Fort Myers jury deliberates fate of teen accused of killing Kayla Rincon-Miller

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Jurors are deliberating the fate of Thomas Stein, who has been charged with the murder of 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller.

Stein testified last week that he didn't shoot Rincon-Miller. He claimed a friend of his co-defendant, Christopher Horne Jr., fired the shot.

Horne Jr. sat on the witness stand and told the court what he claims happened on March 17, 2024. He testified that he and Stein were going to rob cars on Cape Coral Parkway when things took a turn.

Horne Jr. said they rolled up next to Rincon-Miller and two other teenage girls, turned around, got out of the car and tried to rob them. That's when he claims Stein's gun went off.

However, when Stein testified, he said there were two other boys in the car with them—Horne Jr.'s friends. He says one of those boys, JD, went after Rincon-Miller.

Stein told the court he tried to break it up and that's when the gun went off. Stein testified the boy named JD was the one who shot Rincon-Miller.

Stein's attorneys say he went out unaware that the robbery was going to happen and he wasn't even wearing a mask that night, unlike the other boys.

"He's not wearing a mask. These other boys are in the shadows. He's got his cell phone on them, he goes live on Instagram that night," said David Wheeler, Stein's attorney.

On the other hand, the state says Stein was only concerned about getting rid of the evidence that night.

"Thomas Stein was not trying to provide assistance to Kayla. He fled the scene and only worked on getting rid of evidence only to make sure they don't get caught," said Sara Miller, assistant state attorney.

The jury is now deciding whether Stein is guilty of first-degree felony murder. WINK News has been covering this case for two years and will continue to provide updates as the deliberations progress.