A Florida man smiled and laughed in court Wednesday as he admitted guilt in a case involving the kidnapping and killing of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette, whose body was later dismembered — and told the court he wants to be sentenced to death.
Steven Gress, 37, appeared in a Pinellas County courtroom Wednesday morning, where he changed his plea to guilty on charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder tied to Corsette’s February 2025 death, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Gress said in court that pleading guilty felt like “the right thing to do,” while still insisting he was not the person who killed the teenager.
“I did not kill Miranda, but I was involved in certain things that led to her death,” he told the judge.
The guilty plea followed an earlier July court appearance, when Gress told Judge Philip Federico that he wanted to admit guilt and asked to receive the death penalty, the outlet reported.
Before accepting that request, Federico ordered that Gress undergo a competency evaluation.
On Wednesday, court psychologist Dr. Mark Crawford told the judge that Gress had been “very open, very respectful, very cooperative” during the exam and that, in his view, Gress was capable of entering a plea freely and voluntarily.
“His decision is not contaminated by any mental illness,” Crawford said.
Federico then called Gress to approach the bench to make sure he was fully aware that a guilty plea will land him either life in prison without parole or a death sentence.
“I want you to understand the significance of what we’re talking about as we go through this process,” Federico said.
“Yes, sir,” Gress replied.
He then offered a chilling explanation for his plea.
“Life or death is a lose-lose,” Gress said, then chuckled. “I would rather do the lesser time than spend the next 53 years of my life behind bars.”
Gress lured Corsette to his home through the dating app Grindr on Valentine’s Day 2025, according to St. Petersburg police.
Gress picked the 16-year-old up from her grandmother’s home in Gulfport and brought her to his apartment in St. Petersburg — where his partner, Michelle Brandes, was waiting.
Gress and Brandes then beat, sexually abused and tortured Corsette for a week after he accused her of stealing a ring from the apartment.
“This little bitch stole my ring and won’t give it back, so I’ve been beating her ass,” he told one neighbor who saw Corsette at his home, according to an affidavit obtained by the outlet.
Gress’ mother later told police he had sent her photos of the girl — nude, bruised and in increasingly worse condition.
Officials said that Corsette was killed between February 20th and 24th.
After his arrest on March 5, Gress told police that Brandes forced a billiard ball into Miranda’s throat and wrapped her face in plastic.
He claimed he couldn’t get to her in time to poke holes in the plastic so she could breathe, according to the affidavit.
The pair then drove Miranda’s body to Brandes’ mother’s house in Largo, where Gress dismembered her with a chainsaw before stuffing her remains in trash bags and dumping them in a dumpster, police said.
Brandes later admitted that she found the ring Corsette was accused of stealing in Gress’ car, according to the affidavit.
“She stole my ring; I wanted to get my ring back,” Gress told the court on Wednesday before accepting “responsibility” and pleading guilty.
“I would like to say that I do believe that she killed herself, and I say that because she had the Saran Wrap on her face, but she was free to pull it off her face,” Gress said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
After entering his guilty plea, Gress waived his right to a jury trial for the penalty phase of the case.
A pre-trial hearing for his penalty phase is set for Nov. 4.
Brandes turned herself over to police on March 8, 2025. She has entered a not guilty plea to kidnapping and murder charges and faces a potential death sentence if convicted.
A pretrial hearing for Brandes is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2026.
