A Floridacouple accused of killing and dismembering a 16-year-old girl this year may both face the death penalty, officials said.
Steven Gress, 35, is accused of luring Miranda Corsette through a social media application in February before he and his girlfriend, Michelle Brandes, 37, killed her around a week later, authorities allege. They were arrested last month and charged with first-degree murder. Gress was also charged with kidnapping and has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
St. Petersburg police said Corsette was staying with Gress and Brandes after she was lured to their home on Feb. 14. She was reported missing to the Gulfport Police Department on Feb. 24.
Investigators believe a dispute happened Feb. 20 and that Gress and Brandes beat Corsette. According to arrest affidavits, the couple "repeatedly beat" and tortured her while they held her captive for a week and eventually suffocated her by stuffing a billiard ball into her mouth and wrapping her face with plastic wrap.
Officials did not specifically stipulate what the reason for the dispute among Gress, Brandes and Corsette was, but they said the couple "felt the victim had stolen a ring," according to affidavits.
"The defendant and co-defendant then dismembered the body of the victim and discarded the victim in a dumpster in Ruskin, Florida," the court documents say.
Attorneys for Gress and Brandes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sixth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bruce Bartlett filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty last month, citing the "especially heinous, atrocious" nature of the crimes Gress and Brandes are accused of committing.
"The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification," the notice read.
The state attorney's office would not comment further.
Gress and Brandes will be arraigned Thursday, according to court records.
