Six people knew a teen was kidnapped and tortured by couple who played mini golf and ate Popeyes after allegedly killing her: warrant
At least six people knew that a teenage girl was being held and tortured by a Florida couple in the days before she was brutally murdered and dismembered, according to investigators.
Steven Gress, 35, and his girlfriend Michelle Brandes, 37, allegedly suffocated 16-year-old Miranda Corsette to death by shoving a billiard ball in her mouth and wrapping her head in plastic before chopping her up and stuffing her body parts in the trunk of their car in mid-February.
The plan was to dispose of her remains, but according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, they first decided to celebrate Brandes’ birthday by having dinner at Popeyes and then a round of mini golf at Congo River in Clearwater.
The warrant alleges that the couple allegedly lured Corsette into their home in February after Gress met the teen on a dating app.
Following the birthday festivities, the couple allegedly tossed Corsette’s remains in a dumpster in Ruskin, near where Gress’ grandparents lived, according to the warrant.
No remains were found, however, as it’s believed the dumpster was taken to a landfill and everything inside — including the teen’s remains — was incinerated.
Prosecutors are now tasked with convicting the couple without a body. But according to new details revealed in the warrant, multiple people saw the teen with the couple, or had some knowledge that she was being tortured and harmed while she was with them.
Gress had allegedly sent nude pictures of Corsette that showed her with bruises and increasingly worsening injuries to at least three people, including his mother.
According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, Gress and the teen first hung out at the couple’s home on February 14. He drove her home, and then she returned the next day.
It wasn’t long before Gress accused her of stealing his ring, which sparked the weeklong abuse and torture, the warrant states.
Gress then allegedly bragged to neighbors about beating her over the missing ring.
“This little b**** stole my ring and won’t give it back,” he reportedly said. “So I’ve been beating her a**.”
Another woman, who lived with the couple, later told police that Gress was abusive and that he would buy animals off Craigslist and kill them by throwing them off a bridge, according to the warrant.
As Gress allegedly continued to torture Corsette in their home, his girlfriend Michelle Brandes reportedly found the missing ring.
