Deceased/Not Found MD - Rochelle Battle, 16, Baltimore, 6 March 2009 *J. Gross guilty*

In addition to the murder sentence, Gross was also sentenced to an additional ten years in jail for a separate Third Degree Sex Offense on a different victim.

Click to expand...

Police believe he incinerated the teen’s body in his backyard...

Her cell phone records led police to Gross.

Click to expand...

"This was the most complex, difficult case of my career,” prosecutor Robin Coffin said. “How do you prove a negative? The key was showing there was no proof that Rochelle was still alive before being able to prove who murdered her.”...

according to prosecutors, at some point not long after that last phone call, Gross killed her and had her body incinerated at a nearby landfill where he worked off Earls Road in Chase. A jury agreed.

“We’ll never know exactly how, when or where Rochelle died, but we spent 13 months proving there is no proof she is alive and Jason Gross was the last person to be with her,” Coffin said...

prosecutors used technology to tear apart Gross’ alibi and convince jurors that there is no other plausible explanation as to what happened to Battle other than that Gross killed her.

This included placing him in his work truck at a gas station adjacent to Martin State Airport where surveillance photos showed him purchasing condoms there after he told investigators he was at a bar during the same period.

Click to expand...

Defense attorney Jim Dills told jurors during opening statements Thursday that there was no proof that Battle is dead. He said there is no body, no proof Gross committed murder.

"There is no physical evidence, no DNA ... no blood, no fingerprints, there is nothing," Dills said. "The state is trying to paint a picture of Mr. Gross as a criminal genius that can make bodies disappear."...

The defense claimed Battle was a prostitute using a chat line to go out and commit prostitution...

Gross said the last time they spoke, Battle was taking a bus on the way to meet him at a bar close to his house. She had said she was at Eastpoint Mall and was on her way, but she never showed. The defense said the two never met.

Gross told police he wanted to meet Battle in a public place in case she was a juvenile. He said she had told him she was in her 20s.

Click to expand...

Battle’s mother LaTarsha Cockey wrote a victim impact statement, but Battle’s father, Marvin Battle, read the statement to Cox.
The statement outlines how Rochelle Battle made mistakes in her life, but Gross took away any opportunity for her to rectify those missteps. Marvin Battle said his daughter wanted to one day own her own business and enjoyed cooking, writing poetry and composing raps.
“I want closure for this case, because I will never have peace since I never know where she may be,” Marvin Battle read from Cockey’s statement. “Everyone deserves to be laid to rest and their family to say their goodbyes. I can’t do that because Rochelle was completely taken from me.”

Click to expand...

With the core of the county homicide squad occupying the entire back row of the courtroom, the victim’s mom on the edge of her seat quietly crying while hugging a large stuffed animal, the Jason Gross sentencing had begun.

The cell phone records of 16-year-old Rochelle Battle led her family and investigators to Gross’ house...

Friday in court, her mom was too tearful to take the stand. Her father read a statement, saying their lives were now empty.

In the end, the judge said she completely believed the prosecution’s case...

Click to expand...

Prosecutors said Gross killed Rochelle Battle and disposed of her body in March 2009. In that case, prosecutors used technology to establish a connection between Gross and Battle and lay the foundation in court to outline a timeline of when Battle likely died.

One key piece of evidence used by prosecutors to prove Battle's death was her cellphone. The teen made 129 calls during the first six days of March 2009, but nothing after that.

“With adults, we can examine things like credit cards, bank statements, cellphones and ATM activity,” said Baltimore County police Detective Ryan Massey, who investigated Battle’s death. “With minors, there’s much less to go on. Teens tend to be very active on their phones and social media. When that goes silent, it tells volumes that something likely happened to them.”

Massey said it took more than a year to piece together a timeline that provided enough evidence that Gross was the prime suspect in Battle’s death. It required a thorough examination of security footage, cellphone records and data and even aerial photos to determine that Gross and Battle were together on the day she died.

Click to expand...