Man Charged With Murdering Florida Mom in 2012 — Fled to Israel
An arrest warrant was issued for a man who is believed to have murdered his mother three years ago in Florida before moving to Israel.
Authorities believe that Thomas Gross, 61, who has dual American-Israeli citizenship, killed his 78-year-old mother, Ina Gross, in her Lakewood Ranch home on Jan. 9, 2012.
Gross would need to be extradited from Israel to be prosecuted.
The details of the murder are unclear, but the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office confiscated several towels found near the victim’s body and a knife from her kitchen as evidence, the Bradenton Herald reported.
Gross’s sister, Ellen Gerth, said her brother will “now understand he cannot continue to live a life of freedom and enjoy a life while my young mother was prematurely murdered because he was a selfish person and a very unhealthy person.”
Gerth said the murder was likely for money.
“My brother was unraveling financially, had been unraveling financially for many years,” she said.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!