Overview
- On Tuesday, Thomas Stanko testified for more than three hours, told jurors he did not kill Cassandra Gross, and said he would take a lie detector test.
- Prosecutors confronted Stanko with letters and angry voicemails accusing Gross of cheating, which he characterized as wrongful accusations that did not make him a murderer.
- Earlier in the trial, two fellow inmates testified that Stanko admitted killing Gross, alleging statements such as "I loved her," "I didn't mean to kill her," and claims that she was strangled and stabbed.
- Forensic experts described examining items including makeup pads, bottles, and burned, unidentified materials connected to the investigation.
- The defense rested Tuesday afternoon, with closing arguments expected Wednesday before jurors deliberate; Gross disappeared in April 2018, was declared legally dead in January 2019, and Stanko was charged with homicide in 2022.