Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #8

[Curious Me]

During the FEB27 LE interview with SS, SS says that gma was watching MS the prior week while JS was working. JS said that she went to gmas office after school because MS sometimes walked there after school. i mapped it and the office is an approx 16 min walk from the school (It is the next block up from the vape shop)...​

Hunter's Creek Middle School to ADVANCE INSURANCE GROUP AND TAX SERVICES

maps.app.goo.gl

Thank You so much, @grannygates. Don't know why I must've glossed over that. I didn't know any of that. A 16 minute walk from school to Gma's is farther than I imagined. Oh so, Madeline was able to navigate her way around fine. Totally different than the impressions JS & SS painted of her being so forgetful. Do you happen to know how far away the condo complex was from the school?

Nice to learn Gma & the Family provided Madeline with close family ties. Guessing they probably didn't like SS. Maddie may not have wanted to cause further estrangement by telling what would cause a huge uproar. It's terrible the burdens Maddie carried. ​

 

[ttjo]

One of them was specifically on her 11th birthday, according to the Osceola clerk's site. That one is closed because it was rolled into the rest of the charges, but date of offense was 2/22/22. That made me so sad to read that.

awwwwe her birthday

 

[kae27]

I just want to say that I was previously of the mind that it was inconceivable that Maddie never told anyone about the abuse and/or that JS never suspected it.

I was thoughtfully corrected here by people who had unfortunately experienced similar situations.

I believe them.

As inconceivable as either situation seems, they do happen.

I love this post. I don't want to love it, because it's so heartbreaking overall, but I do love how you were willing to listen to people's experiences and thoughts and form a new opinion. And frankly it's been hard for me to read the recent posts that, again, say that there's no way Maddie told no one. If for no other reason, the many, many posts from people who've experienced this personally and didn't tell anyone should advise against those kinds of posts. It's so painful.

Anyway, thank you for your open-mindedness and willingness to learn.

 

[Sjöberg]

I can't even imagine at 13 yrs old that she didn't know where she lived or how to get to/from school. Even if she didn't know the street names to/from the school, she would know how to get there. My kid (who is now 35) knew where she was going in kindergarten if we were in the car, headed to grandma's house, etc. She certainly knew her address by the time she was 6 or 7.

Believe it or not -- this is not the first time I've heard this! We heard the same from Hialeah, FLA's Dereck Rosa, 13, charged with murdering his mother last October as she slept. When he called 911, he told the dispatch operator that he did not know his address but asked them to hold while he looked for a piece of incoming USPS mail with their home address.

I can still remember, when I was in elementary school, one of the first assignments was to be able to recite our address and phone number.
That’s like first or second grade!

Times have changed. When I was a kid, sure, everyone knew their address by heart (it was seen as a safety thing you must teach a kid), kids walked to school and back and you knew the phone numbers of your friends by heart.

The last 10-15 years though? I can only recall the phone numbers I remembered years ago, newer ones are just in my phone, I don't even read/see them when I pick a name to call to. Everyone gets carpooled, especially in the US. I cannot count the number of times I've asked someone their address to type it into Maps, even if I've visited many times before. Your top locations in Maps are either marked or just pop up as you start typing, so no need to read/remember them either.

And the kids that have grown up in the world like that, like Dereck mentioned here, they don't have the info they learned by heart pre-smartphones, because they were not even born before smartphones.

As for M, I would not overthink this statement. If I remember the context correctly, I think the main point that sentence was trying to make was "No, I don't think she would be attempting to move to home alone when I am late / when she skipped school" and the uncertainty about does she even know her address was just a factor in this, not that it was specifically asked "Does M know her home address by heart?" and replied with "Our research shows that M does not know her home address (p>0.05)." In any case, how would anyone other than M know for sure what M does or does not know.

We get stuck in random details, because we don't have the facts for the full story. I am still most interested in the fact that SS was seen returning with M, but not leaving. Where was M killed? Are there other CSAM-users involved in any shape or form? Why did the police state so confidently, that it's an isolated incident, to me it seems very very likely that SS has previous victims and maybe even more current ones?

 

[Curious Me]

This is staying on the topic of what a heavy burden it is for a child to carry the secrets of being sexually abused by adult pedophiles. Realizing some marriages don't last as long as Madeline being preyed upon by SS for years. It's so wrong to do that to a child. I'll never be able to forget Madeline and wish she had a better childhood, and got to live out a full happy life.

Back in 2012 Brittney Wood disappeared, leaving behind her 2 yr. old. I started to follow the case here on WS. Wow, it opened up a can of worms about her whole family, resulting in 11 charged, and started with her Gma & Gma's boyfriend when Brittney was 9. I ended up watching the trials. Some of you might've seen the Peacock series "Monster in the Shadows" a three-part docuseries that delves deep into the unsolved disappearance of Brittney Wood. She has yet to be found.

AL - AL - Brittney Wood, 19, Mobile, 31 May 2012 - #14

This Unidentified in florida, looks like her to me… I saw someone had said her aunt and uncle vacationed in florida… The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

www.websleuths.com

Spoiler: If Interested

Recap of case within article:

The Real-Life Story Behind 'Monster in the Shadows'

"Monster in the Shadows" is the new true-crime documentaries series on Peacock about the unsolved disappearance of Brittney Wood.

www.newsweek.com

Uncle of missing teen Brittney Wood 'raped different relative, 13, while her father watched' - as FIVE family members are now charged with sex crimes

Dustin Kent, 36, raped the girl in her father's car after they lured her with the promise of a pet hamster, she told detectives in Mobile, Alabama. Kent is the uncle of Brittney Wood, who vanished in May.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Family of 11 'pedophiles' arrested in case of missing Alabama teen

The arrests are linked to missing Brittney Wood (pictured), who hasn't been seen since she left her Theodore home to visit her uncle, Donnie Holland, in the Styx River area in May 2012.

www.dailymail.co.uk

​

 

[friendlysleuther]

it's awful, but you can't help but think about why she didn't want to sleep alone. What was her anxiety from? if anything you would think Jenn would recognize that part? did she ever ask? Maddi saw a therapist, did Jenn tell the therapist about it?
Maddi wasn't 3 or 4 she was 13, that's not exactly age-appropriate behavior, surely Jenn could see that?
I also wonder about how much of that (couldn't sleep alone) was directed by SS.

IMO - If she had any anxiety, it would’ve been from her home life.
I believe that SS groomed/ forced Madeline to say this, so That nobody would suspect anything.

 

[ttjo]

IMO - If she had any anxiety, it would’ve been from her home life.
I believe that SS groomed/ forced Madeline to say this, so That nobody would suspect anything.

I was just trying to say that even if Maddi never told, sometimes you notice indicators that something isn't right, ( like she couldn't sleep alone at 13). I wonder if Jenn ever looked into getting help for Maddi about that.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

Thats what Im trying to figure out, for starters, I dont know when they would have discussed " the phase" and how that would even matter if he wasnt in his usual car, he says his car is Hoopties? what does that mean? he talks like a child.
Maddis phone was left at home, how did it get to jenn? Did she bring it with her, or did Stephen bring it to her? Both are possible. Maybe you can tell by the phone bill, and missed call log, b/c if Jenn didn't know madi forgot her phone she would have called it before calling Stephan.If there are no calls or they erased things, it would still show up on your bill. mine do, texts and calls. Regardless, LE would have run that thing through some forensic software

Urban Dictionary: hooptie

Any car that meets the following: a) driver must enter car through passenger side b) three different brand and size tires - 3 of them missing hubcap c) exhaust is held up by half a clothes hanger - other half replaces the antenna d) backfires every three blocks - loudest backfire being when car...

www.urbandictionary.com

It means the car was a "beater". Sounds appropos with SS.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I just want to say that I was previously of the mind that it was inconceivable that Maddie never told anyone about the abuse and/or that JS never suspected it.

I was thoughtfully corrected here by people who had unfortunately experienced similar situations.

I believe them.

As inconceivable as either situation seems, they do happen.

Thank you.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

I believe JS said that MS would not have gone to the home of any of her friends because she did not know where they lived or how to get there.

Most kids would walk to the home of a friend WITH the friend if they were coming from school.

 

[Inthedetails]

Myself not being from the area, and many of us aren't from the area, it would help to see a map, or hear the mileage, showing how far the grandmother's office is from the school and how far the condo is from the school?

I heard the Gma's office was closeby where she might walk there after school. Why would she? And how often did she? I think the condo complex was quite far from the school, so MS would probably never be able to walk to school.

She, at least, should've known her own address though! I guess living in a gated community meant MS never got to walk to the store for a popsicle. Did she have friends in the complex she played outside with? Did she have play dates after school? Please, I want to know she didn't live in a vacuum. MS would be eligible to drive soon. It'd help if she knew her own neighborhood streets.

Gee, if Jen drove her & picked her up from school on a regular basis you'd think they'd talk about the surroundings, maybe Maddie would point out roughly the area where her friend lived. Say her friend's whole name so JS would've known it to give them a call looking for Maddie. ​

My hunch is that grandma's house is in the school district, and Jen and Madeline lived in a different district. Madeline's actual address might have been kept from her, or she might have been instructed to keep it a secret, since she was using her grandma's address to attend the school.

I could be wrong in my assumption - please correct me if I am, but that's my hunch.

jmo

 

[MollyDDD]

Times have changed. When I was a kid, sure, everyone knew their address by heart (it was seen as a safety thing you must teach a kid), kids walked to school and back and you knew the phone numbers of your friends by heart.

The last 10-15 years though? I can only recall the phone numbers I remembered years ago, newer ones are just in my phone, I don't even read/see them when I pick a name to call to. Everyone gets carpooled, especially in the US. I cannot count the number of times I've asked someone their address to type it into Maps, even if I've visited many times before. Your top locations in Maps are either marked or just pop up as you start typing, so no need to read/remember them either.

And the kids that have grown up in the world like that, like Dereck mentioned here, they don't have the info they learned by heart pre-smartphones, because they were not even born before smartphones.

As for M, I would not overthink this statement. If I remember the context correctly, I think the main point that sentence was trying to make was "No, I don't think she would be attempting to move to home alone when I am late / when she skipped school" and the uncertainty about does she even know her address was just a factor in this, not that it was specifically asked "Does M know her home address by heart?" and replied with "Our research shows that M does not know her home address (p>0.05)." In any case, how would anyone other than M know for sure what M does or does not know.

We get stuck in random details, because we don't have the facts for the full story. I am still most interested in the fact that SS was seen returning with M, but not leaving. Where was M killed? Are there other CSAM-users involved in any shape or form? Why did the police state so confidently, that it's an isolated incident, to me it seems very very likely that SS has previous victims and maybe even more current ones?

Very good points you made, thank you.

 

[Seattle1]

Urban Dictionary: hooptie

Any car that meets the following: a) driver must enter car through passenger side b) three different brand and size tires - 3 of them missing hubcap c) exhaust is held up by half a clothes hanger - other half replaces the antenna d) backfires every three blocks - loudest backfire being when car...

www.urbandictionary.com

It means the car was a "beater". Sounds appropos with SS.

Thanks for this as I had not heard this term before. I wonder what SS typically drove? I believe SS was driving his dad's Lincoln which I think is a respectable sedan as shown here per the Orange County Sheriff's Office FB. Also, as opposed to mismatched tires, I think this is with the temporary spare following the flat tire.

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[Pruddennce]

I just want to say that I was previously of the mind that it was inconceivable that Maddie never told anyone about the abuse and/or that JS never suspected it.

I was thoughtfully corrected here by people who had unfortunately experienced similar situations.

I believe them.

As inconceivable as either situation seems, they do happen.

I agree with you, sure there are situations which go undetected for years as many individuals have pointed out through real life experiences. but we just dont know about Madeline and will never know if she said something and was ignored.

what stands out to me is one of the pressers Chief Holland gave....at the end she made a point to say all those in Madeline's life are being cooperative regarding interviews (except Sterns)...however, she went further to say if something is suspected, there are abuse hotlines and other resources and stressed a suspicion CAN BE REPORTED. I felt that many family members DID say something when interviewed by LE, that they suspected something, but didnt trust their instincts and didnt act on it. and IMO now are filled with remorse. which prompted Chief Holland to suggest reporting suspicions and talk to your kids.

one thing we dont know if Madeline told her mother and/or confronted SS, or both of them which ended in her death....<modsnip - unnecessarily graphic>. or if Madeline as a young child said some things about the touching, not quite able to describe a sexual act, but said something to JS....

SS jumping in about knowing what, if any, markings, scars Madeline had.....her face, sure, but he repeatedly qualified JS's description of Madeline to infer he held a position of more than just a BF. for me and maybe officers, it might have been a red flag that here is a man knowing a bit too much about a 13 year old's body markings that may not be visible.

it was so disturbing watching these cams knowing Madeline was deceased at that time. and more disturbing knowing that JS supported the sleeping arrangements, Madeline at times, in bed ALONE with her BF.

 

[Bahshudc]

I don’t think she cared at all about the car. I think SS just thought he could lie about this random detail to cover himself / explain why he was using a different car for no reason. I think JS & SS do this a lot — ‘Maddie was anxious, she was sleepy, she couldn’t walk anywhere, she forgot everything, she was in a phase, she didn’t like SS older car, she could easily get lost’. Funny that all these descriptions of MS make her out to be an incapable lost cause, who’s most likely wandered off and could be anywhere. Just seems like so much deflection from themselves and what could be found in their home. All moo.

 

[Seattle1]

IMO - If she had any anxiety, it would’ve been from her home life.
I believe that SS groomed/ forced Madeline to say this, so That nobody would suspect anything.

I'd like to know if JS was capable of showing affection toward MS, and if she ever cuddled her child before/after SS came into their lives....

If SS and JS had been dating for about 7-8 years, and abusing MS at age 8 (if not earlier), sadly, I think he had many years to manipulative both the mother and child.

If MS needed to be "snuggled" to fall asleep for the past 6 years, I can see where JS could have been ignorant to MS's sleep anxiety as opposed to the need to be snuggled beginning with a [physically] maturing teen. I find this especially challenging if JS was clueless that MS, the teen, had aged out for SS.

Also, if SS had moved out and no longer living fulltime with the Soto's, I wonder if JS thought MS was "growing out" of her SS induced sleep anxiety.

Regardless, it's unforgivable this mother put her needs above the needs of her child. JS wasn't the first-- and won't be the last. MOO

 

[photographer4]

respectful thoughtful post. yes, many missing pieces. we KNOW now what was happening in her life for years, but as you asked, what happened after her birthday party, that nite, into the morning hours..... a HUGE piece is missing ---->JS's movements.

hoping they release her LE audio interview and the rest of the body cams and when LE went to the home. saw just a snippet.

When she did the webcam media interview from her home, the background was immaculate. No frenzy of activity. It was in stark contrast to a photo of Patty Wetterling’s kitchen when her son Jacob was missing. In her book, Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey Of Hope - she spoke about the chaos at her home that first night and in the days that followed. People brought food. People managed her kids and their dog. Someone was answering the phone. People were always coming and going. People even stayed over that first night - anywhere they found a spot to doze. Her book is excellent for anyone who may be interested in reading it.

It just doesn’t seem that JS was frantic or even upset. Dazed maybe? But not chaotic. No Herculean effort on her part to mobilize the family, no push to get the community out searching even when she says people have asked if they can volunteer to do so. Nothing. Not even a photo in hand of her beautiful girl to show the media. Nothing. She just wanted her to come home. Whatever that looked like.

 

[Pruddennce]

I'd like to know if JS was capable of showing affection toward MS, and if she ever cuddled her child before/after SS came into their lives....

If SS and JS had been dating for about 7-8 years, and abusing MS at age 8 (if not earlier), sadly, I think he had many years to manipulative both the mother and child.

If MS needed to be "snuggled" to fall asleep for the past 6 years, I can see where JS could have been ignorant to MS's sleep anxiety as opposed to the need to be snuggled beginning with a [physically] maturing teen. I find this especially challenging if JS was clueless that MS, the teen, had aged out for SS.

Also, if SS had moved out and no longer living fulltime with the Soto's, I wonder if JS thought MS was "growing out" of her SS induced sleep anxiety.

Regardless, it's unforgivable this mother put her needs above the needs of her child. JS wasn't the first-- and won't be the last. MOO

and....in his LE interview, mentioned her menstrual cycle as a reason that JS and Madeline will argue. jaw dropping. every aspect of Madeline's life, physically and mentally were compromised by these two adults. more weight, at this time of course to SS, the sexual predator and abuser. for years. JS? right now, allowing her daughter to sleep alone with SS IMO was a more common occurrence in that home than JS occasionally needing her headache/im so tired alone time.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

It is so difficult for me to find ANY compassion for JS. There is no *advertiser censored******* way that that child never, ever once said something to her mother about what he does to her. She was 8! Innocent. Unknowing. Questions had to come up in her mind. The sheer grotesque acts that she was forced to perform on him and most likely, he on she, HAD to be difficult and confusing! No way, she never said a word to anyone. It literally sickens me to my stomach that this little girl, since age 8, as far as we know, was used and abused and this was her life. Then at 13 years old, she declares she wants to “live in the woods”. She was growing up by then and better
understood exactly how wrong and unnatural the abuse she had suffered, while Mother just looked away, really was. I believe she told them both that she was going to expose them or something to that affect that made them both decide that something had to be done with her. Just my opinion and I wish I was wrong.

When do they begin teaching human sexuality in the schools these days? With girls getting periods earlier I’m thinking it could be 5th or 6th grade? But definitely after age 8, which is about third grade, right?

Wondering with abuse probably starting before sex ed was part of the school curriculum, when they did introduce formal lessons on that topic, Maddie probably developed entirely new thoughts and complex feelings about how she was experiencing her “relationship” with SS. MOO.

So at age 12/13 she was 6th or 7th grade when they potentially began adding sex to her biology curriculum. When Maddie learned about appropriate physical relationships, responsibilities around intercourse (conception), and the concept of boundaries and “unwelcome touching,” did she become more and more resistant to sexual advances? With the potential school discussions on boundaries, was assertiveness also discussed? MOO.

All building up to an altercation on her 13th birthday? “I’m 13 now. You’re not the boss of me!”

With this said, I still feel like puberty and possibly conception were more likely behind the disposal

OMHO.

 

[photographer4]

Most of the friends you have at that age you meet at school, if maddie went to a neighborhood school, she would have friends close by, maybe even in the complex, but going to a school far away means she likely needed a drive to see friends. Jenn was tired all the time, how often do you think she would drive her to play with friends?
why did she go to that school anyway? was it b/c it was close to G ma? who she probably depended on? It kind of flies in the face of what SS says he does around there.

She might just to get rid of her for a few hours. JS was tired. Such that she sent the girl to sleep in another room with her male companion…. Maybe she sent her to other people’s homes so that she could sleep.

Also, if MS was with gran the week before, maybe she didn’t leave the condo to go to the party. Maybe she was already at Gran’s and had been for a few days already. So I wanna know when and how did she end up in the company of SS and why?