Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #7

[oviedo]

@PayrollNerd
Thank you for keeping up her media thread

FL - Madeline Soto, 13 Located deceased Media, maps, timeline no discussion

Inadvertently posted this here but I did copy it over to the discussion thread also. 2024 CF 000632 STERNS, STEPHAN MICHAEL Updated calendar: Updated Docket: Text of top line: ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO CONTINUEPRETRIAL HELD THE COURT, HAVING REVIEWED THE DEFENSE'S MOTION TO CONTINUE...

www.websleuths.com

I’m finding this (Our dear MS) one is particularly hard for me to follow - I know my fellow WS friends may understand- and I appreciate the attention to the media thread i started which I am not always updating because his crimes are so heinous
JMO

 

[Stormi76]

I think Maddie didn't want to sleep alone because of SS. She probably felt safer with JS in the bed, until JS told them both to sleep in another room. How I wish she could have told someone...

i think you hit the nail square on the head! i was thinking the same

 

[PayrollNerd]

@PayrollNerd
Thank you for keeping up her media thread

FL - Madeline Soto, 13 Located deceased Media, maps, timeline no discussion

Inadvertently posted this here but I did copy it over to the discussion thread also. 2024 CF 000632 STERNS, STEPHAN MICHAEL Updated calendar: Updated Docket: Text of top line: ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO CONTINUEPRETRIAL HELD THE COURT, HAVING REVIEWED THE DEFENSE'S MOTION TO CONTINUE...

www.websleuths.com

I’m finding this (Our dear MS) one is particularly hard for me to follow - I know my fellow WS friends may understand- and I appreciate the attention to the media thread i started which I am not always updating because his crimes are so heinous
JMO

I agree this is one of the most horrific cases I've ever followed. The level of detail is breathtaking. And how many other precious children are subjected to this from disgusting men and nobody knows about it?!

 

[Vanilletx]

I wonder if she ever slept alone? I think most of my extended co sleeping friends get them on their own by 4 or 5… kindergarten age. So maybe she had a brief period when she was on her own. And then SS started preying on her so she slept in bed with mom.

In hindsight I think this is one of the items the officers said- where there are suspicious things like that, report them.

My youngest went through a period of wanting to sleep with me sometimes between 11 and 12. she was having a rough time at school with bullying. She used that hour after we settled down to let me know what was going on. So it can be normal but there need to be conversations happening.

 

[vls12345]

This is the early interview that I think was being asked about:

Jennifer Soto, Stephan Sterns speak to Channel 9 about Madeline Soto's disappearance

Jennifer Soto and Stephan Sterns spoke to Channel 9 on Tuesday about Madeline Soto's disappearance.

www.wftv.com

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

She put herself there. When she said Madeline showed them her gifts then went to sleep without getting on her laptop. That was thrown in the dumpster. Iirc LE said she was unalive in the early morning hours. Jen definitely placed herself there,during the timeframe. MOO

Yes, but it also appears that is only the case if one believes her statement. IIRC it still is not fully apparent who brought MS home from the birthday party, when, or where she was taken. And the timeframe overnight and into the morning before school is unclear it seems? Almost wonder if SS brought MS back to JS residence at some point not yet clear, and maybe JS was not there for some initial period of time? And then maybe she arrived there later? MOO

 

[Curious Me]

Jen Soto, Madeline's mother says at the 4:17 mark:

"I told her good-night, yeah, and that was it."

SS said at 11:16 mark:

"I dropped her off told her I loved her, she said love you too, and that was it."

Jennifer Soto, Stephan Sterns speak to Channel 9
(male interviewer) about Madeline Soto's disappearance

ETA--sorry his sad sack face is there on the cover of video.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Jen Soto, Madeline's mother says at the 4:17 mark:

"I told her good-night, yeah, and that was it."

SS said at 11:16 mark:

"I dropped her off told her I loved her, she said love you too, and that was it."

Jennifer Soto, Stephan Sterns speak to Channel 9
(male interviewer) about Madeline Soto's disappearance

ETA--sorry his sad sack face is there on the cover of video.

I also noticed this parroted wording.

The phrase "and that was it" is commonly used to refer to a person's death, IMO. Or at the very least the end of something.

Another thing I found odd was how they both recounted exactly the same story regarding Maddie's "autism."

The story: she was diagnosed with autism when she was younger but then she was retested and the new diagnosis was that she had "autistic traits."

Nothing that would help explain why she had gone missing, yet nonetheless they both brought it up in their interviews.

It defies common sense that an off-again, on-again boyfriend would have remembered that much about his sometime-girlfriend's child's health issues.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Their stories were rehearsed.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Does anyone know the exact date when LE showed JS the picture taken from SS's phone? Thanks.

Just bumping my own post hoping that someone knows the answer.Thanks.

 

[photographer4]

Yes, but it also appears that is only the case if one believes her statement. IIRC it still is not fully apparent who brought MS home from the birthday party, when, or where she was taken. And the timeframe overnight and into the morning before school is unclear it seems? Almost wonder if SS brought MS back to JS residence at some point not yet clear, and maybe JS was not there for some initial period of time? And then maybe she arrived there later? MOO

I’ve just realized we don’t even know when or how MS arrived at gran’s for the party? Was she already staying there? If so for how long had she been there? If not, how did she get there?

 

[MassGuy]

Just bumping my own post hoping that someone knows the answer.Thanks.

Not positive, but he was arrested on Wednesday the 28th. I imagine the photo was shown to Jennifer that same day.

Confirming:
An interview that detectives did with Madeline’s mother, Jennifer Soto, on Feb. 28 offered new insight into the family’s life at home. Jennifer told investigators that she had been dating Sterns “on and off” for approximately seven years and that he had moved out of their home in late 2023. During the interview, Jennifer “stated while they were together they would all either sleep in the same bed or (redacted) would sleep with her when Stephan was not there. When asked if it was normal for Stephan and (redacted) to sleep together without her being there and she said yes.”

Madeline Soto was last seen on the morning of Feb. 26, 2024. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
The detective showed one of the photos retrieved from Sterns’ phone to Jennifer during the interview and said that Jennifer “did not want to believe [redacted] and Stephan were engaged in sexual activity” and “said she didn’t recognize anything in the picture, as if she was in denial. However, she became visibly upset.”

Madeline Soto slept in Stephan Sterns' bed, documents say

New documents obtained by Court TV reveal Jennifer Soto's reaction to seeing photos of her daughter on Stephan Sterns' phone.

www.courttv.com

 

[photographer4]

Just bumping my own post hoping that someone knows the answer.Thanks.

I do not. But I do know that the police transported Js and SS to the station for a press conference on Feb 28 and that’s the day they searched the house after finding his stash.

This made me wonder whether JS called the media to get attention on her missing daughter’s case, or if someone else did like a fam member or friend?

(Around the 25:22 ish mark, it’s noted in a doc that is on screen, which if you pause you can read - top bit of the screen).

Or, maybe the police planned a presser to get the word out and/or just to see what the mother and SS would say / do to the media (if anything)? To be fair, I don’t know if JS was ever meant to speak at the conference that day or not. I also do not know whether any such conference took place that day?

The one I most recall is the day they found her remains, but before they were found. I think March 1. During that one LE told us they had him on video dumping the backpack and they believed she was dead. They said JS was advised of their belief and reacted as a parent would.

Body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto is found in woods

At about 4:30pm today, off of Hickory Tree Road, Osceola County Sheriff's Office search teams located the body of Madeline Soto in a wooded area.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[MassGuy]

I do not. But I do know that the police transported Js and SS to the station for a press conference on Feb 28 and that’s the day they searched the house after finding his stash.

This made me wonder whether JS called the media to get attention on her missing daughter’s case, or if someone else did like a fam member or friend?

(Around the 25:22 ish mark, it’s noted in a doc that is on screen, which if you pause you can read - top bit of the screen).

Or, maybe the police planned a presser to get the word out and/or just to see what the mother and SS would say / do to the media (if anything)? To be fair, I don’t know if JS was ever meant to speak at the conference that day or not. I also do not know whether any such conference took place that day?

The one I most recall is the day they found her remains, but before they were found. I think March 1. During that one LE told us they had him on video dumping the backpack and they believed she was dead. They said JS was advised of their belief and reacted as a parent would.

Body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto is found in woods

At about 4:30pm today, off of Hickory Tree Road, Osceola County Sheriff's Office search teams located the body of Madeline Soto in a wooded area.

www.dailymail.co.uk

A press conference was called the same day Sterns was charged, when Madeline was still missing. So Madeline goes missing Monday, the tv interviews were Tuesday, a press conference was held Wednesday, and the arrest occurred Wednesday night.

 

[photographer4]

A press conference was called the same day Sterns was charged, when Madeline was still missing. So Madeline goes missing Monday, the tv interviews were Tuesday, a press conference was held Wednesday, and the arrest occurred Wednesday night.

I would be interested to know:
1. How did the media interviews js and as did while Maddie was missing get set up? Did js arrange them? A fam member or friend? Or did media ask them to do them or did the police set them up?

2. Was a presser set to happen on Feb 28 at all? If so, who set it up and what was the original plan? Eg: what was to be said to the media and who was to say it?

3. They saw his stash and then got a search warrant for the house and I think they searched the house after finding it. It sounded like JS and Ss had already been brought to the station for a presser. If one was set up, did it happen? What was said?

4. If one was set up and didn’t happen, did it get cancelled as now the police had new info on and were now too busy for it?

5. Could the idea of a presser have been presented to JS and Ss as a means to get them out of the house so a warrant could be executed? Or are LE not allowed to do this type of manipulating? Not that I care if they did manipulate - I’m just curious.

 

[grannygates]

Just bumping my own post hoping that someone knows the answer.Thanks.

DBM ( it’s been confirmed above through the courtTV link the JS police interview was the 28th! )

 

[photographer4]

A press conference was called the same day Sterns was charged, when Madeline was still missing. So Madeline goes missing Monday, the tv interviews were Tuesday, a press conference was held Wednesday, and the arrest occurred Wednesday night.

But had a presser been called *before* SS was charged? I’m wondering if LE used it as a rouse to get them there so the house would be vacant for a search warrant and if them transporting the couple to the station also meant all the cars were left home and accessible to inspect (visually from the exterior until they obtained a warrant to properly inspect the interior / bring in for forensics)?

Surely by the 28th, which was two mornings after MS “went missing” the police were suspicious of one or both of them. The things they did do don’t make sense and the things they didn’t do are odd. I bet the things they told Le and omitted are also weird!

Gotta wonder whether Js and Ss knew they’d be facing more questions at the station or not before they went there.

 

[Simply Southern]

But had a presser been called *before* SS was charged? I’m wondering if LE used it as a rouse to get them there so the house would be vacant for a search warrant and if them transporting the couple to the station also meant all the cars were left home and accessible to inspect (visually from the exterior until they obtained a warrant to properly inspect the interior / bring in for forensics)?

Surely by the 28th, which was two mornings after MS “went missing” the police were suspicious of one or both of them. The things they did do don’t make sense and the things they didn’t do are odd. I bet the things they told Le and omitted are also weird!

Gotta wonder whether Js and Ss knew they’d be facing more questions at the station or not before they went there.

When a search warrant is executed, LE takes control of the property, everyone is removed except law enforcement. Once the search is complete, LE can release the property and/or hold awaiting additional search warrants. Search warrants must be specific as to "what" evidence is being sought. Same applies to the vehicles. Many times we see additional search warrants issued, after the initial search.

Moo...

 

[photoprose1122]

I wish we knew where she was killed. LE confirmed Kissimmee but would not confirm it was at the house. But she was seen on camera slumped over leaving the complex, so that would imply she was killed at the house. But if that were true, and BFT is indeed the CoD, that would be a messy crime scene at the house. I said it before, but it’s still bugging me. If both those things are true, I can’t imagine that JS would be oblivious, unless she really was in a drug-induced sleep. There’s just so many things that don’t add up or make sense.

Was she killed at the house? How, if JS was home and oblivious? Why drive around with her body and come back to the complex? Why not dump her body in those early hours rather than driving around and waiting til the afternoon? Was the McDonald’s story a ruse to get her out of the house early in order to kill her away from home? If so, why was she seen slumped over already?

I woke up this morning thinking about all of it and I just wish we had more answers.

 

[MassGuy]

But had a presser been called *before* SS was charged? I’m wondering if LE used it as a rouse to get them there so the house would be vacant for a search warrant and if them transporting the couple to the station also meant all the cars were left home and accessible to inspect (visually from the exterior until they obtained a warrant to properly inspect the interior / bring in for forensics)?

Surely by the 28th, which was two mornings after MS “went missing” the police were suspicious of one or both of them. The things they did do don’t make sense and the things they didn’t do are odd. I bet the things they told Le and omitted are also weird!

Gotta wonder whether Js and Ss knew they’d be facing more questions at the station or not before they went there.

I can’t imagine they’d need a rouse. They’d call them down to the station, and these two would go as that’s what cooperative people do. If they didn’t, they’d look completely suspicious.

I think the press conference was unrelated.

 

[Beekarina]

A fatal head injury would not need to be messy.

If it was a shooting, yes. But you can hit your head "just right", even wearing a helmet skiing, for example, and pass away from it.

I personally think it would be still be premeditated based on my understanding of as explained when we first learned of the charges if SS was abusive/rough towards MS, and neither he or JS took her for care and she died as a result. Especially if he was then abusive and rough with MS Sunday evening/Monday morning.

If you already have an existing injury, it is more dangerous. Think of athletes pulled after "hard hits". This is why.