’t get any parts of her to bury. But, he’s going to pay for it,” Kathe Gross said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Homicide charges filed 4 years after Cassandra Gross’ disappearance

A day after the longtime suspect in the death and disappearance of Cassandra Gross was charged with homicide, her mother, Kathe Gross, said she is still physically shaking.

”It’s closure of a kind. The real closure will be when he’s found guilty,” Gross said.

Over 4 1/2 years after her daughter Cassandra disappeared, her estranged boyfriend, Thomas Stanko, was charged with homicide.

It is a day Gross knew would come.”I’ve reached one of my goals: getting him a trial date, now my second goal is I will be at the trial,” Gross said.

State police were relentless in their pursuit of evidence, scouring Stanko’s properties, exhausting every avenue and every angle for years.

They called it one of the most complicated and extensive investigations in recent history. 

“Police did so much work. They put everything into it. I congratulate them and thank them for it,” Gross said.

Even Gross led over 100 of her own searches with help from complete strangers.

”I had the help of a lot of people. People came out to do searches, I didn’t even know who they were,” Gross explained.

She said she will see this through to the end.

Gross is not only hoping for a conviction, but for justice for her daughter. And, she has a message of her own to Stanko.

“You thought you owned my daughter, you’re wrong. Now I own you from now on … Every clank of the cell door; every meal you eat; every breath you take. I own it,” Gross said.

Stanko is due for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 14.

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