WESTMORELAND COUNTY JUDGE REJECTS THOMAS STANKO’S APPEAL

A Westmoreland County judge has rejected the appeal of Thomas Stanko to overturn a first-degree murder conviction.  The Trib reports that judge Michael Stewart II ruled that there was “overwhelming” evidence in the 2018 killing of Cassandra Gross.  This means that Stanko’s conviction and life sentence will stand.  Stanko, 55, of Unity was convicted following a weeklong trial in February of killing Gross, his former girlfriend. She was last seen April 7, 2018, and her remains were never found.In his appeal, Stanko claimed the evidence against him wasn’t enough to support the guilty verdicts and that the judge improperly allowed testimony from his former wife about allegations he abused and threatened to kill her during their marriage.  The judge said that even if the evidence was undermined at trial, it would not have likely altered the verdict.