JUDGE RULES JURY ABLE TO HEAR LIMITED EVIDENCE IN THOMAS STANKO TRIAL

A Westmoreland County Judge has ruled that the jury in the Thomas Stanko trial will be able to hear limited evidence that Cassandra Gross was declared legally dead in 2019.  The Trib reports the ruling came yesterday following a hearing.  Prosecutors say Stanko killed Gross and that her remains were probably incinerated and disposed of shortly after her disappearance in 2018.  Stanko was charged in 2022 with first-degree murder and reckless burning in connection with her death. The defense has maintained the prosecution’s case is built on a faulty premise and claimed it cannot be proven that Gross is dead.  The trial is expected to start today.