Body of teen dismembered by man from dating app was likely incinerated, Florida cops say
The couple accused of killing her, 35-year-old Steven Gress and 37-year-old Michelle Brandes, both face charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, according to Pinellas County court records.
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Corsette was lured by Gress on a dating app around Valentine's Day, McClatchy News previously reported.
Corsette went to Gress' home Feb. 15, the day after they first met up in person, then Gress and Brandes became convinced that Corsette had stolen a ring from them, officers with the St. Petersburg Police Department wrote in an arrest affidavit.
They held Corsette captive for a week and beat her repeatedly, until eventually they put plastic wrap around her head and suffocated her to death, police said.
They're accused of putting Corsette's body in a car and driving her to another home, where police believe the couple dismembered her before leaving her body in a dumpster in Ruskin, which is in Hillsborough County.
Corsette, whose parents are both dead, lived with her grandmother, who eventually reported her missing Feb. 24, according to police.
By the time a witness came forward March 6 with information, Corsette was dead, and the contents of the dumpster had been collected and sent to an incinerator, police told McClatchy News.
In Hillsborough County, trash goes to the Resource Recovery Facility, where it's then incinerated and used to generate electricity.
Gress was arrested on charges unrelated to Corsette before investigators learned he was involved in the teen's disappearance, and Brandes later turned herself in, St. Pete police said.
Corsette had an 11-month-old son, police confirmed.
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