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The Murder of Miranda Corsette
● Charged — Death Penalty Sought
Kidnapping & Murder
Minor Victim — Age 16
Gulfport, Florida
Miranda Corsette — Courtesy Gulfport Police Department
| Full Name | Miranda Corsette |
| Age at Death | 16 |
| From | Gulfport, Florida |
| Child | Mother of 11-month-old |
| Guardian | Grandmother |
| Remains | Not recovered — incinerated |
The Victim
Miranda Corsette
Miranda Corsette was 16 years old and lived with her grandmother in Gulfport, Florida. She was homeschooled through a Pinellas County program. She was also a mother — her baby was 11 months old at the time of her death. Both of Miranda's parents had already died before she was killed, and her grandmother had legal custody of both her and the baby.
Miranda had a history of running away, which is in part why her grandmother did not immediately report her missing when she didn't come home after February 14. She waited until February 24 to contact the Gulfport Police Department. By then, Miranda had been dead for days, her remains already transported out of the county.
Miranda's body was never recovered. After she was killed, her remains were dismembered at a house in Largo, transported to a dumpster in Ruskin, and from there taken to the Falkenberg Transfer Center, where they were incinerated before investigators could reach them. Her baby is being raised without her. Miranda Corsette was 16 years old.
01
Background
What We Know
In February 2025, Miranda Corsette connected with Steven Gress, 35, through the Grindr app. On February 14, Valentine's Day, Gress picked her up from her grandmother's home in Gulfport and brought her to the duplex he shared with his domestic partner, Michelle Brandes, on 27th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. After that first visit, he drove her home. The following day, February 15, Miranda returned to the apartment on her own. She would not leave alive.
Miranda remained in the apartment with Gress and Brandes. On February 20, a dispute arose because Gress believed Miranda had stolen a ring from the apartment. What followed was a week of captivity and escalating violence. According to arrest affidavits, the couple repeatedly beat and tortured Miranda while holding her against her will, beating her while demanding she return a ring that investigators later determined she almost certainly never had. Brandes later claimed to have found the ring in Gress's own car.
At least six people had contact with Miranda or were told she was being held during that week. None called police. According to a search warrant affidavit, Gress told one neighbor who saw Miranda, "This little bitch stole my ring and won't give it back, so I've been beating her ass." That neighbor did not call police. Gress also sent photographs of Miranda to multiple people, including his own mother, showing her nude, bruised, and in increasingly deteriorated condition. His mother told him to let Miranda go. No one who received those photographs contacted law enforcement.
Between February 20 and 24, Miranda was suffocated. Gress and Brandes each gave investigators differing accounts of who was responsible for the act itself, each pointing to the other. A police welfare check was conducted on February 25, the day after Miranda's grandmother reported her missing, and officers deemed nothing to be wrong. Miranda was already dead.
02
Case Timeline
How It Unfolded
February 14, 2025
Miranda Meets Gress — First Visit
Gress picked Miranda up from her grandmother's home in Gulfport after they connected on Grindr. He brought her to the duplex on 27th Avenue North in St. Petersburg where he lived with Brandes. After spending time there, he drove her back home that evening.
February 15, 2025
Miranda Returns — Does Not Leave
Miranda returned to the St. Petersburg duplex the following day. She remained there with Gress and Brandes. What began as a visit became captivity.
February 20, 2025
Dispute Begins — Torture Starts
Gress accused Miranda of stealing a ring from the apartment. The accusation triggered what investigators describe as days of repeated beating and torture. The couple held her captive while demanding she return something investigators believe she never had. Multiple people visited the apartment during this period. At least six knew Miranda was being held. None contacted police.
February 18, 2025
Photographs Sent to Associates
Gress sent five photographs to multiple people, including his mother, showing Miranda nude and bearing progressively worse injuries. The final photograph showed her face so swollen she was nearly unrecognizable. His mother urged him to let her go. No recipient contacted law enforcement.
February 20–24, 2025
Miranda Killed
Miranda was suffocated. A billiard ball was stuffed into her mouth and plastic wrap was wrapped around her face, covering her airways. Gress and Brandes each blamed the other for the act itself in their respective police interviews. Gress told police Brandes applied the plastic wrap against his instructions. Brandes told police Gress was the primary aggressor throughout and that she was coerced.
After the Murder
Body Dismembered and Discarded
Gress placed Miranda's body in his vehicle and drove approximately 15 miles to a house on Mallory Drive in Largo. Evidence at that location confirmed her body was dismembered there. Her remains were then transported approximately 55 miles to a dumpster at 2893 14th Avenue SE in Ruskin, Hillsborough County.
February 24, 2025
Miranda Reported Missing
Miranda's grandmother reported her missing to the Gulfport Police Department. A welfare check was conducted at the duplex on February 25. Officers deemed nothing to be wrong and left. Miranda was already dead and her body had already been removed from the apartment.
March 5–8, 2025
Arrests — Case Breaks Open
On March 5, Gress was arrested after pointing an air-powered harpoon gun at Brandes during a domestic dispute and was found in possession of methamphetamine. On March 6, a witness contacted St. Petersburg Police with information about a kidnapping and homicide involving a missing teen. Detectives connected the tip to Gress, who was already in custody. On March 7, Gress was charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder. On March 8, Brandes turned herself in and was charged with first-degree murder. Both were denied bail.
March 13, 2025
Remains Confirmed Incinerated
St. Petersburg police confirmed that the trash from the Ruskin dumpster had been collected and transported to the Falkenberg Transfer Center, where it was incinerated. Miranda's remains could not be recovered.
April 2025 – Present
Death Penalty Filed — Separate Trials Ordered
In April 2025, Sixth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bruce Bartlett filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty for both defendants, citing the "especially heinous, atrocious" nature of the crime and describing it as "cold, calculated, and premeditated." In July 2025, Judge Philip Federico ordered separate trials, noting both defendants were pointing the finger at each other. In November 2025, Gress was found competent to stand trial. A pretrial hearing was set for January 14, 2026. Both defendants remain held without bond in Pinellas County.
03
Investigation
The Investigation
The investigation was triggered not by Miranda's missing person report, but by an unrelated domestic incident. On March 5, police arrested Gress for threatening Brandes with a harpoon gun. The following day, a witness came forward with information about a kidnapping and homicide involving a missing teen. Detectives connected the tip to Gress and quickly built the case from there. St. Petersburg Police were assisted by Gulfport Police, Largo Police, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, and state and federal partners.
Investigators gathered extensive evidence: witness accounts from multiple people who had been at the duplex during the week Miranda was held, the photographs Gress sent showing her injuries, cell phone and digital records, physical evidence at the St. Petersburg duplex, and forensic evidence at the Largo dismemberment location. Police call logs also showed that officers had been called to the duplex seven times since the beginning of 2025, for disturbances, domestic quarrels, a welfare check, domestic battery, and assault. None of those calls overlapped with the period Miranda was being held.
A significant development in the pretrial phase involved Gress's defense attorneys petitioning for records from Grindr, seeking communications between Gress and Miranda as potential evidence. His defense has also pursued mental health and competency evaluations. In November 2025, Judge Federico found Gress competent to stand trial after both a court-appointed expert and an independent expert reached the same conclusion. A motion to unseal his juvenile records was also granted.
Miranda's estate filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Grindr, arguing the app failed to implement adequate age verification and safety measures that would have prevented a 35-year-old from contacting a 16-year-old. A federal judge sent the civil case to arbitration in November 2025, citing the terms of service agreement Corsette had accepted when creating her account — a ruling the estate's attorneys contested on the grounds that a minor cannot form an enforceable contract.
04
Arrest & Charges
The Accused
Steven Gress — Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Steven Gress
Age 35 — Primary Suspect
Charges: First-degree murder, kidnapping
Arrested: March 7, 2025 — initially held on domestic violence and drug charges from March 5
Plea: Not guilty
Status: Held without bond, Pinellas County — found competent to stand trial November 2025. Pretrial hearing January 14, 2026.
Penalty: Death penalty sought by state
Defense: Seeking Grindr records and mental health evidence. Blames Brandes for the act of suffocation.
Michelle Brandes — Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Michelle Brandes
Age 37 — Co-Defendant, Domestic Partner of Gress
Charges: First-degree murder, kidnapping
Surrendered: March 8, 2025 — turned herself in to law enforcement
Status: Held without bond, Pinellas County
Penalty: Death penalty sought by state
Defense: Claims she was coerced by Gress and was herself a victim of his abuse. Depicts Gress as the primary aggressor throughout.
05
In Memoriam
She Is Not Forgotten
Miranda Corsette was 16 years old. She had already lost both of her parents. She was living with her grandmother, raising a baby, navigating a life that had already asked more of her than it should have. She was a teenager. She met someone online who saw her as a target, and the people around her who could have intervened chose not to. Every person who saw her bruised and captive, who received photographs of what was being done to her, who heard her tell a neighbor she did not have the ring, made a choice not to act. She did not survive that silence.
Miranda's remains were never recovered. Her grandmother could not bury her. Her baby will grow up with no memory of her face. The absence is total. And yet her case has prompted something that may outlast the criminal proceedings: a lawsuit against the platform that allowed a 35-year-old man to reach a 16-year-old child, a conversation about what accountability looks like when the harm is structural, when the danger is built into an app's design and indifference.
Miranda Corsette was 16 years old. She was a mother. She was someone's grandchild. She deserved to grow up. She is not forgotten.
Online Safety Resources for Minors & Families
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: 1-800-843-5678 — Report online enticement or child exploitation at CyberTipline.org.
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force: icactaskforce.org — Local law enforcement resources for online child exploitation cases.
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 — Free, confidential support 24/7 for young people in crisis.
Domestic Violence Resources
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 — 24/7 confidential support.
Spring of Tampa Bay: springoftampabay.org — Serving Hillsborough and Pinellas County survivors of domestic violence.
Sources
St. Petersburg Police Department — Press Releases, March 7–8, 2025 | NBC News — Couple Charged, Death Penalty Sought, April 23, 2025 | Tampa Bay Times — Several Saw Teen Held Captive, April 5, 2025 | Tampa Bay Times / Yahoo News — Separate Trials Ordered, July 22, 2025 | WFLA — Gress Found Competent, November 13, 2025 | WTSP — Competency Ruling, Pretrial Hearing Set, November 2025 | FOX 13 — Grindr Records Sought, November 12, 2025 | NBC Miami — Grindr Arbitration Ruling, November 4, 2025 | Local 10 / WFLA / Law & Crime — Arrest Details, March 2025 | Gress Domestic Violence Affidavit | Gress Murder Affidavit | Brandes Kidnapping Affidavit | Brandes Murder Affidavit
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