Son now a 'person of interest' in murder

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the murder of Lakewood Ranch resident Ina Gross, 78, and have formally named her son Thomas Gross as a “person of interest.”

“There’s no big movement in the case, but we are making slow and steady progress,” Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Dave Bristow said. “We’re still following leads. Gross remains a person of interest and was the only person known to be in the house at the time around the crime. He discovered her.”

Bristow noted a “person of interest” is someone who may have information on the crime, while a suspect typically is someone who has been charged with a crime or is about to be charged with a crime.

“What we’ve done during this investigation is to eliminate persons of interest,” Bristow said. “Anybody who would have come in contact her was (a person of interest). There were other persons of interest in this case.”

Thomas Gross returned to Israel, where he resides, shortly after his mother’s funeral, and Bristow said communication with him has been difficult since. The Sheriff’s Office has been in regular contact with Thomas Gross’ attorney but has not yet been able to schedule an interview with Thomas Gross directly.

Thomas Gross had been staying with his mother for several days and was scheduled to return to Israel the morning of Jan. 9, when he found her dead in her garage in the 11000 block of Hyacinth Place. Thomas Gross had been in town, in part, to attend a tribute event for his late father, Dr. Samuel Gross, at the University of Florida.

Detectives have not released how Ina Gross died but say there was no forced entry into the home. The death was ruled a homicide.

“Detectives remain optimistic an arrest will be made,” Bristow said.

Ina Gross’s family remains cooperative in the investigation, Bristow said.

Bristow said the Sheriff’s Office has turned in 43 pieces of evidence in for DNA testing, which is high compared to the 10 to 12 pieces of evidence usually submitted for homicide investigations. He declined comment on testing results that have come back.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].