Florida man pleads guilty to kidnapping and murder, seeks death penalty

Steven Gress, 37, appeared in a Pinellas County courtroom and entered a guilty plea for kidnapping and first-degree murder in the February 2025 killing of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette. He told the judge he was seeking the death penalty, saying that a life sentence would be worse than a shorter term. Judge Philip Federico ordered a competency exam, after which psychologist Dr. Mark Crawford confirmed Gress was able to plead voluntarily and without mental illness influence.

Gress recounted that he had lured Corsette from Gulfport, taken her to his St. Petersburg apartment where he and his partner Michelle Brandes tortured her for a week, and later dismembered her body before discarding it. He waived a jury trial for the sentencing phase, which is scheduled for November 4. Brandes, who turned herself in on March 8, has pleaded not guilty and awaits a penalty-phase hearing set for October 22, 2026.