The latest installment of “Killer Relationship With Faith Jenkins” in its second season, episode 9, delivers another intense storyline. This episode takes viewers on emotions as Faith Jenkins delves into a complex and deadly relationship. In the ale of a heinous crime, the unfortunate demise of 78-year-old Ina Gross leaves the audience questioning the loyalty of her own children. As the investigation unfolds, the siblings find themselves united in their quest for justice, until a shocking truth is unveiled.
Who is Ina Gross?
A 78-year-old woman named Ina Gross was brutally killed. She was recently widowed and volunteered with Manatee County’s homeless people, demonstrating kindness and understanding for the disadvantaged. Ina was a loving mother to her three children and a devoted grandma in addition to her philanthropic efforts.
She was murdered a year after her husband, Samuel Gross, who was a renowned pediatric hematologist and oncologist, died. Due to their brilliance, education, and empathy for others, the couple—who had been married for 58 years—was regarded as a dynamic team.
Thomas Gross, Ina’s oldest son, had been in town from Israel for a few days to attend a dedication service in memory of his deceased father. They had gone to the movies together the evening before she was murdered, returning home to enjoy some leftover chili and wine.
Thomas got up early the next morning to get his journey home. His mother’s deceased body was lying in a sizable pool of blood with many stab wounds when he arrived at of her home garage in the Riverwalk Hammock community in Lakewood Ranch. The police were contacted to look into the crime scene.
The inquiry into Ina’s murder was headed by Detective John Kenney, who eventually retired. Her own child was put under suspicion, and the siblings initially stood together until the reality was made clear.
What happened to Ina Gross?
Detectives looked into prospective suspects and theories in the inquiry of Ina Gross’s murder to identify probable offenders. One hypothesis that emerged was that an intruder may have perpetrated the murder. Thomas Gross aka Tom, Ina’s son, speculated that since the front door of the residence was discovered to be ajar, someone from the outside may have broken in and murdered his mother. Since a kitchen knife was used in the murder, Detective Stephen Ives is of the opinion that the victim committed the crime out of rage or retaliation.
The likelihood that a homeless man who had previously performed computer work for Ina was involved was investigated by detectives. When Ina and this man disagreed over how much to pay him for his services, suspicions were raised. They located the man in Venice, where he acknowledged knowing Ina and working for her but denied having any major issues with her. It seemed less likely that he was the murderer because a woman he was lodging within Sarasota verified his alibi.
The potential link between Ina’s slaying and the death of Karen Courts, another elderly woman, in Sarasota approximately a year prior, was one more line of inquiry. Both incidents had a high degree of violence and stabbing, yet neither victim’s residence showed traces of a forced entrance. Detective Ives conjectured that the same offender may have been responsible for both crimes.
However, after talking with the detectives working on the Sarasota case, they discovered that while there were some parallels, there were also important variations, such as post-mortem procedures on the victim’s body that weren’t present in Ina’s case. They came to the conclusion that two distinct people were probably responsible for the two murders as a result.
Who Killed Ina Gross? & Why?
Thomas (Tom) Gross, Ina Gross’s son, killed her. Tom was initially considered a suspect by the police because of his unusually calm manner during the investigation of a grieving son. Further doubts were cast on Tom’s version of events after a neighbor claimed to have seen him in the garage after 11 p.m. on the night of the murder.
Shortly after the memorial service, Tom left for Israel, and the investigation was still ongoing. They found that Ina had levels of Ambien and Benadryl in her system that were far greater than the recommended therapeutic doses. Oddly, neither Ina nor anybody else knew that she used Ambien and neither had a prescription for it. Detectives came to the conclusion that Tom had given his mother Ambien in an effort to have her die from the running car’s carbon monoxide. Ina, however, came to her senses, threw up in the car, and made an attempt to enter the house again.
Tom rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and assaulted his mother from behind, slitting her throat in the Riverwalk Hammock community in Lakewood Ranch. The findings of the toxicological tests and other pieces of evidence pointed to Tom as the murderer.
Investigators eventually discovered that Tom had borrowed $668,000 from his parents prior to Ina’s passing. Tom’s motivation for the murder became clear when it was discovered that Ina intended to cut him off financially. He turned to violence when he learned he might not receive financial help and needed the money to pay off fresh debt.
Tom was returned to the United States for trial after seven years and was extradited. He was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in May 2022 and given a life sentence without the possibility of release.
Gerth, Ina’s daughter, who at first refused to believe her brother was the perpetrator, later came to terms with the reality and collaborated with investigators to provide the justification for the crime. She finds comfort in the fact that her mother and father have been reunited in death, despite the fact that the loss still hurts.
Ina Gross