A Florida couple charged with the death of a teen girl met the 16-year-old on Grindr’s “twink” category before suffocating her with a billiard ball and chopping up her body, according to a lawsuit.
Miranda Corsette’s estate, known as M.C., recently filed a lawsuit in the United States Middle District of Florida against the app, which is commonly used for gay dating. The plaintiffs allege that Grindr’s “reckless and careless reliance on self-reported age verification” enabled Miranda to sign up for the app and meet “predators” such as 35-year-old Steven Gress, who is charged with her murder.
The lawsuit charges the company with nine counts, including negligence, wrongful death, sex trafficking, and inflicting emotional distress.
“Long before February 14, 2025, it was clear to Grindr that it was only a matter of time before its app, as Grindr marketed it and designed it, would cause the torture, rape, and murder of a child,” a lawsuit alleges.
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Gress discovered Corsette on the app that day, thanks to geolocation technology that matches people who are nearby, and scheduled an in-person meeting with her, which would eventually lead to her brutal death, according to the lawsuit.
“The lack of age verification and platform design on Grindr contributed significantly to M.C.’s death. M.C. was only sixteen years old when her life was taken,” plaintiff lawyers write.
The app created a “dangerous platform, motivated solely by unreasonable financial gain,” according to the lawsuit. According to the complaint, it has a “twink tribe” category that attracts young-looking people who may be minors targeted by sexual predators.
Plaintiff lawyers point out that other dating apps have biometric age verification systems that use facial recognition technology and are more than 99% accurate. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs claim that Grindr requires users to enter their birth date, which allows minors to easily lie about their age in order to gain access to the app.
According to the lawsuit, Grindr ignored user complaints about minors using the app, as well as a 115-page report by a magistrate in the Middle District of Florida that “cast a stark light on the risks posed” by the app’s platform, among other warning signs.
Plaintiff lawyers claim the app is liable as a “sex trafficking venture,” negligent, and intentionally caused emotional distress to the victim’s family. The app did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s message seeking comment.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Gress and his girlfriend Michelle Brandes, 37, needed to dispose of the victim’s remains after the alleged murder, but first, they needed to celebrate Brandes’ birthday, according to cops in a search warrant request obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department’s 25-page warrant, Gress and Brandes ate chicken at Popeyes before playing mini golf at Congo River in Clearwater. Following their birthday celebration, the two suspects allegedly drove around the Tampa Bay area looking for a location to dispose of Corsette’s body.
They eventually discovered a dumpster near Gress’ grandparents’ home in Ruskin and disposed of Corsette’s remains there, according to the warrant. Cops believe the dumpster was taken to a landfill and its contents, including Corsette’s remains, were incinerated, forcing prosecutors to try to convict the couple without a body.
Gress and Brandes are being prosecuted and face the death penalty.
According to the warrant seeking the contents of Gress’ mother’s phone, at least six people saw Corsette with the couple or knew she was being tortured, which helps the state’s case. Neighbors claimed Gress would take disadvantaged women into his home. Corsette, a mother of a one-year-old child, was a frequent runaway who struggled with mental health and drug addiction, police said. Detectives believe Gress and Corsette met on a dating app and invited her to his home in mid-February. Gress allegedly told neighbors about the girl and even brags about hurting her.
Detectives also interviewed a woman who lived with the defendants. She accused Gress of being abusive, claiming that he would buy animals from Craigslist and kill them by throwing them off a bridge, according to the warrant. According to police, he accused Corsette of stealing his ring shortly after she arrived. Cops say this sparked the weeklong abuse and torture. As the alleged torture continued, Brandes claimed she discovered the ring. According to the warrant, the roommate assumed Brandes had it all along and took it in order to get rid of Miranda.
“This little b— stole my ring and won’t give it back,” Gress allegedly told her roommate. “So I’ve been beating her a—.”
On February 23, the day Corsette died, the woman allegedly told detectives that the defendants stuffed a billiard ball in the girl’s mouth and wrapped plastic around her head. Corsette suffocated.
According to a St. Petersburg Police Department press release dated March 7, Gress picked up the girl on Feb. 14 after meeting her on a dating app and drove her to his home in the 2700 block of 27th Ave. N. After hanging out that day, he drove her back home. Corsette returned to his house the next day, but this time she did not make it out alive.
Miranda, Gress, and Brandes allegedly put the teen’s body in his car and drove it 15 miles to a home in the 12000 block of Mallory Drive in Largo. Police believe she was dismembered. Her remains were relocated once more, this time to a dumpster about 55 miles away, according to police.
Miranda’s grandmother, who had custody of her after both of her parents passed away, reported her missing to Gulfport police on February 24. Corsette’s grandmother told police that she had a history of running away and usually returning home, but not this time.
On March 6, a “witness” contacted police with information about a kidnapping and homicide. Police realized Gress was already in custody after he allegedly pointed a harpoon at Brandes and was in possession of drugs. Detectives quickly unfurled the case, and Brandes surrendered on March 8.
Gress was quite chatty in his first appearance.
After the judge read the allegations against him, he reportedly told the court, “They just said I suffocated,” before a public defender stepped in and ordered him to “not say anymore!”
Gress also questioned the court about Brandes’ whereabouts.
“Where is Michelle Brandes at?” Gress asked twice, according to video from WTVT, a local Fox affiliate.
“Talk to your lawyer,” the judge sternly advised Gress before adjourning the hearing.
Gress and Brandes are both accused of first-degree murder and are being held in the Pinellas County Jail without bond. They are next due in court for pretrial hearings on July 8.
