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

[Gemmie]

The conversations with Sterns came to an abrupt end when detectives revealed images allegedly found on Sterns' phone, depicting sex with the 13-year-old-girl.

Police: Madeline Soto’s mom said it was normal for teen to sleep in stepfather’s bed

Stephan Sterns said neither he nor Maddie Soto's mother were out searching the night she disappeared.

www.wesh.com

That must have been a different conversation with LE than the one on 2/27 because that one ended normally. No photos shown.

LE – OK. I don’t think I have any other questions.

SS – I don’t know where my head was yesterday, it was so far up my backside.

LE – That’s OK. We understand. Uhm, in the meantime while we’re waiting for all these things to get sorted out, I am going to hang onto your phone, OK? Uhm, I’ll give it back to you when we’re done. OK. Do you have any questions for us?

43:00 SS – Uhm… How long are you going to need my phone, that’s…

LE – I’m not sure. I’m waiting for my supervisor to call me.

SS – My dad, it’s just that my dad is using that to get ahold of me and give updates.

LE – They can call Jenn’s phone.

SS – OK.

LE – Did the other detective give you his business card?

SS – Uhmmm…. I believe so.

LE – OK, well here’s mine. In case you want it for any reason.

SS – OK.

LE – OK?

SS – Mm hmm

LE – Do you swear that everything you told us is true?

SS – Yes.

LE – OK, thank you so much. Thanks for your time. We appreciate it. I know it’s a little hectic right now.

SS – (pause, then loud exclamation of breath)

LE – And I know you were about to head somewhere but if you could just hang tight and refrain from going back in your car, please.

SS – Oh. Yeah. That’s fine. I was actually going to move it over a spot.

LE – No. Just leave it here, it’s fine. Thank you.

 

[Seattle1]

Has anybody linked any of JS's social media accounts going back to 2016 and/or 8 years ago when she stated she started dating SS? Personally, I don't use social media but I understand JS was very open about her sexuality.

 

[Gemmie]

SFF

I don’t understand how it still isn’t 100% clear where he lived.

Did he have residence elsewhere but mostly stay there? Were they so on-again-off-again that he would only be there sometimes? We’ve been sometimes hearing about him possibly not living there, but I haven’t heard of any other specific addresses for him, and I’d think that if he actually lived elsewhere, there would have been a search of that property.

SS lived both at JS's house, and his parents house per the 2/27 interview with LE.

LE – You live in North Port, right?

SS – Yeah, I split my time between the two.

LE – Is that on Snog Street?

SS – Snug Street, yeah.

LE – OK, that makes a lot of sense. You have a lot of Snug Street’s on here.

SS – Yeah. I split my time between the two.

LE – Is that Broward County, or…

29:00 SS – Sarasota County? Or Charlotte County, either way.

LE – Oh, Sarasota, OK.

SS - It’s my parent’s house. They’re old and need help these days and got a house full of poodles. It’s chaos. That’s why I needed to come back up here and just get away from that. Between two deaf old people yelling at each other and poodles yapping all the time it’s enough to drive anyone up a wall. I’m just very happy to be back up here.

~28 min in -

 

[MassGuy]

That must have been a different conversation with LE than the one on 2/27 because that one ended normally. No photos shown.

LE – OK. I don’t think I have any other questions.

SS – I don’t know where my head was yesterday, it was so far up my backside.

LE – That’s OK. We understand. Uhm, in the meantime while we’re waiting for all these things to get sorted out, I am going to hang onto your phone, OK? Uhm, I’ll give it back to you when we’re done. OK. Do you have any questions for us?

43:00 SS – Uhm… How long are you going to need my phone, that’s…

LE – I’m not sure. I’m waiting for my supervisor to call me.

SS – My dad, it’s just that my dad is using that to get ahold of me and give updates.

LE – They can call Jenn’s phone.

SS – OK.

LE – Did the other detective give you his business card?

SS – Uhmmm…. I believe so.

LE – OK, well here’s mine. In case you want it for any reason.

SS – OK.

LE – OK?

SS – Mm hmm

LE – Do you swear that everything you told us is true?

SS – Yes.

LE – OK, thank you so much. Thanks for your time. We appreciate it. I know it’s a little hectic right now.

SS – (pause, then loud exclamation of breath)

LE – And I know you were about to head somewhere but if you could just hang tight and refrain from going back in your car, please.

SS – Oh. Yeah. That’s fine. I was actually going to move it over a spot.

LE – No. Just leave it here, it’s fine. Thank you.

Yes, they confronted him with those images while he was sleeping in the interrogation room (28th I believe). This sleeping thing is something a lot of guilty people seem to do.

 

[Gemmie]

I think the plan was for them to sleep together, but I wonder if he even slept. Presumably, this attack would have occurred prior to going to bed (or shortly after). It sounded from the interview that he had been away for a while, and I'm sure he wouldn't have waited too long before doing what he always did. Newly 13, and perhaps feeling empowered, I think Maddie rebuffed him this time, perhaps threatening to report him. In a rage, he kills her. Then the coverup begins.

I agree. The pics of her at her birthday party she no longer looked like a child. She had matured and looked pretty sure of herself IMO. Maybe "moving to the woods when turning 13" was kind of like a metaphor for doing things her way. She was done having SS touch her and was going to stand up for herself, and likely did. That's when things got ugly.

 

[Gemmie]

Why the heck would anyone have had to help her with her evening routine at all? She was not a baby! This is such bollocks!!

I didn't take what he said as helping her, just making sure she did them. "Make sure you don't forget to do such and such". From the 2/27 interview:

LE – OK. Do you remember what time you got here on Sunday?

SS – Mmmm…. 8:00? 8:30ish?, maybe?

LE – OK.

SS – Just in time to make sure she was doing all her nighttime routines, and waiting for her mom to get home. *sigh*

~28 min in:

 

[Gemmie]

Wtf?? I want to know who recorded all the videos / audio / photos of his abuse of Maddie??

I'm thinking he did via strategically placed hidden cameras in her room. That way he'd be hands free. Ugh.

 

[Gemmie]

• Sterns visited a smoke shop after dropping Madeline off at school, twice.

This is unusual. If he is a smoker, then go get your cigarettes. Why go back again? He must have been there for something else. To see someone who works there maybe.

Because it wasn't open the first time.

LE – OK, and then what did you do after you left the area?

SS – Uh… I left to go to the local vape shop, because I needed some more vape juice, uhm, they weren’t quite open yet so… I ended up going back home. Waited about an hour or so and then and then went back and checked the vape shop again. Uh.. it was open so I got what I needed there and came <unintelligible>.

LE – Do you remember what time you came home?

SS - <pause> The first time it was probably <pause> right around 10:00, close to it, and then… I waited here and went back to the vape shop uhm, probably finished at the vape shop and came back home again a little after 11:00.

~11 min in:

 

[grannygates]

Because it wasn't open the first time.

LE – OK, and then what did you do after you left the area?

SS – Uh… I left to go to the local vape shop, because I needed some more vape juice, uhm, they weren’t quite open yet so… I ended up going back home. Waited about an hour or so and then and then went back and checked the vape shop again. Uh.. it was open so I got what I needed there and came <unintelligible>.

LE – Do you remember what time you came home?

SS - <pause> The first time it was probably <pause> right around 10:00, close to it, and then… I waited here and went back to the vape shop uhm, probably finished at the vape shop and came back home again a little after 11:00.

~11 min in:

My computer won’t allow me to open up the court website to check for myself so I’ll ask if anyone recalls from the discovery docs, do we know if it’s true that he did go to this vape shop? If they obtained or requested any video footage from a vape shop?

 

[Gemmie]

OMFFFFFFFFFFFFFgod is THAT what he's saying I cannot even fathom how those words should be uttered by a non-bio male parent of a girl, and even if bio, in rare instances ONLY.

Sick sick sick sick sick and JS knew NO boundaries. Was it just born out of her low self-esteem? Or mental illness? Or sheer manipulation by SS?

What I noted in my transcript:

39:00 LE – How’s her relationship with mom?

SS – Good, most of the time. You know. Puberty not that long ago so she’s getting the PMS mood swings and then her mom gets it too and they’ll be butting heads, so, as well as you can expect. But, otherwise, very loving. Very loving. This girl knows nothing but love here in this house. She hardly ever hears the word no. *sigh* Double-edged sword that is.

99 min in:

 

[Gemmie]

Don't know but possibly in the car, in the garage, if there is one. Or perhaps parked out of any camera sightline.

There aren't garages there, just parking spots that the curb in front of the houses.

 

[Gemmie]

Haven’t watched this yet, but apparently Joseph Scott Morgan says the cause of death was massive head trauma.

That's odd. Strangulation seemed more plausible to me. What's even odder is LE saying that she was slumped over in the car. I'd think they'd be able to see her head and notice blood. Even if they didn't, you'd THINK driving up to the gate so he could get his clicker, and knowing full well he didn't have his pass to drive through himself without the gatekeeper needing to deal with the situation... that is pretty darn ballsy (or stupid) IMO. Especially if her head is bashed in! Otherwise if the gatekeeper noticed he could just say "she's napping". But "napping" with a bloody head??? Nah, that ain't gonna fly.

Why did he feel the need to drive back with a dead child visible in his car? What was so important back at the house that he felt he had to take that HUGE risk?

(Thanks, all, for putting up with me while I try my best to catch up with you guys. )

 

[Gemmie]

This case is so full of twists and turns, "massive head trauma and copious amounts of blood." Wow. So where did that happen? Whoever is in charge of this case sure is doing a good job of keeping things quiet, (seriously not being sarcastic)

If there were copious amounts of blood perhaps JS stayed behind to clean up the mess and SS went to discard her body. I always felt like that's why he left with her in the first place, but why he returned is a mystery that I can't make sense of. There are DEFINITELY parts of the puzzle missing.

 

[Seattle1]

That's odd. Strangulation seemed more plausible to me. What's even odder is LE saying that she was slumped over in the car. I'd think they'd be able to see her head and notice blood. Even if they didn't, you'd THINK driving up to the gate so he could get his clicker, and knowing full well he didn't have his pass to drive through himself without the gatekeeper needing to deal with the situation... that is pretty darn ballsy (or stupid) IMO. Especially if her head is bashed in! Otherwise if the gatekeeper noticed he could just say "she's napping". But "napping" with a bloody head??? Nah, that ain't gonna fly.

Why did he feel the need to drive back with a dead child visible in his car? What was so important back at the house that he felt he had to take that HUGE risk?

(Thanks, all, for putting up with me while I try my best to catch up with you guys. )

Slumped in the seat of the car when leaving the complex may just mean MS was drugged (SS alleges she was sleeping). We really don't know when or where MS was killed--whether by BFT or other means. The autopsy report has not been released. All we know is MS was buried near St Cloud-- I believe sometime in the afternoon. JMO

 

[Gemmie]

this part is interesting for those who wondered about SS "moving her body" (22:28)

"

OK, now I'm (still) confused. The journalist said that LE has other unreleased video of him moving her from the front seat of the car into another location before he dumped her body.

Where in the world would he move her to, and why before dumping her?

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

If there were copious amounts of blood perhaps JS stayed behind to clean up the mess and SS went to discard her body. I always felt like that's why he left with her in the first place, but why he returned is a mystery that I can't make sense of. There are DEFINITELY parts of the puzzle missing

One thing that really stands out to me as a red flag. Is the fact JS did not go inside the school when she claims she went to pick her up,and she wasn't there. No going and asking her teachers, checking in with the office. She just drove around until the school was closed. Combined with her lying is very telling. MOO

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

Slumped in the seat of the car when leaving the complex may just mean MS was drugged (SS alleges she was sleeping). We really don't know when or where MS was killed--whether by BFT or other means. The autopsy report has not been released. All we know is MS was buried near St Cloud-- I believe sometime in the afternoon. JMO

Iirc LE stated Early morning. So before 7:30. I have a hunch it was much earlier. MOO

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

If there were copious amounts of blood perhaps JS stayed behind to clean up the mess and SS went to discard her body. I always felt like that's why he left with her in the first place, but why he returned is a mystery that I can't make sense of. There are DEFINITELY parts of the puzzle missing.

Maybe he stopped to pick up something for someone at the residence that needed it? Wonder if there might be record of any purchases in that time? Perhaps cleaning supplies, other? MOO

 

[Forest_Wood]

That's odd. Strangulation seemed more plausible to me. What's even odder is LE saying that she was slumped over in the car. I'd think they'd be able to see her head and notice blood. Even if they didn't, you'd THINK driving up to the gate so he could get his clicker, and knowing full well he didn't have his pass to drive through himself without the gatekeeper needing to deal with the situation... that is pretty darn ballsy (or stupid) IMO. Especially if her head is bashed in! Otherwise if the gatekeeper noticed he could just say "she's napping". But "napping" with a bloody head??? Nah, that ain't gonna fly.

Why did he feel the need to drive back with a dead child visible in his car? What was so important back at the house that he felt he had to take that HUGE risk?

(Thanks, all, for putting up with me while I try my best to catch up with you guys. )

It could be as simple as him devising his new plan to drive her out of town to dump her and needed his debit card for fuel or something similar, or even a shovel. I doubt it was for his clicker like he told LE. MOO.

 

[Gemmie]

This just hit me

I'll try to be delicate but there's nothing delicate about this --

When JS was shown a photo of the abuse, oral violation, she said she didn't recognize anything in the photo. What? It was her daughter's mouth/face.

Well, (and you're right, it's hard to be delicate about the facts of this case) it wasn't just her daughter's mouth and face, which has distinct markings around her mouth, but also her BF's penis she said she didn't recognize.


Source

From the affidavit: