Teen accused of killing 15-year-old Cape Coral girl back in court Monday

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

The teen accused of killing a Cape Coral 15-year-old girl was back in court Monday afternoon.

Thomas Stein is accused of shooting and killing Kayla Rincon-Miller in 2024.

In court on Monday, Thomas Stein's defense team pushed to exclude certain evidence in his trial.

This includes recorded conversations and other guns that were found during the investigation, but not used in the murder. The state also doesn't plan on introducing those as evidence.

Monday's big conversation revolved around a photo of a gun. The state believes a certain type of Glock was used in the murder. They want to show the jury a photo of the barrel of that specific type of gun, placed next to a picture of Kayla's body and her wound.

"The state does believe we do know what type of firearm was used. One of the things that came out in discovery is that she was hit with this firearm prior to being shot and killed," said state attorney Sara Miller.

The defense argues the evidence should be thrown out because it could confuse the jury. The judge didn't decide on this piece of evidence on Monday.

The trial is now set for April 27, and it's expected to take five days.

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