A Florida sicko laughed in court Wednesday as he pleaded guilty to luring a 16-year-old girl to his home then killing and dismembering her body — and is seeking the death penalty for himself.
Steven Gress, 37, appeared smiling in a Pinellas County courtroom Wednesday morning and changed his plea to guilty on charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder in the February 2025 killing of Miranda Corsette, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Gress told the court he felt it was “the right thing to do,” but maintained he did not actually kill Corsette.
“I did not kill Miranda, but I was involved in certain things that led to her death,” he said.
Gress had previously appeared before the court in July, where he told Judge Philip Federico he wanted to enter a guilty plea and requested the death penalty, according to the outlet.
However, Federico ordered a competency exam before he would accept the plea.
Court psychologist Dr. Mark Crawford told the judge Wednesday that Gress was “very open, very respectful, very cooperative” during the evaluation and believed “he can freely and voluntarily enter a plea.”
“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.
