‘We believe she was already dead:’ New details emerge in Madeline Soto case

ORANGE COUNTY, Florida. – The search for 13-year-old Madeline Soto ended Friday night. when his body in the woods next to a road in Osceola Countyaccording to the deputies.

Deputies said Madeline Soto’s body was found around 4:30 p.m. in the woods near Hickory Tree Road.

It was announced earlier that day that detectives believed the 13-year-old Florida girl who had been reported missing earlier this week was murdered in her Kissimmee home and that her body was taken by her mother’s boyfriend, the main suspect in her disappearance, according to the Orange County sheriff.

Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Friday afternoon that investigators are “Trust” that Madeline Soto is dead. The girl’s mother’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, was arrested Wednesday on charges stemming from “images and videos of a criminal and sexual nature” that were found on his phone during the investigation into the teen’s disappearance, agents said.

Mina said crews are now working to recover the girl’s body.

Sterns previously told detectives he had dropped the girl off near her school Monday morning. Mina said Video evidence shows that was not the case, and Sterns was instead seen driving a vehicle with her body inside that day.

“We believe she was already dead at that time and that Stephan Sterns moved her body in the early morning hours of that day,” Mina said. “We have video evidence that shows Stephan Sterns throwing items into a dumpster at that apartment complex in Kissimmee at 7:35 a.m.”

The sheriff said that around 8:19 a.m., detectives found the girl’s backpack and her school-issued laptop in a dumpster.

“We have evidence that shows Stephan Sterns returning to the complex and Madeline was visible in that vehicle. We believe she was already dead at that time,” he said. “As a result of that, although the initial missing persons investigation began in Orange County, the Kissimmee Police Department will now take over the investigation and become the lead agency.”

The vehicle is a 2010 Lincoln MKC with the Florida tag “IYL-L82. Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland said the vehicle was seen in the area of ​​State Road 192 and Old Hickory Tree Road, and Old Hickory Tree Road and Nolte Road, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday.

“During this period, Sterns is believed to have had a flat tire and may have been seen changing the tire in this area. “If anyone saw this vehicle or noticed anything suspicious, we ask that you call Crimeline,” she said. Crimeline’s number is 800-423-TIPS or 800-423-8477.

During the investigation earlier this week, Orange County detectives found graphic images and videos of sexual abuse on his phone and that the crimes described in those files occurred at his Kissimmee home.

He is in the Osceola County Jail after being transferred from Orange County. He currently faces charges of sexual assault and possession of child sexual abuse material.

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