HOUSTON, Mo. (AP) Another suspect has been convicted in the slaying of a transgender teen whose eyes were gouged out and her body set on fire in southwest Missouri.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that 26-year-old Briana Calderas pleaded guilty Thursday to abandonment of a corpse, concealing a felon and evidence tampering. The plea came just days before she was scheduled to be tried on a first-degree murder charge in the 2017 death of 17-year-old Ally Steinfeld. Relatives say Calderas and Steinfeld had dated.
Local officials haven’t said what led to the killing in the town of Cabool but insisted it wasn’t motivated by Steinfeld’s gender identity.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against another suspect, Andrew Vrba. Two others have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the crime.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI