{"id":2648033,"date":"2026-08-21T19:39:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pool-ball-in-throat-tortured-chainsawed-chuckling-murderer-asks-judge-for-death-after-grisly-murder-of-teen-girl-20-years-his-junior\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T19:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:43:38","slug":"pool-ball-in-throat-tortured-chainsawed-chuckling-murderer-asks-judge-for-death-after-grisly-murder-of-teen-girl-20-years-his-junior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pool-ball-in-throat-tortured-chainsawed-chuckling-murderer-asks-judge-for-death-after-grisly-murder-of-teen-girl-20-years-his-junior\/","title":{"rendered":"Pool Ball in Throat, Tortured, Chainsawed: Chuckling Murderer Asks Judge for Death After Grisly Murder of Teen Girl 20 Years His Junior"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpool-ball-in-throat-tortured-chainsawed-chuckling-murderer-asks-judge-for-death-after-grisly-murder-of-teen-girl-20-years-his-junior%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2648033&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A person named Steven Gress, aged 37, has pleaded guilty to involvement in the 2025 murder of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette in Florida. He admitted to participating in actions that led to her death, even though he claimed he did not kill her directly.Gress and his co-defendant, Michelle Brandes, 38, are charged with first-degree murder, but their cases are being tried separately.Gress expressed in court that he believed pleading guilty was the right decision and requested the death penalty, citing his role in the events. The incident began when Gress met Corsette via a dating app, took her to his apartment, and after accusing her of stealing his ring, he and Brandes tortured and beat her for a week.GressS plea negates the need for a trial to establish guilt, but a sentencing hearing is scheduled for November, where the judge will decide whether Gress will receive life imprisonment or face execution. During the crime, multiple individuals, including Gress\u2019s mother, knew about Corsette\u2019s ordeal, as they received photos of her in worsening conditions. Gress claims that Brandes forced a billiard ball into Corsette\u2019s throat, and he was unable to save her. After her death, the couple dismembered her body and disposed of the remains. Both Gress and Brandes blame each other for her death, with gress expressing a desire for a lesser sentence, while Brandes has a hearing scheduled in October. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >case highlights notable community knowledge<\/a> and involvement, with authorities discovering evidence that suggests multiple parties were aware of the abuse occurring before Corsette&#8217;s death.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>One of two defendants in a Florida murder case has not only pleaded guilty to the crime, he\u2019s asking to be executed for his role in it.<\/p>\n<p>Steven Gress, 37, entered the plea on Wednesday, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/crime\/2026\/08\/19\/miranda-corsette-gulfport-murder-steven-gress-guilty-plea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tampa Bay Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gress and co-defendant, Michelle Brandes, 38, each face a first<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minneapolis-reconsiders-drops-program-to-pay-social-media-influencers-during-chauvin-trial\/\" title=\"Minneapolis Reconsiders, Drops Program To Pay Social Media Influencers Du... Chauvin Trial\">-degree murder charge<\/a> in the 2025 murder of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette. The cases are being tried separately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel it\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d Gress said in court, according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to plead guilty to felony murder. I did not kill Miranda, but I was involved in certain things that led to her death.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 A killer pleaded guilty to torturing and dismembering a 16-year-old girl he lured through a dating app, then asked the judge to sentence him to death.<\/p>\n<p>Steven Gress, 37, and his partner, Michelle Brandes, beat and tortured Miranda Corsette for a week over an allegedly stolen\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4uqjD9pdCT\">pic.twitter.com\/4uqjD9pdCT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NewsForce (@Newsforce) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Newsforce\/status\/2090695091962740894?\">August 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Mark Crawford, a court psychologist, said Gress \u201ccan freely and voluntarily enter a plea, and his decision is not contaminated by any mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gress was \u201cvery open, very respectful, very cooperative\u201d during their time together, \u00a0Crawford said, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>The plea makes a trial to establish guilt unnecessary. However, a penalty hearing is scheduled for November where Judge Philip Federico will hear testimony before deciding on sentencing Gress to life in prison or execution.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Tampa Bay Times, Gress met the girl on the dating app Grindr in February of last year. He picked her up at her grandmother\u2019s home in Gulfport, Florida, a city near St. Petersburg. He then drove her to the apartment he d with Brandes in St. Petersburg, according to the Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n<p>There, he accused Corsette of stealing the ring. Both he and Brandes beat and tortured the girl for a week, according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">GUILTY: Steven Gress, the man who murdered and dismembered a 16-year-old Gulfport girl after days of torture, has pleaded guilty to the crime. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tEfH84Zi3m\">https:\/\/t.co\/tEfH84Zi3m<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tEURgYsAS5\">pic.twitter.com\/tEURgYsAS5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WFLA\/status\/2090133593762697258?\">August 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Officials have said multiple people knew Corsette was being held and abused in the days leading to her death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree people, including Gress\u2019 mother, later told police that he had sent them photos of the girl that showed her nude, bruised and in increasingly worse physical condition,\u201d the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n<p>Gress has alleged that Brandes eventually forced a billiard ball into Corsette\u2019s throat then covered her face in plastic wrap. He has said he was unable to save Corsette.<\/p>\n<p>The couple allegedly took the victim\u2019s body to Brandes\u2019 mother\u2019s home in Largo, Florida. There, Gress allegedly dismembered the body with a chainsaw. Corsette\u2019s remains were later put in a dumpster, the contents of which officials believe were incinerated.<\/p>\n<p>Gress and Brandes each blame the other as having been the lead in the abuse of Corsette, according to the Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n<p>In court on Wednesday, Gress said he did not have all the responsibility for Corsette\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe stole my ring; I wanted to get my ring back,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brandes later said she found the ring in Gress\u2019 car, according to the Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n<p>Gress said he would \u201caccept responsibility\u201d for his part in the girl\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLife or death is a lose-lose,\u201d he said as he chuckled in court, according to the report. \u201cI would rather do the lesser time incarcerated than the next 53 years of my life incarcerated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brandes has not yet been tried. She has a hearing scheduled in October.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illegal-alien-charged-with-killing-missouri-man-weeks-before-christmas\/\" title=\"Illegal Alien Charged with Killing Missouri Man Weeks Before Christmas\">witness told police<\/a>, \u201cshe felt Brandes had taken the ring in order to get Gress not to like the girl because she was jealous and went on to say that Gress and Brandes had beaten Miranda, eventually killing her,\u201d a search warrant stated, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfla.com\/news\/pinellas-county\/man-who-murdered-dismembered-gulfport-teen-after-days-of-torture-pleads-guilty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WJLA-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGress stated his goal was to get his ring back and send Corsette home in [a] couple of days after she healed up,\u201d the warrant said. \u201cGress stated he even bought her sore throat spray because Brandes had choked her out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorney Anthony Rickman called Gress\u2019s plea \u201cvery unusual,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/news\/pinellas-county-murder-plea-man-asks-judge-death-sentence-teens-death\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WTVT-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, in these cases, we see defendants fighting for their life,\u201d Rickman said, who is not connected to the case. \u201cHere, we see the defendant asking for death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even if Gress is sentenced for execution, however, it\u2019s not likely to come quickly, Rickman told the station.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because he says he wants to be executed, just because he is ultimately sentenced to death if he is, it\u2019s not going to happen quickly,\u201d Rickman said. \u201cWe know the process of ultimately executing somebody is going to take years.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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