A southwest Florida teenager will not see the outside world, possibly ever again, after he was convicted of killing a 15-year-old girl.
Thomas Stein, 18, was convicted of killing Kayla Rincon-Miller in 2024. He was sentenced on Friday to life in prison plus 45 years.
Attempted Armed Robbery
On March 17, 2024, Rincon-Miller and her friends were going to McDonald’s in Cape Coral, Florida, after seeing a movie. As they walked toward the restaurant, a silver SUV blinded them with its high beams, and several men got out of it.
The state attorney’s office statement said two of the men were armed and demanded that the girls give them their bags.
“The driver, the defendant, flashed the high beams into the girls’ faces and stopped the vehicle in front of them,” the state attorney’s office wrote. “Moments later a gun went off, with the bullet going into the chest of the victim, at close range. The defendant fled the scene along with his co-defendant as the victim’s friends, also victims of the attempted robbery, tried to save her life. A Cape Coral Police Officer arrived on scene in minutes and also tried to save the victim’s life. The victim was able to speak at first and told the officer she did not know the person who shot her. She died a short time later at a local hospital.”
Investigators determined Stein was the driver. The report said the vehicle was a rental from a Hertz near where Rincon-Miller was shot. The renter was identified as Jessica Stein, Stein’s mother.
Jessica Stein told investigators she was at home with her son and his two friends. The report said her description of the three teenagers matched the victim’s descriptions of their attackers.
The mother added she knew her son had access to her vehicle at the time of the crime.
Pointing Fingers
Although the report said Stein didn’t kill Rincon-Miller, one of his co-defendants, Christopher Horne Jr., testified against him. He claimed he saw Stein shoot Kayla.
Horne testified that he and Stein planned to rob people on the night of March 17, 2024. He said the original plan was to rob people at a bank, but that changed when they saw Kayla and her friends.
Horne was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement.
Once the trial began, it got off to a shaky start. All potential jurors were dismissed after Stein and Horne’s families got into a verbal argument in the courthouse hallway.
During the trial, Stein conceded that he was present at the time of Rincon-Miller’s death, but insisted someone else pulled the trigger.
“I didn’t know that robbery was going to occur, but it was my reaction in fleeing that ultimately played a major role in assisting the perpetrators,” Stein said Friday. “I know that it wasn’t my intention, but the truth is it doesn’t change the result. It doesn’t change the fact that there was a life taken and innocent people were forever traumatized because of that.”
“That day I made a terrible decision. The decision to get behind the wheel was a total act of selfishness and something I regret, and I’m ashamed of every day.”
Judge Denies Request
Stein also made a request to Lee County Judge Nick Thompson before he began his sentence, Court TV reported.
“If I could just ask you one thing, if before I walk out of the courtroom, I could give my family a hug, if you’d allow that,” he asked, in between tears.
The request was rejected immediately.
“I can’t grant that request in here. You can say goodbye, but you can’t have any physical contact,” Judge Thompson replied.
Stein was hit with life in prison, but since he was 16 when he committed the crime, he is guaranteed a review of his sentence after 15 years.
Stein’s attorney, Robert Malove, protested the sentence, saying that even if a court favors Stein in 15 years, he will still have to serve 45 years.
“I’ve thought about it, I’ve considered it, and the sentence the court has imposed is what I believe is appropriate under these circumstances,” the judge said. “So I will leave it the way I’ve ordered it.”
Rincon-Miller’s family launched “Kayla’s House” in honor of her memory. The nonprofit works to combat gun violence and prevent future tragedies.
Rincon-Miller’s friends, Louann Dejaie and Emma Wright, spoke in court.
“I have been bullied and discouraged,” Wright said. “People tried to blame me and my friend Dejaie for this act of violence.”
“I feel like I’m trapped in a coma that I can’t wake up from,” Dejaie added. “Like I’m suffocating, but somehow still expected to keep on living. Losing Kayla changed every part of my life.”
