Thomas Stein was sentenced on July 10, 2026, to life in prison for the killing of Kayla Rincon-Miller, with 45 additional years added for three counts of attempted robbery. The sentence closed the case against the man convicted of felony murder with a firearm in the March 17, 2024, shooting death of the 15-year-old.
The punishment was handed down by Nick Thompson, who also denied Stein’s request for a hug from his family before he was taken away. Stein had asked to say goodbye with a physical embrace, then said, “I’m sorry,” but Thompson answered that he was not going to be able to hear that. The moment gave the hearing a hard edge that matched the sentence itself.
For Louann Dejaie, who said losing Kayla changed every part of her life, the court’s decision marked the end of one phase of a case that has already altered the lives of everyone tied to it. Emma Wright said people tried to blame her and Dejaie for the violence, and said she had been bullied and discouraged. Their words underscored how the aftermath has spread beyond the shooting itself and into the lives of the two friends who were with Rincon-Miller that night.
Rincon-Miller had been out at the movies with two friends when Stein and Christopher Horne targeted the group. Stein testified that he was present when Rincon-Miller died, but said others in the car pulled the trigger and that he and the others had planned only to steal from cars that night. Prosecutors told Thompson he was the driver, that he armed the parties, and that he had prior felony burglary convictions for breaking into cars before. That left the court with a version of events that did not line up with Stein’s claim that he was not part of the killing itself.
Thompson’s sentence makes Stein’s punishment immediate and severe, but not final in every respect. Because Stein was 16 when the crime was committed, he is guaranteed a review of his sentence after 15 years, a point that leaves open whether the life term will stand unchanged over time. Until then, Stein’s consecutive terms on the attempted robbery counts keep the full sentence at life plus 45 years.
