Trans teen murder case: Main suspect's trial to start in 2020 in Greene County

It will likely be more than a year before the man accused of killing a transgender teen in Texas County in 2017 will stand trial in Greene County.

Andrew Vrba, 19, is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse, that of 17-year-old Ally Steinfeld, a transgender woman.

Texas County Prosecutor Parke J. Stevens Jr. is seeking the death penalty for Vrba.

Vrba's case was originally assigned to a Crawford County judge, but that judge was defeated in his re-election bid, Stevens explained.

The case was moved to Greene County last month and assigned to Judge Calvin Holden.

During a conference call in Holden's courtroom Friday, the four attorneys involved with the case discussed when they could be fully prepared for trial.

RELATED: Ally Steinfeld case: Prosecutor to seek death penalty for Vrba over trans teen slaying

The prosecutors, Stevens and Kevin Zoellner, who is based in Jefferson City, said they were ready for trial now.

The state's Public Defenders Office assigned two attorneys who specialize in capital offenses to represent Vrba, Thomas Jacquinot and Patrick Berrigan. Those two also represented Craig Wood, who was convicted of killing 10-year-old Hailey Owens in Springfield.

Jacquinot and Berrigan told Holden that their caseload for the next year was packed and asked the trial begin no earlier than the summer of 2020. The two attorneys are based in Kansas City.

Holden set Vrba's trial to begin Aug. 3, 2020. He set aside three weeks: one week for jury selection and two weeks for the trial.

Stevens said he was concerned about the cost Texas County will incur by having to house Vrba at the Greene County jail for such an extended period. Vrba is currently in the Texas County jail.

Stevens and Holden agreed that Stevens should talk to the Texas County sheriff about possibly arranging some sort of deal in which Greene County inmates could be housed in Texas County while Vrba is here to offset costs.

Because Jacquinot and Berrigan are already assigned to a murder case in Greene County — that Trystan Westrip, the Republic teen accused of killing an 80-year-old woman near Strafford in 2016 — Holden said he would try to schedule most of Vrba's hearings around the same time as Westrip's.

Westrip has a motion hearing on May 7 in Judge David Jones' courtroom. Holden set Vrba's next hearing for May 6.

About the case

Steinfeld's remains were found in September 2017 near a mobile home just north of Cabool.

According to online court documents, Stevens intends to prove the following statutory aggravating circumstances: that the alleged murder in the first degree was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, or depravity of mind."

Two women, Briana Calderas, 24, and Isis Schauer, 18, told authorities they helped burn Steinfeld's body after Vrba gouged out Steinfeld's eyes, repeatedly stabbed the teen — including multiple times in the genitals — and bragged about the killing, according to court records.

Vrba told investigators he initially tried to poison Steinfield, then described how he stabbed Steinfeld in the living room of Calderas' mobile home, according to the probable cause statement.

No motive was given in the probable cause statement. All three were charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse.

Schauer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December 2017.

Schauer was sentenced to 20 years in prison. As part of the plea agreement, the charge against Schauer was lowered from first-degree murder to second-degree murder.

Calderas is also waiting for trial charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing. She is in the Texas County jail.

A fourth person, James T. Grigsby, 25, of Thayer, pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Steinfeld identified as a transgender lesbian on social media and spoke with her sister, Ashleigh Boswell, about being transgender.

Source: news-leader.com, Jackie Rehwald, January 5, 2019

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