35-year-old man kills and dismembers 16-year-old he met on dating app, Florida cops say
A missing 16-year-old girl was kidnapped, killed and left in a dumpster by a 35-year-old man she met on a dating app, according to Florida authorities.
Steven Gress now faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, Pinellas County court records show.
After a witness contacted police with information on March 6, investigators learned that Gress “lured” Miranda Corsette for the first time on Feb. 14, the St. Petersburg Police Department said. After their initial encounter, she went home but returned to his house the next day, according to investigators.
Corsette stayed at Gress’ home, alongside a woman described as his domestic partner, for at least five days, police said.
“On the 20th at the house, there was some type of dispute over some missing jewelry,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said in a March 7 news conference broadcast by WFLA. “So from the 20th to the 24th she was beaten, tortured, because they could not find this piece of jewelry.”
Sometime during that period, the teen was killed, police said. Her grandmother, her main caregiver, reported her missing to the Gulfport Police Department on Feb. 24, according to law enforcement.
Gress and his partner then put the girl’s body in his car and drove her to his partner’s mom’s home in Largo, where detectives found evidence the girl was dismembered, Holloway said.
The couple then crossed county lines to leave her body in a dumpster, which has since then likely been taken to a landfill in Hillsborough County, police said.
Gulfport police said they were “familiar” with Corsette, describing her as a “frequent runaway.” Because of this, her grandmother didn’t always report her missing when the teen didn’t come home right away, police said.
Gress was arrested March 5 on drug and assault charges after he was accused of “pointing a harpoon at his domestic partner,” according to police.
Investigators are asking Gress’ girlfriend to turn herself in.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 7:02 PM with the headline "35-year-old man kills and dismembers 16-year-old he met on dating app, Florida cops say."