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MADELINE SOTO CASE: NEW STEPHAN STERNS DOCUMENTS DETAIL GOOGLE DRIVE, SLEEPING
ARRANGEMENTS, SECURITY FOOTAGE

By Dani Medina
Updated  May 17, 2024 5:23am EDT
FOX 35 Orlando

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MADELINE SOTO CASE: NEW STEPHAN STERNS DOCUMENTS

FOX 35 has obtained new documents from the Florida State Attorney's Office in
the Madeline Soto investigation. These documents provide new details previously
unknown, including the initial interview police had with Stephan Sterns, Soto's
mom's boyfriend, his timeline of what happened the day Madeline was reported
missing, the 1,700 sexually explicit images allegedly found on his cell phone,
and details about his relationship with the 13-year-old girl.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - Warning: Some of the details in this news report are
graphic and may be disturbing to some readers.

FOX 35 has obtained new documents from the Florida State Attorney's Office in
the Madeline Soto investigation. 





These documents provide new details previously unknown, including the initial
interview police had with Stephan Sterns, Madeline's mom's boyfriend, his
timeline of what happened the day Madeline was reported missing, the 1,700
sexually explicit images allegedly found on his cell phone, and details about
his relationship with the 13-year-old girl.

The documents – mainly investigative reports, summaries and a recorded interview
between Sterns and a detective – provide graphic, potentially disturbing,
details that led to the 60 child sex-related charges Sterns was initially
arrested on two days after Madeline was reported missing. It also offers details
on Sterns' timeline of what happened in the hours before and after Madeline was
reportedly dropped off at school; officials and law enforcement said Madeline
actually never made it to class that day.



The recorded interview was recorded on Feb. 27, the day before he was described
by law enforcement as a "prime suspect" in her disappearance. He had also not
yet been charged with any crimes related to the alleged images found on his cell
phone or her disappearance and death at the time of that interview. 

Stephan Sterns was arrested and booked into the Orange County jail on charges of
sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material after detectives
found "disturbing" images on his phone, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
(Orange Co

Expand

Sterns was indicted by a grand jury and charged with first-degree murder on
April 25, nearly two months after Madeline's body was found in a grassy area in
Osceola County.

The State Attorney's Office has not publicly commented on the release of these
documents, but FOX 35 has asked for a statement. It should also be noted that
these documents pertain to the 60 charges Sterns is facing for sexual battery
and molestation, and not the murder charge. 

FOX 35 previously reported on the list of evidence that the State Attorney's
Office had in its possession related to the homicide investigation. That list
included statements, logs, incident reports from law enforcement, social media
accounts possibly tied to Madeline, car and cellphone tracking information, and
a Medical Examiner's Office report.  

Details on how Madeline died or the circumstances surrounding her death have not
been released. The Medical Examiner's Office has declined to release her autopsy
report, citing the investigation and state law.



Here's what we learned from the new documents: 


DOCUMENTS: OVER 1,700 IMAGES FOUND IN GOOGLE DRIVE ACCOUNT ON STEPHAN STERNS'
CELL PHONE

As detectives were searching for Madeline, officials arrested Sterns, alleging
that he had child sex abuse material on his cell phone. He had voluntarily
provided his cell phone to law enforcement to presumably aid in those search
efforts. However, he told them that he had inadvertently performed a factory
reset on his phone prior to giving it to law enforcement.

Shortly after, Sterns was booked into jail and charged with 60 counts of sexual
battery, lewd and lascivious molestation, and unlawful possession of materials
depicting the sexual performance of a child.

"I don't know what the heck I did, but somehow, during the massive OS update, I
managed to factory reset my phone and lose all of my contacts, all my
information," Sterns told police officers, according to a 43-minute recording
obtained by FOX 35 in that public records request.

STEPHAN STERNS CHARGED WITH MADELINE SOTO'S DEATH

"A big win." That's how a friend of Madeline Soto's family described the news
that Stephan Sterns, the prime suspect in the Florida girl's disappearance and
death, had been indicted for first-degree murder. Officials alleged in documents
that Soto was killed between Feb. 25 & 27. A motive remains unknown.

FOX 35 previously reported that the images allegedly found on Sterns' phone were
graphic and sexual, and the subject appeared to be a child, according to the
probable cause statement connected to those charges. The documents alleged that
the photos dated back to June 2019.

According to the newly released documents, law enforcement allegedly found some
1,700 images within a folder within a Google Drive account. Several of those
images were explicit, and some appeared to be of Madeline, and they were taken
over at least two years.



The documents also alleged there was "ongoing sexual abuse" between Sterns and
Madeline.

In the interview with police, Sterns confirmed he had saved photos to a Google
Drive account and that there were photos of him and Madeline, the report said.  

"When I asked Stephan about all the pictures he had saved, Stephan then asked if
he should be talking to a lawyer. Shortly after that, Stephan requested an
attorney," a detective wrote in the report.


DOCUMENTS: STEPHAN STERNS OCCASIONALLY SLEPT IN THE SAME BED WITH JENN SOTO AND
MADELINE

The documents also provide details about some of the sleeping arrangements
within their home.

Jenn Soto, Madeline's mother, told detectives that she and Sterns had dated on
and off for at least seven years and that he lived on and off at the home. When
he was at home, however, it was not unusual for the three of them to sleep in
the same bed or for him to sleep in the same bed as Madeline while Jenn slept
somewhere else or was not home, according to the documents.

These details were contained in a law enforcement summary report following a
conversation with Jenn during the search for her daughter and in law enforcement
conversations with Sterns.

Sterns told law enforcement that Madeline "always needed human contact when
going to sleep," something that Sterns referred to as "snuggling," the report
said. 



Madeline Soto crime scene photo 'accidentally' shared on Osceola County
Sheriff's social media: officials 


DOCUMENTS: MADELINE SOTO'S MOM REACTS TO PHOTO OF ALLEGED ABUSE

In the same conversation between law enforcement and Jenn, the report implies
that detectives let her know about their suspicions of the alleged sexual abuse.

The report states that "[redacted] did not want (to) believe [redacted] and
Stephan were engaged in sexual activity. [Redacted] asked to see the image of
Stephan and [redacted]."

When shown a printed photo of what was allegedly found on the Google Drive,
Madeline's mom claimed she did not "recognize anything in the picture, as if she
was in denial" and later "became visibly upset," the document states.

To be clear, Jenn has not been named an official person of interest or suspect
connected to her daughter's disappearance or death, nor has she been charged
with anything related to the case. 

However, officials previously said everyone who was close to Madeline was
considered a suspect until ruled out. It's also unclear how much or how little
Jenn and her family are cooperating with the investigation. Investigators
couldn't answer those questions at a news conference last month, citing the
ongoing case.

MADELINE SOTO MISSING: JENN SOTO, MADDIE'S MOM, TALKS DAUGHTER'S DISAPPEARANCE
(FULL INTERVIEW)

Jenn Soto, Madeline Soto's mom, spoke to FOX 35's Hannah McKenzie this week
about the disappearance of her 13-year-old daughter. "Maddie" Soto has been
missing since Feb. 26, days after her 13th birthday, and hours after she was
dropped up at school. Jenn Soto's boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, dropped Maddie near
the school, but the girl never made it to class.


STEPHAN STERNS' TIMELINE FROM THE MORNING OF MADELINE'S DISAPPEARANCE RIDDLED
WITH INCONSISTENCIES, INTERVIEW SHOWS

In a 43-minute interview with law enforcement on the day Madeline was reported
missing, police talked with Sterns about where he was during the morning hours,
the route he took to take Madeline to school, and where he went immediately
after.

In the interview, Sterns appears to have difficulty placing the exact roads and
the route he took on the way to Hunter's Creek Middle School and at what times.
He blamed apparent inconsistencies in that timeline on not being a morning
person and for taking apparent prescribed medications for anxiety when
questioned by detectives, according to the report.

911 calls from morning Madeline Soto went missing released 

Here are a few of Sterns' recounts to police, as heard in the interview:

 * Sterns said he and Madeline discussed getting breakfast at McDonald's before
   school, but they never got it.
 * Sterns said he was unfamiliar with the road names on his route to Madeline's
   school.
 * Sterns said he and Madeline both forgot their phones at home that day.
 * Sterns forgot to mention to police that he drove all the way back to
   Kissimmee to retrieve the gate clicker for his neighborhood before dropping
   Madeline off at school.
 * Sterns visited a smoke shop after dropping Madeline off at school, twice.
 * Sterns forgot to mention to police that he'd gotten a flat tire after
   dropping Madeline off at school.




STEPHAN STERNS, JENN SOTO DID NOT LOOK FOR MADELINE WHEN SHE WAS REPORTED
MISSING, STERNS TELLS POLICE

In an interview with police, Sterns said he and Jenn "stayed local" while the
rest of her family went out to physically look for Madeline. An officer asked
Sterns if he and Jenn had driven together or separately, and he said he didn't
think they had driven anywhere at all. 

He said he was "zonked out" on anxiety medication and was unable to recall where
he was. 

"My brain was mush, and I was on so many tranquilizers to keep me stabilized,"
he said, according to the interview.




DOCUMENTS: SURVEILLANCE VIDEO CAPTURED PERSON ‘SLUMPED OVER’ IN STEPHAN STERNS
VEHICLE 

According to the report, during the search for Madeline, detectives obtained
surveillance video from the entrance to the gated community in Kissimmee where
Sterns, Jenn and Madeline lived.

The surveillance video showed Sterns' vehicle leaving the complex with a "female
wearing a green sweater" in the front seat, the report said. 

"The female was slumped over to her left, which is an abnormal way for a person
to be seated in a vehicle," the report added.

During the initial search for Madeline, law enforcement previously said they had
obtained surveillance video that showed her in a vehicle and that they believed
she was dead at the time that surveillance video was captured.

This newly obtained document does not say what time the surveillance footage was
captured, nor does it identify the person in the green sweater as Madeline.
Again, details about the circumstances of how Madeline died, how she was found
and what she was wearing have not been confirmed or released by law enforcement.

Jenn and Sterns told detectives that Madeline had been dropped off at school on
the morning of Feb. 26. Law enforcement ultimately determined that Madeline was
not in school that day. 

Suspect Stephan Sterns complains about jail, sleeping on concrete during
transport 

Later, investigators found Madeline's backpack and school-issued laptop in the
dumpster of an apartment complex in Kissimmee. It remains unclear at this time
if her belongings were found at this same apartment complex where the
surveillance video was captured. 

It's also unclear when exactly Madeline was killed, but detectives believe it
was between Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, according to documents. 




WHAT'S NEXT IN STEPHAN STERNS CASE?

A pre-trial hearing for Sterns' murder case is scheduled for July 10, with a
trial set for July 16, according to Osceola County court records. 

Regarding the sexual battery case, Sterns' pre-trial hearing is scheduled for
July 10, with a trial set for Aug. 19, records show. 

These dates are subject to change. 




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