Select by gender or name

Murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller

According to State Attorney’s Office, 16-year-old Thomas Stein went out on the night of March 17th, 2024, in an SUV that his mother had rented. He had no plans to do something fun like go to a movie, instead his mind was on easy money. He was armed with a gun and picked up his homeboy, Christopher Horne Jr.

They went to a North Fort Myers, Florida movie theater and drove through the parking lot looking for cars they could burglarize. After that, they drove to another movie theater, this time in Cape Coral. They saw a person at an ATM, and considered robbing them, but quickly switched gears after seeing three girls walking nearby. Stein circled around several times before he finally made his move.

He flipped on his high beams and stopped the SUV in front of 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller and two friends. The trio had just left the theater and were walking to a nearby McDonald’s to get some food.

According to GulfCoastNewsNow, Stein and Horne hopped out, but things went south when Stein started shooting. Rincon-Miller was hit in the chest, but her friends were unharmed. Stein and Horne fled the scene. Rincon-Miller’s friend and bystanders provided aid and called 911.

According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, an officer showed up within minutes. Rincon-Miller was still responsive and told the officer she didn’t know who shot her. An ambulance arrived and transported her to a hospital, where she passed away a short time later.

Alleged Witness Tampering And Arrests

According to GulfCoastNewsNow, the day after the murder, a white SUV showed up at the Stein family home. Inside the vehicle were allegedly Horne’s parents. They allegedly made  Stein and his mother, Jennifer, follow them to a park where they were surrounded by several other people who threatened not to cooperate in the Rincon-Miller murder investigation. Jennifer claims a gun was brandished, and she and her son were threatened not to tell before they were taken back home.

Thomas was arrested on March 19th, and according to Jessica, she received multiple phone calls between March 25th and April 17th trying to ensure that Stein didn’t tell police who else was with him the night Rincon-Miller was killed.

Ultimately, Horne was arrested for murder on April 17th. In May 2024, several of his family members joined him in jail. Horne’s mother was charged with obstruction of justice. She was also hit with a felony count of threatening, tampering with, or coercing a witness, along with Horne’s father and aunt.

The charges against the family were dropped on May 6th, 2025.

Prosecution

Horne pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and three counts of attempted robbery in September 2025 in exchange for a reduced sentence. As part of his deal, he agreed to testify against Stein at his trial.

Jury selection started on April 27th, 2026, but all potential jurors were dismissed after at least one potential juror heard the Stein and Horne families arguing outside the courtroom. By April 29th, a jury was seated, and the trial began.

Horne was the star witness for the prosecution. He said he and Stein were the only ones in the vehicle and he fingered Stein as the shooter. Horne claimed he shouted, “Why did you shoot?” after Stein pulled the trigger.

According to CourtTV, Stein took the stand and told the jury that he had picked up two of Horne’s friends “JD” and “Trey” at one point. Stein’s attorney referred to the guys as “thuggish” something Stein agreed with.

Stein claimed that when they saw the girls, JD said he knew one of them and wanted Stein to turn around. Stein said he complied, and after pulling over, JD, Trey and Horne got out and attacked the girls. He said JD and Ricon-Miller were fighting, and as he ran over to seperate them, he heard a gunshot. He claimed he dropped JD and Trey off, while his mother took Horne home later that night.

The surviving girls testified that it felt like three or four guys had attacked them. The jury had a tough task as you had Horne saying it was just him and Stein, while Stein and the surviving witness put additional parties there at the time of the murder.

Ultimately, the jury believed Stein was the shooter, and they convicted him of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted robbery with a firearm.

Sentencing

Horne was sentenced to 25 years. He will have his sentence reviewed after 15 years.

At Stein’s sentencing in July 2026, he cried and asked if he could hug his family before leaving. The judge denied his request and gave him life in prison for first-degree murder, plus three consecutive 15-year sentences for each of the attempted robbery with a firearm convictions.

Like Horne, his life sentence will be reviewed after 15 years.