Ally Steinfeld (17), a transgender woman from Missouri, had been missing since early September of 2017. Her charred remains were found inside a bag, in a chicken coop and a burn pit in Cabool residence, which led to the arrest of four suspects: Andrew Vrba (18), his girlfriend Isis Schauer (18) and Briana Calderas (24), who was dating Ally, have been charged with first degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse. James Grigsby (25) was charged with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
Ally, who was born Joseph Steinfeld and still called Joey by her family, had come out as transgender in May 2017. She’d been living in a trailer with Vrba, Schauer and Calderas, but according to their statements there had been tensions in the group in the days leading up to the murder. On September 3, Ally was allegedly in a physical altercation with Vrba and two days later he decided to kill her, first with poison but when she wouldn’t take the drink, he used a knife. Court documents state that Vrba boasted that he’d tortured Ally, gouging her eyes out and mutilating her genitals. Calderas said she knew about the plan but didn’t agree with it, but Vrba and Schauer insist she was in on it. The four suspects allegedly participated in the burning of the body and attempt to destroy evidence.
The case so far is not being treated as a hate crime. Although a motive hasn’t been revealed, authorities don’t think it was because of Ally’s transgender identity, despite the supposed genital mutilation that they only know about through statements and not through physical evidence. Prosecutor Parke Stevens stated: "I would say murder in the first-degree is all that matters. That is a hate crime in itself."