2020 trial in county death penalty case
Houston Herald
A 19-year-old Houston man will stand trial in a brutal Texas County murder in August 2020, it was decided during a conference call Friday.
Andrew J. Vrba is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of the corpse of Joseph M. Steinfeld, 17, who was transitioning to a female and killed in September 2017 north of Cabool. Steinfield went by the name, “Ally.” Vrba could face the death penalty.
Prosecutors said they are ready to hold the trial, but Vrba’s lawyers say their workload is so heavy they wouldn’t be able to mount a defense under the summer of 2020. Vrba is represented the Missouri Public Defenders Office. Two attorneys who specialize in capital cases, Thomas Jacquinot and Patrick Berrigan, both of Kansas City, are assigned to the Vrba case.
They also represented Craig Wood, who was convicted of killing 10-year-old Hailey Owens in Springfield, in a high-profile Missouri case.
Holden set Vrba's trial to begin Aug. 3, 2020, in Greene County. He set aside three weeks: one week for jury selection and two weeks for the trial, according to court records. The case had been set to be heard in Steelville on a change of venue, but the judge assigned to the case was defeated in an election last year.
Holden will next meet with attorneys on May 6 for a pre-trial conference.
Three others were also charged with murdering Steinfeld north of Cabool at a trailer.
Isis Schauer, 19, of Houston, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. As part of the plea agreement, the charge against Schauer was lowered from first-degree murder to second-degree murder. She is appealing the sentence. She cites ineffective counsel and that her plea was not voluntary or knowledgeable.
Briana Calderas, 25, of Cabool, will stand trial the week of Feb. 25 in Pulaski County Circuit Court at Waynesville. She is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse at her residence where authorities said the crime occurred. She could face life in prison without a chance of probation or parole.
A fourth person, James T. Grigsby, 26, of Thayer, pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse and was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2018.
Texas County Prosecutor Parke Stevens Jr. said the lengthy incarceration for Vrba raises concerns about the cost of housing the suspect in Greene County. Vrba will likely be held in Texas County unless the county agrees to pay board bill to Greene County.
At the conference, Stevens and Judge Calvin Holden also agreed that the county prosecutor could talk to the Texas County sheriff about possibly arranging some sort of deal in which Greene County inmates could be housed in Texas County while Vrba is in Springfield to offset costs.
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