ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Petersburg police say a man and a woman face charges in the alleged kidnapping and killing of a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing last month.
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Steven Gress, 35, and his domestic partner Michelle Brandes, 37, both face a charge of first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a series of statements Friday and Saturday on social media. Gress faces an additional charge of kidnapping in connection to Corsette’s death, police said.
Brandes had initially been sought by police, but she turned herself in on Saturday, according to the statements. Gress was already in custody following a March 5 arrest in which he was accused of possessing drugs and “pointing a harpoon” at Brandes, the posts state.
Detectives were tipped off March 6 by a witness who said they had information about a possible kidnapping and homicide involving a missing teen, according to the posts. It was learned that Corsette was reportedly lured through a social media app to meet Gress on Feb. 14, at one point going back to her own home before returning to Gress’ the next day along 27th Avenue N.
Corsette was reported missing to Gulfport police on Feb. 24, according to the posts. She remained with Gress and Brandes at the home, police said, adding she was beaten on Feb. 20 following a dispute and was killed sometime between then and Feb. 24.
Gress is accused of then putting Corsette’s body in a car and driving it to a home along Mallory Drive in Largo. From there, evidence at the Largo home indicates Corsette’s body was dismembered, driven to Hillsborough County and placed in a dumpster in Ruskin, police said. Detectives have since located the dumpster and were working to find the body as of Friday, the posts state.
St. Petersburg police thanked Gulfport police, Largo police, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and state and federal partners for their part in assisting the investigation.
The original story can be found on News4JAX’s sister station, WKMG, which can be read here.