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

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Missing Person

Photo not available
NAME:Madeline Soto
MISSING:2/26/2024
AGE MISSING:13 years
AGE NOW:13 years
SEX:FemaleRACE:White
HAIR:BlondeEYES:Blue
HEIGHT:5'01"WEIGHT:110
FROM:Orlando, FL
COUNTY:Orange
Child
NARRATIVE: A Florida MISSING CHILD Alert has been issued for Madeline Soto, last seen in the area of the 13500th block of Town Loop Boulevard in Orlando, Florida, who was last seen wearing a green jacket, black shorts, and white Crocs. Madeline has a mole on the left side of her nose and the right side of her chin.​



Madeline ‘Maddie’ Soto was last seen on Monday, one day after she and her family celebrated her 13th birthday. Maddie’s mother, Jenn Soto, said surveillance video shows Maddie hanging out in a church parking lot on February 26 after being dropped off for school, but she never made it inside.

Jenn Soto said sheriff’s deputies are using K9s and a piece of Maddie’s clothing to try to track her scent near Town Loop Boulevard.

continued at link.
(Her mother says that she forgot to take her phone that morning, but that isn't unusual.)

Media, Maps and Timeline Thread *NO DISCUSSION*

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MOD NOTE:

We have decided to allow the discussion of the suspect’s Reddit account (https://www.reddit.com/user/Sustinet/). It is considered the same as any other social media account. Comments made from his account that potentially relate to this case may be discussed. Replies and comments made by any other user MAY NOT be mentioned or discussed. They are considered rumor.

Also, as a reminder:
- Name calling of anyone is not allowed.
- Advocating violence against anyone is not allowed.
- The sleuthing or negative speculation of anyone who hasn’t been named a suspect or person of interest is not allowed. (With the exception of JS. See this Admin note) These people are considered victims.

If you have a question, please use the report feature at the bottom of any post to ask us.

Thanks!
Mad
 
***GRAPHIC WARNING***
If you’re going to quote or discuss the graphic details of SS’s arrest warrant, please include a warning of some sort at the beginning of your post. The details are disturbing and a warning would be a courteous gesture toward those who’d rather not read them. (Feel free to copy the one posted at the beginning of this comment)

Thanks a ton!
 
Allowing Madeline Soto's mother to be discussed as a possible suspect.

Because mainstream media reports, including WFTV 9 of Jennifer Soto giving law enforcement information that "does not add up," we will allow Jennifer to be discussed as a possible suspect.

This DOES NOT mean you are allowed to make up names to be used instead of her real name (momster), and it does not mean that you can be snarky and mean.

You can discuss her conflicting stories when it comes to the disappearance and murder of her daughter, Madeline, and what the implications of those conflicting stories could mean.

Please discuss this like adults without name-calling or personal snark.

Thank you,
Tricia Griffith
Manager, Websleuths.com
 
ADMIN NOTE:

Images or information from private social media groups are not allowed to be brought to Websleuths. Private means PRIVATE !!

ALL images require a link to the source, and if the source is not approved at Websleuths, the image is not allowed. No link, no post !
 
ADMIN NOTE:

We received a question asking if the mother could be sleuthed, and as we are allowing the mother to be discussed as a suspect, members are also allowed to sleuth her as they normally do a POI/suspect.
 
Since Madeline's mother, JS, has stated on her social media that she is bipolar we will allow links to her social media.
Tricia
 
ADMIN NOTE:

Many posts and responses to them have been removed. General discussion of the death penalty is NOT allowed. It may be discussed in direct relationship to this case as to the potential for it to be on the table, but opinions pro and con about the DP in general lead to bickering and can derail the thread.

Also, please read The Rules, and specifically The Rules: Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, etc. Linking to, and paraphrasing social media posts by victim or accused are allowed, but copy/paste, direct quotes, or posting screenshots from their accounts is NOT allowed.

Rules violations creates a tremendous amount of work for our few Moderators. Please read The Rules that everyone agrees to upon registration with this site. Repeated violation of those rules may result in temporary or permanent loss of posting privileges.
 

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OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An arraignment hearing Monday was canceled for the man accused of killing 13-year-old Madeline Soto..

Stephan Sterns was charged last week with first-degree murder in the girl’s death. State Attorney Andrew Bain said his office has not yet decided whether it will seek the death penalty against Sterns in this case.


“We’ve got to look at accessory aggravating factors that are laid out in our report,” he said during a news conference last week. “Once we determine that we have sufficient evidence to prove those factors to the proper evidentiary standard, then we have to have a talk about whether this is a death penalty case.”

The arraignment was set for Monday afternoon, though it was canceled for an unknown reason.



Arraignment canceled for Stephan Sterns, accused of murder in death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto

Updated: April 29, 2024 at 2:25 PM
 

View attachment 500702

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An arraignment hearing Monday was canceled for the man accused of killing 13-year-old Madeline Soto..

Stephan Sterns was charged last week with first-degree murder in the girl’s death. State Attorney Andrew Bain said his office has not yet decided whether it will seek the death penalty against Sterns in this case.


“We’ve got to look at accessory aggravating factors that are laid out in our report,” he said during a news conference last week. “Once we determine that we have sufficient evidence to prove those factors to the proper evidentiary standard, then we have to have a talk about whether this is a death penalty case.”

The arraignment was set for Monday afternoon, though it was canceled for an unknown reason.



Arraignment canceled for Stephan Sterns, accused of murder in death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto

Updated: April 29, 2024 at 2:25 PM
Snipped for focus:
“We’ve got to look at accessory aggravating factors that are laid out in our report,” he said during a news conference last week. “Once we determine that we have sufficient evidence to prove those factors to the proper evidentiary standard, then we have to have a talk about whether this is a death penalty case.”

Doesn’t “accessory” mean they are looking at other people who may have been involved?
 
Snipped for focus:
“We’ve got to look at accessory aggravating factors that are laid out in our report,” he said during a news conference last week. “Once we determine that we have sufficient evidence to prove those factors to the proper evidentiary standard, then we have to have a talk about whether this is a death penalty case.”

Doesn’t “accessory” mean they are looking at other people who may have been involved?
In this context, he means additional factors on top of premeditated murder that would potentially qualify this to be a death penalty case, or potentially warrant the prosecution seeking the death penalty.

In Florida, a jury must unanimously agree that at least one qualifying "aggravating factor" exists in order to impose the death penalty. Here are the aggravating factors:
(a) The capital felony was committed by a person previously convicted of a felony and under sentence of imprisonment or placed on community control or on felony probation.
(b) The defendant was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person.
(c) The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons.
(d) The capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit, any: robbery; sexual battery; aggravated child abuse; abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult resulting in great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; arson; burglary; kidnapping; aircraft piracy; or unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb.
(e) The capital felony was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody.
(f) The capital felony was committed for pecuniary gain.
(g) The capital felony was committed to disrupt or hinder the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the enforcement of laws.
(h) The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.
(i) The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
(j) The victim of the capital felony was a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of his or her official duties.
(k) The victim of the capital felony was an elected or appointed public official engaged in the performance of his or her official duties if the motive for the capital felony was related, in whole or in part, to the victim’s official capacity.
(l) The victim of the capital felony was a person less than 12 years of age.
(m) The victim of the capital felony was particularly vulnerable due to advanced age or disability, or because the defendant stood in a position of familial or custodial authority over the victim.
(n) The capital felony was committed by a criminal gang member, as defined in s. 874.03.
(o) The capital felony was committed by a person designated as a sexual predator pursuant to s. 775.21 or a person previously designated as a sexual predator who had the sexual predator designation removed.
(p) The capital felony was committed by a person subject to an injunction issued pursuant to s. 741.30 or s. 784.046, or a foreign protection order accorded full faith and credit pursuant to s. 741.315, and was committed against the petitioner who obtained the injunction or protection order or any spouse, child, sibling, or parent of the petitioner.
(d) is obviously the big one here, but depending on facts we don't know, possible (h) or (i) could come in to play.

(l) does not apply because MS was not less than 12 years of age, but there has been discussion if SS could be sentenced to death for sexual battery of a minor under the age of 12, in his other case. I tend to think no, because the law did not exist at the time the crime was committed (ie. the law did not exist until Maddie was 12), but as far as I know, no one "official" has weighed in to comment.
 
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(l) does not apply because MS was not less than 12 years of age, but there has been discussion if SS could be sentenced to death for sexual battery of a minor under the age of 12, in his other case. I tend to think no, because the law did not exist at the time the crime was committed (ie. the law did not exist until Maddie was 12), but as far as I know, no one "official" has weighed in to comment.
SBM.

Agree with this - I personally don’t think they’ll be able to apply that law retroactively, for the simple reason defense could argue that a defendant would not have committed the crime had they known that DP was potential punishment. Stupid defense, I know, but it is what it is. Those kinds of laws are meant to be a deterrent, and since that deterrent wasn’t in place when the crime was committed, I think it would be difficult for prosecutors to make it stick.
 
The US Constitution prohibits ex post facto laws on criminal cases. The Supreme Court over the years has made exceptions in specific cases, but, in general, you cannot retroactively create a crime or increase punishment.

I found this wikipedia article interesting (scroll down to the United States description)
 

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