A trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering Madeline Soto. Stephan Sterns, a 38-year-old man, was arrested on February 28, 2024, for sexual abuse of a minor. That same minor disappeared two days before his arrest. Police found material evidence on Sterns’ phone while they investigated the teen’s disappearance.
Madeline Soto’s mother reported her missing on February 26, and the teen was found dead days later on March 1. Authorities allege that Sterns murdered Soto sometime between the day she went missing and the day he was arrested. His murder trial has been set to begin on September 22, 2025.
The Disappearance of Madeline Soto
Sterns was the on-and-off boyfriend of Madeline Soto’s mom, Jennifer. The day Madeline went missing, Sterns allegedly dropped her off near her school. When her mom went to pick her up from school at the end of the day, she discovered Soto never showed up. As the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was investigating her disappearance, they found disturbing evidence on Sterns’ phone. A Kissimmee Police affidavit states that Sterns attempted to factory reset his phone the day Soto went missing. That is when the police suspected the disappearance of Madeline Soto was something much more sinister.
Once the police realized this to be a sexual battery crime committed in Soto’s Kissimmee home, Sterns was transferred to Osceola County jail. Their focus shifted, and they began investigating what happened the morning Madeline Soto disappeared. Investigators claim to have found video footage around 7:30 a.m. of Sterns tossing items in a dumpster in the Soto’s apartment complex. Investigators recovered the teen’s backpack and school laptop from the dumpster. Around 8:19 a.m., video footage catches Sterns pulling into the complex with Soto in the car. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office believes that Madeline Soto was already dead by that time.
The evidence that the investigators found convinced them that Madeline Soto was dead. Osceola County Sheriff’s received a tip that led them to a wooded area near Hickory Tree Road. It was confirmed on March 1, 2024, that Madeline’s body had been found. That same day, Kissimmee police Chief Betty Holland stated, “This is a sad day for our community, and we mourn the loss of such a young life.” Madeline Soto had just turned 13 years old a few days before her disappearance. Her life was taken much too soon, and it is still unbelievable how another human being can be capable of such horrific acts.
Charges Filed
Authorities found disturbing images and videos on Stern’s phone. The alleged abuse is thought to have gone on for several years. Two weeks after they found Soto’s body, Sterns received over 60 charges related to the contents of the phone. As of now, he has been charged with first-degree murder, fourteen counts of sexual battery on a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct, and forty counts of possessing materials depicting sexual performance by a child. The judge has set a trial date in February 2025 for Sterns to face the sexual abuse charges. He will appear in front of the same judge for his murder trial in September.
Final Thoughts
A coroner exam revealed that Madeline Soto was strangled to death. Video footage clearly shows Sterns as the last person to see Soto alive. The night before Soto disappeared, her mother had sent her to sleep in the same bed as Sterns. The three of them would typically all sleep in the same bed, but that night, Soto’s mother claimed to want a good night’s sleep, so she sent her daughter and Sterns upstairs. The next morning, her daughter was gone. Sterns will remain in custody in Osceola County until and throughout his trials. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Madeline Soto in the first degree and all other charges against him. If he is convicted, he faces the death penalty.
