Trial begins for Cape Coral teen accused in 15-year-old’s murder | Lee County

FORT MYERS, FL (WINK) – A jury was seated for the trial of Thomas Stein after a rocky start.

Stein is accused of murdering 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller in March 2024. The state told the recently impaneled jury about the night Rincon-Miller was shot to death at Southeast 16th Place in Cape Coral, near Del Prado Boulevard and Coralwood Mall, after seeing a movie with her friends.

The state told the court that Stein approached Rincon-Miller and tried to rob him. He says the gun went off during the scuffle and the boys were startled.

The state also told the court that Rincon-Miller’s friends tried to save him. Two years later, it is still not clear who murdered him.

The first witness presented his side on Wednesday.

The Cape Coral police officer who was first on the scene that night testified.

He described it as chaos and shot Rincon-Miller. His body camera video was played in the courtroom.

Who fired the shot that killed Kayla Rincon-Miller has been one of many questions for two years. The State Attorney’s Office clarified that they believed Stein had done so.

A prosecutor said, “Christopher Horn and Thomas Stein got out of that car with guns in hand, ready to commit a robbery, when Thomas Stein fired the gun.”

But his lawyers disagree, arguing that the other suspect, Christopher Horn Jr., lied to prosecutors behind closed doors. Defense attorneys told the jury they should prepare themselves for whatever might emerge from the witness stand.

Prosecutors say they were in a rental SUV. Now, the court is finding that there were other people inside.

Prosecutors argue that Stein was driving and Horn Jr. was a passenger. Officer Jamil Vega’s bodycamera video was played in front of everyone.

In the video, a witness describes seeing five people, including a white male driver who appeared to be 17 to 20 years old with blonde hair. You can hear Vega asking Rincon-Miller if he saw who shot him.

He didn’t say. Then he asked if there was any reason why anyone would hurt him.

He didn’t say. Officer Vega said he did everything he could to save her life.

Vega said, “I saw he had an obvious gunshot wound to his chest and he was bleeding profusely. I have another woman crying and trying to help put some pressure on his chest. I have another woman on 911 in tears trying to get information from him and trying to help him, so it wasn’t the most controlled scene there.”

If Steen is found guilty of first-degree murder, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Police said Stein was not the person who pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys need to find people they feel will be impartial and fair during this murder trial. This means asking dozens of people many questions, such as whether they know anything about the case. On Tuesday, 12 out of 13 people raised their hands and said that they had heard about this matter through the media.

Jury selection was also disrupted Monday after the families of Stein and Christopher Horn Jr. yelled at each other. Horn Jr. filed a motion to testify against Stein.

Prosecutors said Horn Jr.’s family spoke about the case from the back of the courtroom Monday behind jurors’ back. Judge Nicholas Thompson was concerned that potential jurors would not be impartial after overhearing these conversations, so both the prosecution and defense teams asked for all potential jurors to be dismissed.

Jury selection resumed Tuesday. Horn Jr.’s aunt and mother were not in the courtroom, but Stein’s family was.

By the end of the day, 14 potential jurors had been selected. Jury selection continues with another new group of 50 people.

Questions remain about who the other people were in the car that night and whether they will take the stand. The trial will resume at 8:30 am Thursday.