Miranda Corsette’s Tragic Murder: Kaiser Romanello Leads the Fight for Justice

By Lorne Kaiser & Steven Romanello, Kaiser Romanello, P.A. — Florida wrongful death & personal injury attorneys since 2002 · Lorne Kaiser, FL Bar No. 0568491 · Steven Romanello, FL Bar No. 557277 · Last reviewed: October 2026

Some cases are about more than one family's loss. Miranda Corsette's death put a human face on a danger parents across the country are only beginning to understand: how easily a child can be matched with a predator on an app built for adults. Kaiser Romanello, P.A. is proud to represent Miranda's Estate, and this page is both a record of what happened and an explanation of how civil law can hold the responsible parties accountable. If you are in immediate danger or a child is at risk, call 911 first.

Remembering Miranda Corsette

Miranda was sixteen. She lived with her grandmother, was homeschooled, and had already become a young mother. Those who loved her remember a girl who was still, in every way that mattered, a child — not the "adult" an app's sign-up screen assumed her to be. Her family's pursuit of justice is, first and last, about her.

What Happened

In February 2025, Miranda met 35-year-old Steven Gress through Grindr, an app intended only for adults. Within days she was held captive at a St. Petersburg home, and in late February she was killed. Her remains were never recovered — a final cruelty that denied her family the ability to lay her to rest.

Steven Gress and Michelle Brandes were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Both have pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors have announced they intend to seek the death penalty. The criminal case remains pending. The account above is drawn from law-enforcement statements and court records; the criminal charges are allegations to be resolved by the courts.

The Case for Civil Accountability

A criminal prosecution can punish the people who took Miranda's life, but it cannot compensate her family or compel a company to change how it operates. That is the role of a civil case. Civil law lets a family hold every responsible party accountable — not only the individuals charged with the crime, but a business whose negligence helped make the harm possible — and it is the mechanism that most often forces real, systemic change.

On behalf of Miranda's Estate, Kaiser Romanello is pursuing civil claims arising from her death, including a wrongful death claim under Florida law. Those claims are being pursued against Grindr, and the matter is proceeding in arbitration.

Holding the Platform Accountable

The Estate's claim centers on Grindr's own design and safety choices. It alleges that the platform relied on self-reported ages — effectively an honor system — which let a 16-year-old join an adults-only app, and that features built to connect strangers quickly by location created foreseeable danger. The Estate seeks $150 million and injunctive relief: a court-ordered requirement that the platform adopt meaningful age verification so another child cannot slip through the same gap.

Claims against online platforms are difficult. Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act broadly shields apps from liability for what their users do, and courts have applied it expansively — including in Doe v. Grindr (9th Cir. 2025). The Estate's position is that its claims target Grindr's own product design and age-gate decisions rather than any user's content — a theory at the frontier of a fast-moving area of law. We explain that framework in depth on our Florida dating app injury lawyer hub and on the Grindr lawsuit case page.

Wrongful Death and Survival Claims in Florida

When negligence contributes to a death, Florida law gives a family two overlapping paths, both brought through the estate's personal representative:

• Wrongful death (Fla. Stat. § 768.21). Compensates surviving family members for their losses — the grief and mental anguish of a parent or child, lost support and companionship, and funeral and related expenses.
• Survival claim (Fla. Stat. § 46.021). Allows the estate to pursue the losses the victim themselves suffered before death, so that a wrongdoer cannot escape responsibility simply because the victim did not survive.

Most Florida wrongful death claims must be brought within two years. Because serious cases take time to investigate and evidence can be lost, families are usually best served by speaking with a lawyer early. Our wrongful death page explains how these claims work.

If Your Family Has Been Affected

Miranda's case is the most devastating example of a pattern we now see regularly: someone is harmed after an encounter that began on a dating or hookup app. If your family has lost a loved one, or someone you love was assaulted or seriously hurt after meeting someone online, you may have civil claims — against the person responsible, against a property owner whose inadequate security allowed it, and, in the right case, against the platform itself. Our dating app injury hub walks through how Florida law assigns responsibility and what a claim can involve.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides general information about Florida law and about a matter our firm is handling; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statements about the criminal case describe allegations and charges that have not been proven, and the individuals charged are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The civil matter is ongoing. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For guidance about your situation, contact Kaiser Romanello, P.A. at (844) 877-8679.