FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—The prosecution called witnesses in the Thomas Stein murder trial, where he’s charged with killing 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller.
Investigators say Kayla Rincon-Miller and her friends were walking to McDonald’s when a car pulled up, tried to rob them, and Kayla was shot in the chest.
Kayla’s friends testified that the driver of the car, who was described as a white, blonde-haired, light-eyed young boy, is the person who shot Kayla. The girls who were with Kayla testified that multiple boys got out of a car with guns.
Louann Dejaie, a witness, described the incident.
“This happened quicker than I could process,” Dejaie said.
What should have been a fun night watching a movie and getting dinner with her friends ended in violence and death for 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller. Dejaie recalled the moments before the shooting.
“I just remember laughing and telling her to, you know, treat it like her runway,” Dejaie said.
Dejaie described the moment Kayla was shot.
“She was just like, I just got shot, and I just remember telling her it’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, and I just didn’t want to believe it,” Dejaie said.
The witnesses say a car with multiple boys blinded them with their headlights, then pointed guns at them.
Detectives say a couple of days later, they arrested then 16-year-old Thomas Stein. A month later, they arrested then 16-year-old Christopher Horne Jr.
During their investigation, detectives told the court they found videos of Christopher Horne Jr. holding a gun, posted on Thomas Stein’s social media just an hour before Kayla was shot. They also say other videos on Stein’s phone showed him playing with his mom’s guns.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— Witnesses are testifying for the prosecution in the Thomas Stein murder trial.
Thomas’ mom, Jessica, took the stand.
“Did you have any discussions with the Horne family about getting rid of evidence?” the state asked. “Christopher Horne Senior was giving me instructions on how to get rid of evidence, I did not follow them,” Jessica Stein said.
Thomas Stein’s defense attorneys asked Jessica whether he had ever confessed to murdering Kayla, and she said no.
A detective said the investigation is still ongoing and that if other people are found to be involved, there could be more arrests.
Day four of the trial wrapped up with testimony from 19-year-old Jayden Fernandez, who says he saw Stein and co-defendant Christopher Horn just hours before 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller was killed.
Prosecutors say Stein and Horn planned to rob someone on the night of March 2024. What started as a robbery ended in gunfire, with a bullet hitting and killing Rincon-Miller while she walked home with friends from a movie.
Fernandez told the court he and Stein lived a five-minute walk from each other and were friends for two years after meeting through school. He said they would play with guns at Stein’s house during hangouts.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—The prosecution called witnesses in the Thomas Stein murder trial, where he’s charged with killing 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller.
On the day of the killing, Fernandez said they went to the beach with Stein’s family in a rental car. He was dropped off at home and later met up with Stein to buy marijuana from him.
A detective testified that Fernandez was originally considered a potential suspect in the case.
During his testimony, Stein put his head down and picked it back up multiple times.
Prosecutors submitted a photo of Fernandez holding what they say is the same gun Horn had the night of the killing.
When asked why they would play with guns at Stein’s house, Fernandez said, “Because I was just a dumb kid, doing dumb things playing around the wrong crowd.”
Fernandez said he did not know Rincon-Miller, but the defense pointed out that his sister followed her on Instagram and was in the courtroom Thursday. Prosecutors have said since the trial started that the suspects did not know Rincon-Miller and she and her friends did not know them.
The trial continues Friday at 9:00 a.m.