A 16-year-old Florida mother was allegedly held captive, tortured for over a week, and ultimately suffocated when a billiard ball was stuffed into her mouth and her face was wrapped in plastic wrap, all because a convicted felon wanted his ring back, according to a chilling police interrogation obtained by Law and Crime.
The suspect, Steven Gres, 29, casually detailed the horrific final days of Miranda Corsett, a teen mother of an 11-month-old baby, during a March 7 interview from the Pinellas County Jail. Gres was already behind bars on an unrelated charge of pointing a harpoon at his girlfriend when detectives brought him in for questioning about the teen’s disappearance.
From the outset of the interview, Gres waived his right to an attorney and appeared eager to speak. “This girl was never supposed to be in this situation,” he told detectives, his tone remarkably calm as he described a week-long ordeal that began when he met Miranda on the Grindr dating app. He claimed she stole a gold ring from him.
“I just wanted my ring back. That’s it,” Gres said repeatedly during the interrogation, which was released as part of a Sidebar episode by Law and Crime. He alleged that Miranda, who weighed only about 90 pounds, taunted him and refused to return the ring, leading to days of escalating violence.
According to the affidavit filed against Gres and his co-defendant, Michelle Brandis, the couple held Miranda against her will for over seven days. The document states that they “tortured her by repeatedly beating the victim and eventually stuffing a billiard ball into her mouth and wrapping her face with plastic wrap, causing her to suffocate.”
Gres claimed that he called police during the ordeal, telling a dispatcher that his metal detector was going off in Miranda’s private area and that he believed she had hidden the ring there. He said the dispatcher told him he had no legal right to search her. “I called the St. Pete Police Department and I said, ‘Hey, man. This girl has my ring, man. She stole my ring, man. Can you guys please come assist me to get my ring back?’” Gres recounted.
The interrogation revealed that Gres called his girlfriend, Brandis, to help retrieve the ring. He alleged that Brandis had found the ring in his car but did not tell him until after Miranda was dead. “Michelle had my ring the whole time,” Gres said. “She said she found it in my car after the fact.”
Brandis, 31, was arrested the day after Gres’s interview after turning herself in. She faces the same charges of first-degree murder. Both suspects have entered not guilty pleas, despite the detailed confession.
Gres told investigators that he and Brandis dismembered Miranda’s body with a saw at Brandis’s mother’s home in Largo, Florida, and then discarded the remains in a dumpster in Ruskin. Miranda’s body has never been found. “This girl was never supposed to die. Ever. She was never supposed to die. Ever,” Gres insisted during the interview, his voice cracking for the first time.
The interrogation also took a disturbing turn when detectives asked Gres about his history of killing animals. He admitted to killing numerous animals, including dogs, cats, and rabbits, which he obtained from Craigslist. “I would 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 an animal. It helped me to relieve my stress and my anger so I would not hurt them,” he said. He claimed he disposed of the carcasses in dumpsters.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both Gres and Brandis. Gres was found competent to stand trial in November after a mental competency evaluation. His defense team has filed a motion to exclude any mention of animal cruelty from the trial, arguing it would be “arguably too prejudicial for the jury to hear.” The judge has not yet ruled on that motion.
Gres, who spent 11 years in prison for burglary and armed burglary after being convicted as a juvenile, told detectives he felt pushed to his breaking point by his living situation. “I did 11 years in prison at a young age. I got out and I was faced with many adversities,” he said. “I could never catch a break without something sticking me in my rib cage.”
The case has sent shockwaves through the Gulfport community, where Miranda was known as a young mother trying to raise her baby. Her grandmother had reported her missing after not seeing her for more than a week, which was unusual. Police learned that Miranda’s parents were both deceased and that she had been living with her grandmother.
Gres remains in the Pinellas County Jail without bond. He is due back in court in July. Brandis is scheduled for her next hearing in August. Both face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
The interrogation video, which has been partially redacted by authorities to protect aspects of the investigation, shows Gres describing how he tried to revive Miranda after she stopped breathing. “I’m doing everything I possibly can. This girl was not supposed to die, man. She was not supposed to die, but she did,” he said.
As the interview concluded, Gres asked detectives to focus on Brandis, claiming she was the real culprit. “I just don’t know what she’s going to tell you guys, man. Liar,” he said. “She’s got me on an aggravated assault charge right now. And the camera proves that didn’t occur.”
The case continues to develop as investigators work to piece together the full timeline of events leading to Miranda’s death. The search for her remains continues, though authorities have not disclosed any new leads. The community remains on edge as the legal proceedings unfold against the two suspects.
