Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #10

[Pruddennce]

It is kind of a grey area but in my opinion she was indirectly responsible for the harm that was inflicted on MS over the years and at the end. Jmo

I agree with you. she chose to cover for SS from the onset by lying to LE she last saw Madeline at 8am. (LE interview docs) IMO, she lied to divert attention away from SS as being a suspect since he was the last person with Madeline that morning. she used we we we we and eeked in the truth she wasnt with him and Madeline that morning. (if you blinked, you would miss it in her interviews). IMO, it was no different while Madeline was alive, more value was placed on her relationship with SS and continued when she was 'missing'.

Im very curious at what age did Madeline begin the cycle of not wanting to sleep alone. from birth? did she always sleep with JS due to JS always cohabitating with others in her home/lack of space and developed this dependency?
Madeline could have had her own room in the current home where she would be able to do her homework, play her games, change her clothes, use her phone, have her personal 'stuff'. instead, she was relegated to a 'space' in the living room while SS had HIS SPACE and a DOOR, now known as Madeline's he))hole.

.....its very plausible Madeline got to the point she was about to blow the whistle....telling friend(s) wanting to live somewhere away was certainly a big reveal things were not good, and a friend may have just thought her mom was awful and mean. especially JS telling Madeline she is going to throw her out at 18.

then there is the abused and abuser relationship. tidbits from her best friend, at one point Madeline said she loved SS. (no timeline when that was said) but..... what caused her to start to complain about him to her friend?

from various school interviews accounts, Madeline was doing much better in school which correlates with SS NOT LIVING THERE. such a short amount of time she was free of the SS/JS relationship in her life. not hearing her LE interview and reading only an abbreviated account when she was confronted with SA pics of her daughter and SS, all we read is 'she was visibly upset' and she denied recognizing the location(s) of those pics.

of course, there's basically much more of her interview statement(s). where did she finally land on the 'knowledge/no knowledge/suspicion/no suspicion' landscape?

 

[Heaven Leigh]

I find it very hard to understand how JS did not know or have some Mom intuition that something was not right all these years. I don't understand because I've never had to go though that.
I've wondered if JS ever worked nights and she was just not there during the nights Maddie was abused. Or when it began.
I don't believe for a minute that Maddie was so afraid to sleep alone that she wanted him in the bed. She wanted her Mom and Mom should have sent him out of the room on those nights.
No arrest..so I will assume JS checked out on being a Mom many years ago. Maddie was just there. SS knew this.
JS oblivious to common sense. It's a shame. So frustrating.
At the end of the day I'm thankful this sick preditor can't abuse ad kill another innocent girl. I doubt JS will be charged with neglect or abuse, even though she should be. imo.
I hope he rots.

 

[photographer4]

It is kind of a grey area but in my opinion she was indirectly responsible for the harm that was inflicted on MS over the years and at the end. Jmo

I view this as she was directly responsible insofar as she brought home the monster and let him take up residence. She allowed not just unsupervised access, but unsupervised access in BED with him. Infact, she didn't just allow it, she REQUESTED that he sleep elsewhere with MS so she could get a good night sleep - we've all seen the links on this, in court documents and news articles but since I know links are required... here is one: Madeline Soto slept in Stephan Sterns' bed, documents say

This isn't indirect harm by any stretch. She directly placed her child at risk of serious harm, physical, mental, sexual... I see a mother with mental health issues who really somehow slipped through the cracks. How was she permitted to keep MS when clearly, other options were widely available? Her mother, MS father and step mother? Other family members on either side? This is a huge failing imo of JS and the system that failed to protect MS.

 

[Poedelini]

I view this as she was directly responsible insofar as she brought home the monster and let him take up residence. She allowed not just unsupervised access, but unsupervised access in BED with him. Infact, she didn't just allow it, she REQUESTED that he sleep elsewhere with MS so she could get a good night sleep - we've all seen the links on this, in court documents and news articles but since I know links are required... here is one: Madeline Soto slept in Stephan Sterns' bed, documents say

This isn't indirect harm by any stretch. She directly placed her child at risk of serious harm, physical, mental, sexual... I see a mother with mental health issues who really somehow slipped through the cracks. How was she permitted to keep MS when clearly, other options were widely available? Her mother, MS father and step mother? Other family members on either side? This is a huge failing imo of JS and the system that failed to protect MS.

I get where your coming from, but in my opinion SS is directly responsible.

Indirectly in my mind does not mean minimizing her lack of parenting and awareness. I think we have the same thoughts only different words.

Jmo

 

[photographer4]

I get where your coming from, but in my opinion SS is directly responsible.

Indirectly in my mind does not mean minimizing her lack of parenting and awareness. I think we have the same thoughts only different words.

Jmo

I think you're right. We seem to agree and just use different words. What a nightmare for MS. I usually err on the side of innocent until proven BARD but for SS, he could not be more guilty. If they get JS for something along the way that is fine too but even if they don't, I don't think anyone will punish her more than she will punish herself.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I don't think anyone will punish her more than she will punish herself.

Respectfully snipped for focus.

I have seen this sentiment expressed by many, but I don't agree. I've not seen one shred of evidence that JS cared that much about MS.

For example, even in the initial interviews she didn't say anything positive about Maddie but instead enumerated her perceived shortcomings: she has ADHD, she's very forgetful, yada yada yada. She showed little affection for her either.

If she cared that much about Maddie, she would have taken care that the child had her own room instead of a curtained area in a shared space.* She would have made durn sure she was at Maddie's 13th birthday party. I mean, she knew it was coming 12 years and 364 days ago.

And on and on.

MOO of course.

*O/T I have been watching the Hulu series "Under the Bridge" and in one scene the parents punish their teen daughter's misbehavior by removing the door from her room. It reminded me so much of how I craved privacy at that age. Not to do anything nefarious, but because that's part of being a teen.

 

[iamshadow21]

Respectfully snipped for focus.

I have seen this sentiment expressed by many, but I don't agree. I've not seen one shred of evidence that JS cared that much about MS.

For example, even in the initial interviews she didn't say anything positive about Maddie but instead enumerated her perceived shortcomings: she has ADHD, she's very forgetful, yada yada yada. She showed little affection for her either.

If she cared that much about Maddie, she would have taken care that the child had her own room instead of a curtained area in a shared space.* She would have made durn sure she was at Maddie's 13th birthday party. I mean, she knew it was coming 12 years and 364 days ago.

And on and on.

MOO of course.

*O/T I have been watching the Hulu series "Under the Bridge" and in one scene the parents punish their teen daughter's misbehavior by removing the door from her room. It reminded me so much of how I craved privacy at that age. Not to do anything nefarious, but because that's part of being a teen.

She reminds me increasingly of Letecia Stauch, who went on about Gannon to LE and media in a way that showed just how much she held him in disdain.

MOO

 

[MollyDDD]

I view this as she was directly responsible insofar as she brought home the monster and let him take up residence. She allowed not just unsupervised access, but unsupervised access in BED with him. Infact, she didn't just allow it, she REQUESTED that he sleep elsewhere with MS so she could get a good night sleep - we've all seen the links on this, in court documents and news articles but since I know links are required... here is one: Madeline Soto slept in Stephan Sterns' bed, documents say

This isn't indirect harm by any stretch. She directly placed her child at risk of serious harm, physical, mental, sexual... I see a mother with mental health issues who really somehow slipped through the cracks. How was she permitted to keep MS when clearly, other options were widely available? Her mother, MS father and step mother? Other family members on either side? This is a huge failing imo of JS and the system that failed to protect MS.

I often wonder about MS father. It seems no one really cared about her.

 

[iamshadow21]

I often wonder about MS father. It seems no one really cared about her.

He has his own young family, and seems genuinely grief stricken from what I've seen in the press. I think he took JS's word for it that Madeline was happy and okay. He thought he'd have a chance to build a relationship with her when she was older, and now he never will.

MOO

 

[MollyDDD]

He has his own young family, and seems genuinely grief stricken from what I've seen in the press. I think he took JS's word for it that Madeline was happy and okay. He thought he'd have a chance to build a relationship with her when she was older, and now he never will.

MOO

No excuse, he’s her father. Regardless of what his relationship was with JS, he had a responsibility to remain involved in his child’s life.
Parenting doesn’t end after divorce. Who knows, he could have been the one that she could talk to and open up about things. Too late now.

 

[iamshadow21]

No excuse, he’s her father. Regardless of what his relationship was with JS, he had a responsibility to remain involved in his child’s life.
Parenting doesn’t end after divorce. Who knows, he could have been the one that she could talk to and open up about things. Too late now.

I could be misremembering, but I don't think they were ever married. I think Madeline was the result of a short term relationship. Their parenting arrangements were amicable.

MOO

 

[MollyDDD]

I could be misremembering, but I don't think they were ever married. I think Madeline was the result of a short term relationship. Their parenting arrangements were amicable.

MOO

The poor kid never had a chance.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

No excuse, he’s her father. Regardless of what his relationship was with JS, he had a responsibility to remain involved in his child’s life.
Parenting doesn’t end after divorce. Who knows, he could have been the one that she could talk to and open up about things. Too late now.

I think he was involved to the extent that he could be under Florida law, which IIRC heavily favors the mother.

I'm not willing to throw him under the bus just yet for bad parenting. If JS and Maddie both assured him everything was fine, what was he supposed to do?

 

[Pruddennce]

I could be misremembering, but I don't think they were ever married. I think Madeline was the result of a short term relationship. Their parenting arrangements were amicable.

MOO

I read the same.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

I feel JS was a victim of SS, using her anxiety and gaslighting. Having someone you 'trust' telling you it is not how you 'think' it was can be very persuasive.
ETA: She may have had suspicions and confronted SS, but I am positive he gaslighted her into thinking she was wrong.
At some point, you either accept the gaslighting or end the situation for good.