The family of a teenager in Gulfport sues Grindle

The Gulfport teenage family, who police say were tortured, killed and torn apart by a man they met on Grindr, is suing the platform owner, claiming that their traits and lack of protection for minors contributed to the girl’s death.

The lawsuit filed in federal court against Grindr LLC last month by representatives of the Miranda Corsett real estate alleges that the 35-year-old man who killed the teen was able to target her through the Grindr app because of “slow age verification and advanced geographical colony.”

“The trauma caused to MC (Miranda) and irreparable harm to her family are the direct result of Grindr’s reckless neglect of the safety of minor children that adult predators who use Grindr’s platform and design as traps routinely prey,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff was identified in court filings by Initial DW and is listed as the executor of Miranda’s property. Lone Kaiser, the plaintiff’s South Florida lawyer, declined in an interview to identify his relationship with the plaintiff or plaintiff Miranda, as he had no permission from his client to do so.

Grindr LLC has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. A press conference for the West Hollywood-based company did not respond to two emails from the Tampa Bay Times seeking comment on the story.

Started in 2009, Grindr has acquired its status as the world’s largest social networking app for LGBTQ+ people, but it attracts a “sexually diverse” user base, including those looking to prey on minors, according to the lawsuit.

The complaints include many of the details revealed about the investigation that led to the arrest of Stephen Gres and Michelle Brandes, 37, on first-degree murder cases and other charges.

Authorities say Miranda met Gress in Grindle on or around February 14th. Gress picked up the teen at his house in Gulfport, where he lived with his grandmother, and took him to an apartment he shared with Brandes on 27th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. According to the arrest affidavit, Gres said she was 21 years old, but later learned that she was 16.

Gres took Miranda to Gulfport, and at one point she returned to her St. Petersburg apartment. Gres said he was convinced that Miranda had stole his ring and “put her together” for the majority of the week. It ended on February 23rd. Witnesses said Brands wrapped the girl’s head in plastic. Gres told her not to cover her nose, but Brand did, witnesses said. Miranda suffocated.

Gres explained that Brande pushed the billiard ball into Miranda’s throat, covering her face with plastic. He said he couldn’t reach her as quickly as he thrusts through a plastic hole so that she could breathe.

After Miranda died, they drove to Brandes’ mother’s house in Largo, where Gres used a chainsaw to dismantle Miranda’s body, police said. They put the bodies in a garbage bag and left them in Ruskin’s trash can the next day. Police learned that the contents of the trash can likely have been sent to the county incinerator.

Police said there was no evidence that Miranda had taken the ring and Brandes later claimed he found it in Gres’s car.

Gres and Brande plead not guilty to the murder and accusations of temptation. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if convicted.

“It was clear that Grindr was only a matter of time before the app caused child to torture, rape and murder, as Grindr sold and designed it,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint states that the app only needs a self-reported date of birth to ensure that the user is at least 18 years old and will not cross-check against official documentation or third-party verifications at sign-up.

Miranda’s death reveals “the platform’s gross negligence in relying on the platform’s self-reported age verification system. “The lawsuit states. “This performance gesture allowed minors to access adult-oriented platforms with foreseeable and catastrophic consequences, as absurd as bars and strip clubs, asking teens to state their age without checking their IDs.”

We can enact measures such as government-issued identification verification and facial age estimation systems, but complaints have not.

“The company had a way to keep minors away from the platform, but withheld them to maintain simple onboarding and avoid disrupting user growth, even when costs are safe for children,” the lawsuit states.

The app’s geolocation service provides “high-performance, real-time geolocation tracking (within a few feet accurately).” “So Grindr places user profiles instantly and with voluntary sexual hookups based on their distance from other users, creating a unique, dangerous environment for minors.”

The lawsuit, which points out that Miranda had a son, alleges nine counts that include illegal death, negligence, violation of emotional distress, participation in sex trafficking ventures, and deceptive and unfair trade practices. It seeks jury trial and compensation and punitive damages.

The complaint also asks the court to implement more robust age verification measures and order Grindr to suspend what it claims to be a misleading claim regarding the safety of the app.

Kaiser said the case was intended to hold Grindle responsible for its role in Miranda’s death, just as prosecutors hold Grendle responsible for its role in the death of Miranda, just as Gress and Brande hold him liable through the criminal justice process.

“Without Grindle, Miranda believes she would never have met this Steven Gress character and she would still be alive,” Kaiser said. “This was a completely foreseeable event. Grinders have been warned over the years about children and minors on this platform, which is clearly a dangerous platform for children.”