Teen Convicted in Cape Coral Robbery Killing of Kayla Rincon-Miller

A movie-night walk to McDonald’s ended in gunfire, and a Lee County jury has now tied Thomas Roy Stein to Kayla Rincon-Miller’s death as a felony-murder case. The 18-year-old was convicted Monday, May 4, 2026, of first-degree felony murder with a firearm and three counts of attempted robbery, a verdict that could send him to prison for life.

The killing traces back to the evening of March 17, 2024, when Kayla, 15, and two friends were walking in Cape Coral after seeing a movie. Prosecutors said a silver SUV pulled up with its high beams on, two men got out with guns, and the girls were ordered to hand over their bags. Moments later, witnesses heard shots, and Kayla fell to the ground. In plain English, the state’s felony-murder theory meant jurors did not need to find that Stein acted alone or that he was the only person with the gun. They only had to decide that he was part of the armed robbery attempt that led to Kayla’s death.

The prosecution leaned on surveillance video, phone GPS data and rental-car records to connect the SUV to Stein’s home. Stein’s mother testified that she rented the vehicle earlier that day for a beach trip, but prosecutors said the same SUV was later used in the fatal shooting. Medical testimony at trial described Kayla’s wound as a gunshot injury to the torso with an exit wound to the lower back, underscoring how fast the ambush turned deadly.

The case also turned on witnesses and a plea deal. Christopher Horne Jr. had already pleaded no contest on September 19, 2025, to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Stein. Survivors Louann Dejaie and Emma Grace Wright also took the stand and described the shooting and Kayla’s final moments. Jury selection in Stein’s trial had to restart after a tense interaction between the defendants’ families led the judge to dismiss dozens of prospective jurors.

The case was tried in Fort Myers in Lee County court before Judge Nick Thompson, not in Cape Coral itself. Stein is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2026, as Kayla’s family continues using her death to speak publicly against gun violence. For Cape Coral, the verdict closes one legal chapter in a case that began with a simple walk to dinner and ended with a teenager dead, another teenager convicted, and a community still living with the fallout.