Detectives following leads on Gross homicide

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office is following "strong leads" as it builds its case in solving the murder of Lakewood Ranch resident Ina Gross, who was found dead in her home Jan. 9.

Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube said he is still waiting for toxicology reports from the coroner, as well as DNA evidence, bank records and an analysis of phone records.

Steube said detectives collected evidence from Gross' home for two-and-one-half days and that evidence all must be sorted and analyzed. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Steube said, sends its evidence to a private lab for testing, which allows his office to get results back in six or seven weeks compared to five months when utilizing the state.

"It just takes time," Steube said. "Unfortunately, it's not like television."

"Once all the pieces of the puzzle are together, there's an opportunity to make a case here," he said.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].