Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #4

[Walela]

You know, I don't recall ever seeing a reporter ask the parent of a missing child if they feel responsible.

That seems a very inappropriate and insensitive thing for a reporter to ask in that situation just out of the blue.

It makes me wonder if LE did have some influence over what was asked in SS's interview.

Thinking about this I have to wonder if SS made some comment when they were having a conversation prior to the actual interview. I haven't ever had a reporter come to my home to interview me but I would think there would be some sort of conversation before hand so everyone would know basically what to expect. SS could have made the comment that he feels responsible in an attempt to dispel any "guilty" demeanor he might show and gain some sympathy from the interviewer and he (SS) may have strongly suggested that question be asked. IMO I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility SS was using the interview for only his own benefit.

I would like to hear from the interviewer as to his overall opinion of the interview. I wonder if he was as surprised as we were by the strangeness of it.

 

[CuriousCricket]

And he actually gave the phone to LE instead of burning it till not even a scrap remained in solid form and the embers were flushed somewhere down to hell .

That is somewhat curious, isn't it? Him keeping the phone?

He did have plenty of time to crush it, burn it, completely lose it, somewhere in the outback of beyond. There are unaccounted for hours of Feb. 26, after Maddy was killed but before she was reported missing, that he could have saved himself. It would have looked suspicious, of course, but wouldn't have nailed him with such certainty.

Since I'm not techy, I'll just ask. Even if he destroyed the phone, could his cloud storage still have been accessed? Could he have deleted everything in his cloud before destroying the phone?

Instead he kept his phone, relying on the magic "Factory Reset Button" to save him. I don't understand how anyone could do something they know to be a capital offense without better understanding how their phone, computers and other devices worked.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I meant more like torn skin and bleeding , not being able to sit down , things a teacher would notice and an 8 year old wouldn't be able to hide physically

I raised 2 daughters. At their annual physical, the pediatrician (female) always would say them “I have to look at your private area. This is to see if you’re developing normally. It will not hurt.”

Once she verified the outside area was normal, she asked them to dress. Then she asked me to step out of the room for a minute. She wanted to speak privately to her, with the nurse in attendance too.

I was happy to oblige. I had told my daughters they can always tell their doctor anything.

If MS had an annual physical, did the doctor never speak to her privately??? They are a mandatory reporter, trained to ensure a child feels comfortable speaking up. Did JS not take her little girl for regular checkups???

 

[YourM0m]

At best, JS was a very checked out mother. Perhaps with her own mental health struggles, and the struggles of having to pay the bills. I believe SS offered lots of "help" with MS & JS simply took him up on the offer.

I think the fact that a lot of offense dates are during the summer & some in March if I recall (Spring break?), is because he was live in child care while JS was working. There had to be some sign. Something. That I believe even the least engaged mother would have to pick up on. Some of those encounters had to leave poor MS in pain. But I think JS was so checked out she didn't even notice things that another woman should notice.

Furthermore,

Spoiler: Spoiler, because I'm disgusted to even type this

was SS also doing the laundry in the home? Because there would be obvious evidence that JS wouldn't be able to ignore

 

[photographer4]

Could be, she was reported missing that day.

Nothing is going to shock me in the case. Not even if mom held the camera. Nothing. There is simply no way this should ever have happened.

 

[Beekarina]

Question: IF SS was distributing images, and we have no way of knowing if he was, it just seems possible since he had so many, could JS be charged as well if he was doing it from the apartment? It is her home, right? And she is also an adult? I would think that kind of thing could get really murky and messy and could take time to sort out if LE has more stuff on a computer in the house. How would you definitively prove who a computer belonged to when there was an ongoing romantic adult relationship?

And also why was MS school laptop thrown in the dumpster? Was there something on there as well? (I'm curious how the tamagotchis work when it comes to photos, etc. Thanks!)

 

[Wishbone]

if she denies any knowledge of sexual abuse, LE has alot of digging to do. if another adult was aware of even a possibility, they sure as heck arent going to say they didnt act on a suspicion or the word of a child. but there could be someone who could provide valuable information if they brought a suspicion to JS's attention at some point and she didnt act on it or poo poo'd it.

as you said, evidence must be obtained she was involved somehow in the abuse, and/or knew Madeline was dead, and engaged in covering for him and then herself. IMO, her timeline and movements from all day sunday through the morning up to 4pm are key.

right now, nothing from LE. have to be patient which can sometimes be maddening.

What went on the night MS died? To have such a sloppy cover up it appears her death was not planned ahead of time. And, my biggest question is WHY DID JS HELP COVER THIS UP?

 

[photographer4]

I raised 2 daughters. At their annual physical, the pediatrician (female) always would say them “I have to look at your private area. This is to see if you’re developing normally. It will not hurt.”

Once she verified the outside area was normal, she asked them to dress. Then she asked me to step out of the room for a minute. She wanted to speak privately to her, with the nurse in attendance too.

I was happy to oblige. I had told my daughters they can always tell their doctor anything.

If MS had an annual physical, did the doctor never speak to her privately??? They are a mandatory reporter, trained to ensure a child feels comfortable speaking up. Did JS not take her little girl for regular checkups???

Even if she did, many sexually abused kids won’t allow the doc to do that part of the exam. It doesn’t always mean sexual abuse has happened. It may just mean the kids aren’t cool with it. And just because a kid is asked doesn’t mean they will tell or know how to. Some lie or deny so well you’d never suspect a thing.

 

[photographer4]

Question: IF SS was distributing images, and we have no way of knowing if he was, it just seems possible since he had so many, could JS be charged as well if he was doing it from the apartment? It is her home, right? And she is also an adult? I would think that kind of thing could get really murky and messy and could take time to sort out if LE has more stuff on a computer in the house. How would you definitively prove who a computer belonged to when there was an ongoing romantic adult relationship?

And also why was MS school laptop thrown in the dumpster? Was there something on there as well? (I'm curious how the tamagotchis work when it comes to photos, etc. Thanks!)

Did he write a run away note on her school pc or something and he hoped they’d find that and it would make them think she dipped out on her own? Not facts. Just wondering out loud. Moo.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Even if she did, many sexually abused kids won’t allow the doc to do that part of the exam. It doesn’t always mean sexual abuse has happened. It may just mean the kids aren’t cool with it. And just because a kid is asked doesn’t mean they will tell or know how to. Some lie or deny so well you’d never suspect a thing.

But if a child behaved like that, one would think the pediatrician & nurse would recognize a worrisome situation. Even if it is anxiety. The doctor and nurse are trained to provide reassurance. The parent would need to be spoken to also. It seems like many opportunities to help MS were missed.

 

[photographer4]

Wow. They sure found a treasure trove on his "accidentally factory reset" device, didn't they? What's sickening is that's 39 counts, likely of Maddie, when she was 10. UGH. The poor, poor child.

Or they found it on a cloud drive or some other device. Who knows how many devices he’s had over the years and all.

 

[Pizza_Lovah]

Like it or not, mom is involved. Either deliberately or not just by allowing this guy into their lives. She could have never let him meet her daughter. She could have sent Maddie to Dad or any other responsible adult. She could have allowed SS around only when Maddie wasn’t there and she sure as hell could have supervised their every interaction.

The idea that there could ever be such few signs that he was doing this is so horrifying!!! Someone suggested in a previous thread that you should NEVER let a man around your children unsupervised until they're 18...but consider if the step-parent or significant other is a good, trustworthy partner. Isn't all that monitoring just wildly inconvenient/unrealistic but going to take a toll on the whole family? There are lots of great stepparents out there. At some point (maybe after a certain amount of time, checking their records, knowing their background, observing interactionsd) isn't it reasonable to trust them and not assume there is a chance that they're a pedophile? I'm guessing that in this case there were A LOT of red flags that we just don't know about.

 

[photographer4]

Yes, I think that's possible, but I think the date may also only go that far because that may have been the day he erased his device.

Wonder how many other drives or devices he tried to erase?

 

[Beekarina]

SS may not have abused her near the annual appointment times, so possibly she had no visible signs of abuse?

I do not have a daughter, but having been in the room when my sons were younger and they did that private part of the exam it seemed pretty cursory. And it wasn't untl 12 or 13-ish when they started asking me to leave the room for the private talk about sex, drugs, etc. Maybe they do more of an exam they suspect something is happening?

 

[Mimimom]

If MS had an annual physical, did the doctor never speak to her privately??? They are a mandatory reporter, trained to ensure a child feels comfortable speaking up. Did JS not take her little girl for regular checkups???

I have 4 kids ranging from 39 - 15. I don't think their Drs ever spoke to them privately or checked their private areas. My youngest sons Dr gives him a form to fill out with questions about abuse, anxiety, depression etc. They all went for annual physicals until they were at least 18.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I went back to try and assemble a timeline with all the different time-linked things we've heard so far.
Does anyone see anything I'm missing? I'd like to add it to the media thread and I'd be annoyed at myself if I missed anything.

Time	Source	What they said
2/25/2024	JS interview 2/26/2024 - Fox35 (5:43)	MS had a 13th birthday party with JS's whole family
2/25/2024 - evening	JS interview 2/26/2024 - Fox35 (6:09)	MS got home from party and went straight to bed. At no point did she have her phone or laptop. JS says she didn't see MS having conversations or making plans with anyone.
2/26/2024	Kissimee PD - Affidavit for arrest warrant for SS	SS says he accidentally performed a factory reset this day
2/26/2024 - early morning hours	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 3/1/2024 press conference (3:04)	LE believes MS was dead and SS moved her body
2/26/2024 7:35	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 3/1/2024 press conference (3:04)	Video evidence shows SS discarding items in a dumpster at their apartment complex. MS's backpack and school-issued laptop were later recovered from the dumpster.
2/26/2024 8:00	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	JS says she "observed" MS getting ready for school
2/26/2024 8:10	Kissimee PD - Affidavit for arrest warrant for SS	A license plate reader captured SS's vehicle driving away from Hunters Creek Middle School
2/26/2024 8:19	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 3/1/2024 press conference (3:04)	Unspecified evidence shows SS returning to the apartment complex with MS visible in his vehicle. LE believes she was already dead at this time. A later comment says video evidence leads them to believe she was already dead. Some media is reporting that her body was "propped up" in the vehicle, but I have not seen any media claiming to have a source for this, and the Sheriff does not say it in this press conference.
2/26/2024 8:25	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	Between 8:25 and 8:40, SS says he dropped MS off about one block from her school. He says he watched her leave his vehicle and walk toward the school.
2/26/2024 8:30	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 2/28/2024 press conference (4:00)	SS dropped MS off in front of Peace United Methodist church
2/26/2024 8:30	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	JS says SS took MS to school and dropped her off at the intersection of Town Loop Bivd and Hunter's Park Lane
2/26/2024 8:40	Kissimee PD - Affidavit for arrest warrant for SS	SS says he dropped MS in front of Peace United Methodist church
2/26/2024 - morning	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 2/28/2024 press conference (10:33)	Grainy surveillance footage shows a person in front of Peace United Methodist Church that could not be confirmed or refuted as MS
2/26/2024 8:40	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	SS says after dropping MS off, he went to a nearby vape shop which was closed, then home
2/26/2024 9:00	JS interview 2/26/2024 - Fox35 (0:41)	JS says this is when MS "got up". It is not clear exactly what this means, but this directly follows JS mentioning surveillance footage showing MS walking from Peace United Methodist Church toward the school
2/26/2024 9:30	Kissimee PD - Affidavit for arrest warrant for SS	Hunters Creek Middle School class begins
2/26/2024 10:00	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	SS says he stayed for about an hour after getting home, then went out to run errands
2/26/2024 13:00	PD Chief Holland - 3/1/2024 press conference (5:48)	Between 13:00 and 14:30, SS was seen driving his siver Lincoln MKZ with a flat tire near Old Hickory Tree Road
2/26/2024 14:30	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	SS says he returned from running errands and did not leave the house after
2/26/2024 16:00	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	JS says she attempted to pick MS up from school and learned that MS did not make it to school, so she then went to look for her at MS's grandmother's office at [redacted] Village Park Drive
2/26/2024 16:04	Hunters Creek Middle School	Hunters Creek Middle School final bell
2/26/2024 - school pick up time	JS interview 2/26/2024 - Fox35 (1:11)	JS did not see MS at school, so she drove toward MS's grandmother's office in case she had walked there, and did not see her so drove back to the school. The school was then closed so she reached out to MS's friends and teacher and confirmed they hadn't heard from her, at which point she called 911.
2/26/2024 16:43	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	"Reported Time" of missing person
2/26/2024 19:48	Orange County Sheriff's Office - incident report, shared by WFTV	Sheriff's Deputies arrived at [redacted] Village Park Drive, Orlando, Orange County, Florida (note: this is not the address of Hunters Creek Middle School, but is proximal)
2/26/2024 20:00	Kissimee PD - Affidavit for arrest warrant for SS	MS was reported missing by JS
2/26/2024 20:00	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 2/28/2024 press conference (5:01)	OC patrol deputies arrived at Hunters Creek Middle School to take JS's report
2/28/2024 15:33	Orange County Sheriff's Office - Sheriff FB	Press conference is held
2/28/2024 - evening	Orange County Sheriff's Office - Sheriff FB	SS is arrested for sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material and named as the prime suspect in MS's disappearance
2/29/2024 - night	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 3/1/2024 press conference (3:04)	Detectives from Kissimmee PD informs JS that they are "confident" MS is dead
3/1/2024 13:00	Orange County Sheriff's Office and Kissimmee Police Department - Sheriff FB	Press conference is held, including the announcement that Kissimmee PD is taking over the investigation
3/1/2024 13:05	Orange County Sheriff John Mina - 3/1/2024 press conference (8:16)	Says "to my knowledge she's not a suspect in this case right now." He later says JS had "the reaction any parent would have".
3/1/2024 16:30	Orange County Sheriff's Office - per Fox35 Orlando	The body of MS was discovered off Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County, wearing clothing similar to what maddie was last wearing.
3/6/2024 9:19	Kissimmee Police Department - PD FB	Reports no new information can be released

In reference to the above Timeline, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Madelines mother say that she call LE around 4pm? I read a report stating that LE reported the call was recieved around 8pm.
I can't locate the article right now so I will say this is JMO unless someone else knows if this is true.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Like it or not, mom is involved. Either deliberately or not just by allowing this guy into their lives. She could have never let him meet her daughter. She could have sent Maddie to Dad or any other responsible adult. She could have allowed SS around only when Maddie wasn’t there and she sure as hell could have supervised their every interaction.

I’m still on the fence with mom’s involvement and the extent.

IF she has BPD, she might have poor decision making skills, impulsivity, risk-taking and all the things that go along with it. (For a different discussion)

In a perfect world, we would all have the best interest of the child in mind. Sadly, the world isn’t perfect and mental illness MAY play a part here. imo

 

[LaborDayRN]

I have 4 kids ranging from 39 - 15. I don't think their Drs ever spoke to them privately or checked their private areas. My youngest sons Dr gives him a form to fill out with questions about abuse, anxiety, depression etc. They all went for annual physicals until they were at least 18.

Same here

 

[photographer4]

But if a child behaved like that, one would think the pediatrician & nurse would recognize a worrisome situation. Even if it is anxiety. The doctor and nurse are trained to provide reassurance. The parent would need to be spoken to also. It seems like many opportunities to help MS were missed.

Even if they reported to CPS workers would have the same issue. You cannot force a kid to break down and tell you. And sadly: when kids don’t tell CPS what happened, often nothing can be done. At all. The laws are stupid. They protect the perps far more than the kids.

 

[Universecalling]

I cannot imagine that blood on sheets,underwear,pyjamas went unnoticed by her mother.

She knew. She had to have known.
Im going to quote what I said earlier. The moment I felt she wasn’t innocent.

IIRC, in that second interview she says something like “a lot of people have asked me to volunteer” referring to conducting search parties.
The way she said it was striking to me. A mix of pomposity and incredulity. You need to be asked to volunteer to search for your daughter?!

Out of all the sideeye things that were said (and not said) in both interviews, I remember that answer struck me the most. And was probably the turning point for me in believing there’s a heck a lot more than meets the eye.