TEXAS COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - A trial is set to start Monday for Andrew Vrba, a man facing murder charges after the death of a transgender teen in Texas County three years ago.
Vrba, now 21, is one of four suspects charged in the death of 17-year-old Joseph Steinfeld, who came out as transgender and went by the name Ally Steinfeld before the death.
Three others have pleaded guilty and are in prison for their roles in Steinfeld’s death.
Steinfeld had been missing for weeks when her burned remains were found in September 2017 in the town of Cabool, a rural area about 70 miles east of Springfield.
Investigators say her eyes were gouged out and that she was stabbed several times, including in the genitals.
Court documents allege Vrba told authorities he stabbed Steinfeld in a home in Cabool, then moved the body and burned it with help from others.
Authorities in Texas County have insisted the crime was not motivated by Steinfeld’s gender identity.
Vrba’s charges include first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse.
In April 2018, county prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty against Vrba, requesting help from the state attorney general’s office.
One month later, the head of Missouri’s public defender system said Vrba should be spared from facing the death sentence if he’s convicted because there isn’t enough money to adequately defend him.
Three others have pleaded guilty and were previously sentenced for the death.
Briana Calderas, who had been in a relationship with Steinfeld prior to the death, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
She pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse, concealing a felony and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.
Isis Schauer was sentenced to 20 years in prison, though intends to appeal her conviction.
She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse for the death.
James Grigsby was sentenced to four years in prison.
He pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse.
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.
Steinfeld identified as a transgender lesbian on social media and spoke with her sister, Ashleigh Boswell, about being transgender. (news-leader.com, Jackie Rehwald, January 5, 2019)
Source: ky3.com, Staff, August 2, 2020
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