Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #11

[ttjo]

and I get it about not sending your kid to bed with your BF, for starters. But there are a lot that don't do that, if you talk to kids who dont disclose because theyre afraid to. you have to figure out a way around those fears, there is no other way.
When I was a SW we had a similar situation, where a mom claimed she didnt know, ( child wasnt murdered either) she didnt get charged but she had all her children removed because she couldnt keep them safe, only time i've seen someone suffer consequences for what she should have known.

 

[Mack the Knife]

The results of a public records request to Kissimmee Police Department:

https://www.scribd.com/document/761306492/24001896-Stephen-Sterns-Documents-released-by-Kissimmee-PD-regarding-the-investigation-into-Madeline-Sotos-murder

https://www.scribd.com/document/761331151/24001809-Stephen-Sterns-Documents-released-by-Kissimmee-PD-regarding-the-investigation-into-Madeline-Sotos-murder

Please take care when/if sharing screenshots of these documents, as there are far less redactions in these than in other docs we've seen.

I was mistaken. Most of these reports are new enough to me that I don't outright recognize them. There are a lot less redactions than in other records. I frankly don't know how some of this stuff hasn't been reported on already. It doesn't make sense that I would get a "scoop" when I've been specifically only requesting records that have already been released.

Here are my notes on 24001896:

• COD: Asphyxiation (2)
  • Right portion of the hyoid bone was not in tact (60)
  • Cause of death ruled strangulation (71)
• Believed the homicide likely occurred in the home (5)
• A witness identified, from a photo line up, #5 as the person he saw on the side of the road at Old Hickory Tree Rd (it is not specified which photo, if any, is SS) (10)
• Investigators obtained surveillance footage of the middle school from 2024-02-26 14:00-16:40, but some of it was corrupted (17)
• An officer went to the VBV home 2024-02-26 at 20:17 (which would have been while JS and company were speaking to police at her mom's office) and spoke to the "leaseholder," who is also described as JS's roommate, who allowed him to search the home and said MS wasn't one to run away and didn't know why she would (19)
• Apartments 106 and 104 have video doorbells (the Soto residence is 107) (22)
• CS (SS's father) contacted North Port PD after SS's arrest to turn over one of SS's old computer towers. No hard drive was found inside of the tower (27) CS later believes he found that hard drive in his storage unit and that SS may have put it there on 2/28 when he drove to North Port (71)
• District Nine Medical Examiner's Office located in Orlando performed the autopsy and evidence items were collected under case number ME24-00403 (36)
• There is a description of physical evidence taken from the ME's office that includes left and right "hand" and "foot" bags, which I am not sure how to interpret (45)
• Dextroamp-amphetamine tabs, Adderall XR tabs, and Hydroxyzine Pam tabs were collected (in their bottles) as evidence. It isn't specified who they were prescribed to (46)
• [Redacted] made a 911 call at 18:53 on 2024-02-26 on behalf of JS to report MS missing. [Redacted] "would call 911 two different times after the initial call to Orange County, wanting to know why deputies haven't responded yet." (50)
  • Based on this blurb alone, I would expect 18:53 to have been the first 911 call, but I don't think that's factually the case
• Detective Morris (KPD) recounts Detective Hunt's (OSCO) interview of JS on 2024-02-27. Morris's description seems to include more details than Hunt's. Same for Hunt's interview of SS (51)
• [MS's grandmother] "stated she doesn't like Stephan because he doesn't do anything, as in working. She said Jennifer just doesn't want to be alone." (53)
• A folder on SS's Google drive "appeared dedicated to [redacted-MS] and contained over 1700 files a majority of which depicted sexual positions (54)
• JS says that she woke up on 2024-02-26 to SS trying to get the leash on the dog, and he told her to go back to sleep and he would take care of the dog (56)
• JS "stated they recently ended their relationship and he moved back to North Port, Florida to stay with his parents. Jennifer said she ended the relationship because he was a messy person. Jennifer said they didn't have a sexual relationship because her medications affected her sex drive. I asked Jennifer who drived her vehicle, and she said only her and Stephan. Jennifer said Stephan took her vehicle Monday night because he decided to go drive around, searching for Madeline. This would have been when Stephan traveled back to Saint Cloud in the early morning hours of 02/27/2024." (56)
• "I asked Stephan if he stayed in the same room as Madeline the entire night. Stephan said he was up and down, maybe to grab a drink, but he never slept in Jennifer`s bed that night. Stephan stated Madeline would set her alarm for around 0700-0730 hours, and would then snooze for a while. Stephan stated they eventually make it out the door. This contradicts his prior statement saying they made good time getting out of the house to drop her off. Stephan said he was giving Jennifer updates as the morning went along, meaning he was telling Jennifer when Madeline was getting dressed and leaving. This was also not true, as Jennifer stated the only time they spoke is when he was getting the leash on the dog and he told her to go back to sleep. Stephan said they had time to kill since they were too early for school, so he returned home because he forgot his gate clicker for the complex. However, when Stephan arrived at the gate, he had his gate clicker in his hand while speaking with the security guard at Venetian Bay. Stephan said Madelinewas wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white crocs when he dropped her off. This is a different description he provided deputies during the initial contact." (57)
• Honestly I'd just recommend reading all of page 57 starting with "On February 29, 2024, at approximately 1709 hours, we contacted Jennifer." to page 59 "We arrived at the Orange County Sheriff`s Office where Jennifer was taken inside to be interviewed by Detective O`Malley and Detective Smallwood further."
• The lock to the gate of the property where MS's body was found didn't appear to be tampered with, meaning SS would have had to drop her body over the gate or the barbed wire fence, then move it. (60)
• JS's ex-husband says that when they were married, he and JS stayed in a room upstairs and MS had her own. He separately said MS would sleep with JS, but he wasn't comfortable with them (ex-husband and JS) sleeping with MS in the same bed. (61)
  • I think this whole interview is worth reading as well
• A friend or acquaintance believed (paraphrased) SS cared more about MS than JS and questioned how he had so much money for his hobbies without a job (62)
• DS (SS's mother) didn't approve of SS's and JS's relationship because of "drug use," but it isn't stated who used drugs or if they were illicit or prescribed. DS and CS felt Jennifer had significant mental health problems and that when one of them had an episode, it would bring the other down, and they would both sleep all the time. When SS and JS split up, he moved to his own room in the home (presumably room 4) and CS would pay his $600 rent. CS thinks SS seemed more anxious than usual before the 2/25 trip, and he spoke to him on the phone on 2/26 at 15:17 and thought SS seemed off, and when they spoke again at 16:54, SS said there had been "an occurrence" and that the area he dropped MS off was known for kidnappings and abductions. DS didn't like MS and SS sleeping in the same bed. CS thought JS was acting differently than she should have been, and nothing SS says is true (65)
  • Another one worth reading the whole thing
• A roommate returned from work on 2024-02-25 around 23:00-23:30 and did not see anyone but could hear people upstairs. When she went to sleep around 02:30, she could hear noises coming from SS's room, like someone putting things on a table, which would have had to be significantly loud for it to travel through two closed doors and across a hallway. She saw SS multiple times the next day (66)
• JS texted SS at 22:39 on 2024-02-25 telling him to make sure MS goes to bed "right now" (67)
• Texts between SS and JS indicate SS sometimes gave MS an unnecessary dose of her medicine (68)
• JS had an attorney for an interview she had at the State Attorney's Office 2024-04-18, which was given under oath (71)
• JS had a new job at Disney (which was at least sometimes at night/evening) that she was in training for, and SS came to help because if he was there, MS would get to stay at home, which would mean JS could see her more, unlike when MS was staying at her grandma's (72)
• JS seems to have texted MS's father about not wanting MS to be filmed under bathroom doors. This is similar to what SS apparently did in photographing one of their roommates. JS explained this was because she had heard a story about someone being filmed in an airplane bathroom (73)
• A USB drive collected from CS had 35k images of CSAM (they appeared to not be of MS) and was not used since 2020 (73)
• JS says SS told her, on 2/26, that he was going to go "cruising" on US-192 to look for MS, and JS questioned if that was a good idea (76)
• On 2/28 (presumably while stuck in the hotel) JS called the NCMEC and local news stations (76)
• JS said SS was anxious and panicky when law enforcement had his cell phone on 2/28 and they discussed how LE was focusing on the "wrong guy" (76)
• SS tells his parents he hadn't made it in time to go to MS's birthday party (78)
• On 2/28, SS tried logging in to his Google account while on his parents WiFi, but was unsuccessful. He told his parents he went to North Port to grab a few things and get his ducks in a row but couldn't find what he was looking for. LE believes he was attempting to log in to Google to deleted images of him abusing MS (78)
  • JS said at this time he tried to log in to his email from her phone but was unsuccessful because of 2 factor authentication
• CS "tells Stephan he wished they could understand how this whole situation came about and Stephan replies "Well I did't start it". Chris told Stephan he participated in it, and Stephan says "yeah". At no point during the conversation did Stephan deny he murdered Madeline." (78)

My callouts:

• I'm still thinking he might have returned to VBV before school to look for MS's other croc
  • I wonder, in the footage in which SS is seen moving MS's body from the passenger seat to the trunk, are her feet visible? That is, is she visibly wearing only one shoe?
  • SS had the gate clicker in his hand when he returned to VBV before school, so he definitely didn't return for it. We already didn't believe that was the reason he went back, but I thought it might still be true that he didn't have the clicker. Interesting that he was completely fabricating that, possibly enough that he intentionally went through the front gate to support his story
• It's very clear to me, from the way these reports on the interviews are written, that investigators were very suspicious of and did not trust SS, but that the same isn't true for JS. They may be side-eyeing her, but the tone in the reports doesn't read like they're calling her a liar in the same way they are with SS.
• Just reiterating my belief that people interested in these docs should read pages 57-59
• CS and DS again sound very frustrated with SS, in contrast to how...fawning? enabling? they sound when speaking to SS in those emails
• CS and JS both say that SS had visited three times total (including 2/25) since leaving. Is this consistent with the dates of CSAM?
• This is the first I recall hearing about SS having CSAM that was not of MS
• He is a lot more open sounding with his parents on the phone than he is in email. I actually thought he was being smartly quiet, not talking about the investigation really, but these phonecalls are not smart

 

[MamaSleuth5]

Madeline Soto case: Police have no plans to charge Jennifer Soto, sources say

unbelievable. It may not be against the law for a mother to consistently send her boyfriend and barely teen daughter off to go share a bed but my God it should be. I am livid. All I can hope is that JS gets everything she deserves in life by way of karma.

I need to go cool off.

I haven't finished reading to the end of the thread yet but I just had to jump in and just agree with you @tlcya and everyone who is feeling this way. I feel this right along with many of you. JMO Justice for Madeline.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

I agree 100%. I'd feel uncomfortable sending my kid to the store with a male friend let alone to bed. Im just saying that today theyre saying they wont be charging her because they have nothing they can charge her with or however they explain it, when I was reading the child welfare laws it seems that you have to prove she knowingly put her at risk, and sounds like they cant prove jenn knew anything, at least this is whats coming out today,

Thank you ttjo…… and I agree as well. I think I might only differ with one possible word in that analysis. ‘Knowingly’. IANAL and don’t know FL state or federal laws, but maybe the authorities best look at that aspect closely. And closely and carefully. I don’t know whether or not that would be a solely distinguishing feature to preclude charges or possible offense?

Maybe some legal scholars here could weigh in on this? It is just so sad that this is one possible result from this sad case. IMO something still seems ‘off’ in this case. And IMO the term ‘negligent’ would surely seem to be applicable in this matter?

And IIUC a recent post from @Mack the Knife post #42 above alludes to SS (JS live-in ‘boyfriend’) as possibly having recorded? SM on maybe victims other than MS? If so, and that is the case, that IMO just deepens and widens the pool in this case. Hopefully more is learned with time. Sadly all I see in this case are the pictures of MS and her attempts to celebrate a birthday party. Even more tragically, it turned out to be her last. MOO

 

[Mack the Knife]

Thank you ttjo…… and I agree as well. I think I might only differ with one possible word in that analysis. ‘Knowingly’. IANAL and don’t know FL state or federal laws, but maybe the authorities best look at that aspect closely. And closely and carefully. I don’t know whether or not that would be a solely distinguishing feature to preclude charges or possible offense?

Maybe some legal scholars here could weigh in on this? It is just so sad that this is one possible result from this sad case. IMO something still seems ‘off’ in this case. And IMO the term ‘negligent’ would surely seem to be applicable in this matter?

And IIUC a recent post from @Mack the Knife post #42 above alludes to SS (JS live-in ‘boyfriend’) as possibly having recorded? SM on maybe victims other than MS? If so, and that is the case, that IMO just deepens and widens the pool in this case. Hopefully more is learned with time. Sadly all I see in this case are the pictures of MS and her attempts to celebrate a birthday party. Even more tragically, it turned out to be her last. MOO

If you are referring to the 35k photos found on the USB drive, there is no implication in the report that SS produced those photos. He likely got them online in some way or another.

I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that he has other direct* victims, but I don’t know of any evidence suggesting he did. If I recall correctly, at the press conference where the Sheriff announced they believed MS was killed inside the home, they said they answered a question about other victims by saying they believed the abuse was limited to the home. Does anyone remember that?

*I say “direct victim” because the children in the CSAM images he possessed are also his victims, and obviously that isn’t the same as if he had sexually abused them or produced the CSAM, but I don’t want to discount their victimization

 

[TDoc72]

• There is a description of physical evidence taken from the ME's office that includes left and right "hand" and "foot" bags, which I am not sure how to interpret (45)

(Snipped by me)
When they transport a body to the morgue or wherever they do the autopsy, they will bag the hands and feet separately to help prevent trace evidence from getting lost. They then put the body in a body bag. So I’m guessing these are the bags they used and they will check those for loose evidence. For example, if something came loose from under a fingernail and was left in the bag.

 

[TDoc72]

double post

 

[FromGermany1]

If you are referring to the 35k photos found on the USB drive, there is no implication in the report that SS produced those photos. He likely got them online in some way or another.

As far as I know, such predators buy their 35k photos (or every different number) with a certain currency: their own produced photos with their own victims. SS' designed photos should therefore also be in circulation in the dark www. MOO

 

[ttjo]

Thank you ttjo…… and I agree as well. I think I might only differ with one possible word in that analysis. ‘Knowingly’. IANAL and don’t know FL state or federal laws, but maybe the authorities best look at that aspect closely. And closely and carefully. I don’t know whether or not that would be a solely distinguishing feature to preclude charges or possible offense?

Maybe some legal scholars here could weigh in on this? It is just so sad that this is one possible result from this sad case. IMO something still seems ‘off’ in this case. And IMO the term ‘negligent’ would surely seem to be applicable in this matter?

And IIUC a recent post from @Mack the Knife post #42 above alludes to SS (JS live-in ‘boyfriend’) as possibly having recorded? SM on maybe victims other than MS? If so, and that is the case, that IMO just deepens and widens the pool in this case. Hopefully more is learned with time. Sadly all I see in this case are the pictures of MS and her attempts to celebrate a birthday party. Even more tragically, it turned out to be her last. MOO

knowingly or willingly. or by culpable negligence, this document explains it better. seems you cant get around whether you were aware of the risk. which begs everyones question " how could she not have known" but cant charge on what she should have known. Whats worse is they dont seem to be able to prove that she knew anything.
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine.

 

[ttjo]

I was mistaken. Most of these reports are new enough to me that I don't outright recognize them. There are a lot less redactions than in other records. I frankly don't know how some of this stuff hasn't been reported on already. It doesn't make sense that I would get a "scoop" when I've been specifically only requesting records that have already been released.

Here are my notes on 24001896:

wow thanks for all your work on this.

 

[Mack the Knife]

(Snipped by me)
When they transport a body to the morgue or wherever they do the autopsy, they will bag the hands and feet separately to help prevent trace evidence from getting lost. They then put the body in a body bag. So I’m guessing these are the bags they used and they will check those for loose evidence. For example, if something came loose from under a fingernail and was left in the bag.

I was thinking something like that, but does that mean that they disarticulated the hands and feet during autopsy? Is that standard for an autopsy? Or does it imply that the hands and feet were already detached to some extent?

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

knowingly or willingly. or by culpable negligence, this document explains it better. seems you cant get around whether you were aware of the risk. which begs everyones question " how could she not have known" but cant charge on what she should have known. Whats worse is they dont seem to be able to prove that she knew anything.
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine.

Thank you ttjo….. a good reference. IANAL…. so there is that…… and on that statute section 827.03(2) Offenses - (b) & (d): ‘A person who willfully or by culpable negligence’……

to use an analogy, seems one could drive a Peterbilt 379 truck through that ‘culpable negligence’ clause as a basis and for inclusion / applicability. And IMO knowingly or willingly would not perhaps even be a consideration? The child was placed in a harmful and detrimental situation by the mother’s action to have instructed her (MS) to climb into bed with her ‘estranged’ boyfriend / partner IMO. And apparently on multiple occasions. Whether or not ‘great bodily harm’ would include death seems a matter for the legal professionals. Still SMH. MOO

 

[Megnut]

I was thinking something like that, but does that mean that they disarticulated the hands and feet during autopsy? Is that standard for an autopsy? Or does it imply that the hands and feet were already detached to some extent?

No. It just means bags were secured around each hand and foot. Think: banded above the wrists and ankles. To preserve any trace evidence. Not separated from the body in any way.

JMO

 

[Mack the Knife]

As far as I know, such predators buy their 35k photos (or every different number) with a certain currency: their own produced photos with their own victims. SS' designed photos should therefore also be in circulation in the dark www. MOO

I have heard that producers of CSAM are the top of the food chain and get access to, for lack of a better term, “the best stuff” (for example in the excellent podcast Hunting Warhead by CBC). That said, it is still a business for some folks, and standard money (or cryptocurrency) is still widely exchanged.

There has been no suggestion by law enforcement that the CSAM that SS produced of MS was sold or shared online. I’m guessing the FBI or the like are investigating or have already done so, but unless something comes out to support this, I think it’s likeliest that SS obtained CSAM freely on the internet, or paid for with money. It’s not as difficult as any of us would like.

 

[Mack the Knife]

No. It just means bags were secured around each hand and foot. Think: banded above the wrists and ankles. To preserve any trace evidence. Not separated from the body in any way.

JMO

That…makes so much more sense. ‍
That must mean I’m too deep in the weeds on this right now. Enough WS for me for the day!

 

[vls12345]

I was mistaken. Most of these reports are new enough to me that I don't outright recognize them. There are a lot less redactions than in other records. I frankly don't know how some of this stuff hasn't been reported on already. It doesn't make sense that I would get a "scoop" when I've been specifically only requesting records that have already been released.

Here are my notes on 24001896:

• COD: Asphyxiation (2)
  • Right portion of the hyoid bone was not in tact (60)
  • Cause of death ruled strangulation (71)
• Believed the homicide likely occurred in the home (5)
• A witness identified, from a photo line up, #5 as the person he saw on the side of the road at Old Hickory Tree Rd (it is not specified which photo, if any, is SS) (10)
• Investigators obtained surveillance footage of the middle school from 2024-02-26 14:00-16:40, but some of it was corrupted (17)
• An officer went to the VBV home 2024-02-26 at 20:17 (which would have been while JS and company were speaking to police at her mom's office) and spoke to the "leaseholder," who is also described as JS's roommate, who allowed him to search the home and said MS wasn't one to run away and didn't know why she would (19)
• Apartments 106 and 104 have video doorbells (the Soto residence is 107) (22)
• CS (SS's father) contacted North Port PD after SS's arrest to turn over one of SS's old computer towers. No hard drive was found inside of the tower (27) CS later believes he found that hard drive in his storage unit and that SS may have put it there on 2/28 when he drove to North Port (71)
• District Nine Medical Examiner's Office located in Orlando performed the autopsy and evidence items were collected under case number ME24-00403 (36)
• There is a description of physical evidence taken from the ME's office that includes left and right "hand" and "foot" bags, which I am not sure how to interpret (45)
• Dextroamp-amphetamine tabs, Adderall XR tabs, and Hydroxyzine Pam tabs were collected (in their bottles) as evidence. It isn't specified who they were prescribed to (46)
• [Redacted] made a 911 call at 18:53 on 2024-02-26 on behalf of JS to report MS missing. [Redacted] "would call 911 two different times after the initial call to Orange County, wanting to know why deputies haven't responded yet." (50)
  • Based on this blurb alone, I would expect 18:53 to have been the first 911 call, but I don't think that's factually the case
• Detective Morris (KPD) recounts Detective Hunt's (OSCO) interview of JS on 2024-02-27. Morris's description seems to include more details than Hunt's. Same for Hunt's interview of SS (51)
• [MS's grandmother] "stated she doesn't like Stephan because he doesn't do anything, as in working. She said Jennifer just doesn't want to be alone." (53)
• A folder on SS's Google drive "appeared dedicated to [redacted-MS] and contained over 1700 files a majority of which depicted sexual positions (54)
• JS says that she woke up on 2024-02-26 to SS trying to get the leash on the dog, and he told her to go back to sleep and he would take care of the dog (56)
• JS "stated they recently ended their relationship and he moved back to North Port, Florida to stay with his parents. Jennifer said she ended the relationship because he was a messy person. Jennifer said they didn't have a sexual relationship because her medications affected her sex drive. I asked Jennifer who drived her vehicle, and she said only her and Stephan. Jennifer said Stephan took her vehicle Monday night because he decided to go drive around, searching for Madeline. This would have been when Stephan traveled back to Saint Cloud in the early morning hours of 02/27/2024." (56)
• "I asked Stephan if he stayed in the same room as Madeline the entire night. Stephan said he was up and down, maybe to grab a drink, but he never slept in Jennifer`s bed that night. Stephan stated Madeline would set her alarm for around 0700-0730 hours, and would then snooze for a while. Stephan stated they eventually make it out the door. This contradicts his prior statement saying they made good time getting out of the house to drop her off. Stephan said he was giving Jennifer updates as the morning went along, meaning he was telling Jennifer when Madeline was getting dressed and leaving. This was also not true, as Jennifer stated the only time they spoke is when he was getting the leash on the dog and he told her to go back to sleep. Stephan said they had time to kill since they were too early for school, so he returned home because he forgot his gate clicker for the complex. However, when Stephan arrived at the gate, he had his gate clicker in his hand while speaking with the security guard at Venetian Bay. Stephan said Madelinewas wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white crocs when he dropped her off. This is a different description he provided deputies during the initial contact." (57)
• Honestly I'd just recommend reading all of page 57 starting with "On February 29, 2024, at approximately 1709 hours, we contacted Jennifer." to page 59 "We arrived at the Orange County Sheriff`s Office where Jennifer was taken inside to be interviewed by Detective O`Malley and Detective Smallwood further."
• The lock to the gate of the property where MS's body was found didn't appear to be tampered with, meaning SS would have had to drop her body over the gate or the barbed wire fence, then move it. (60)
• JS's ex-husband says that when they were married, he and JS stayed in a room upstairs and MS had her own. He separately said MS would sleep with JS, but he wasn't comfortable with them (ex-husband and JS) sleeping with MS in the same bed. (61)
  • I think this whole interview is worth reading as well
• A friend or acquaintance believed (paraphrased) SS cared more about MS than JS and questioned how he had so much money for his hobbies without a job (62)
• DS (SS's mother) didn't approve of SS's and JS's relationship because of "drug use," but it isn't stated who used drugs or if they were illicit or prescribed. DS and CS felt Jennifer had significant mental health problems and that when one of them had an episode, it would bring the other down, and they would both sleep all the time. When SS and JS split up, he moved to his own room in the home (presumably room 4) and CS would pay his $600 rent. CS thinks SS seemed more anxious than usual before the 2/25 trip, and he spoke to him on the phone on 2/26 at 15:17 and thought SS seemed off, and when they spoke again at 16:54, SS said there had been "an occurrence" and that the area he dropped MS off was known for kidnappings and abductions. DS didn't like MS and SS sleeping in the same bed. CS thought JS was acting differently than she should have been, and nothing SS says is true (65)
  • Another one worth reading the whole thing
• A roommate returned from work on 2024-02-25 around 23:00-23:30 and did not see anyone but could hear people upstairs. When she went to sleep around 02:30, she could hear noises coming from SS's room, like someone putting things on a table, which would have had to be significantly loud for it to travel through two closed doors and across a hallway. She saw SS multiple times the next day (66)
• JS texted SS at 22:39 on 2024-02-25 telling him to make sure MS goes to bed "right now" (67)
• Texts between SS and JS indicate SS sometimes gave MS an unnecessary dose of her medicine (68)
• JS had an attorney for an interview she had at the State Attorney's Office 2024-04-18, which was given under oath (71)
• JS had a new job at Disney (which was at least sometimes at night/evening) that she was in training for, and SS came to help because if he was there, MS would get to stay at home, which would mean JS could see her more, unlike when MS was staying at her grandma's (72)
• JS seems to have texted MS's father about not wanting MS to be filmed under bathroom doors. This is similar to what SS apparently did in photographing one of their roommates. JS explained this was because she had heard a story about someone being filmed in an airplane bathroom (73)
• A USB drive collected from CS had 35k images of CSAM (they appeared to not be of MS) and was not used since 2020 (73)
• JS says SS told her, on 2/26, that he was going to go "cruising" on US-192 to look for MS, and JS questioned if that was a good idea (76)
• On 2/28 (presumably while stuck in the hotel) JS called the NCMEC and local news stations (76)
• JS said SS was anxious and panicky when law enforcement had his cell phone on 2/28 and they discussed how LE was focusing on the "wrong guy" (76)
• SS tells his parents he hadn't made it in time to go to MS's birthday party (78)
• On 2/28, SS tried logging in to his Google account while on his parents WiFi, but was unsuccessful. He told his parents he went to North Port to grab a few things and get his ducks in a row but couldn't find what he was looking for. LE believes he was attempting to log in to Google to deleted images of him abusing MS (78)
  • JS said at this time he tried to log in to his email from her phone but was unsuccessful because of 2 factor authentication
• CS "tells Stephan he wished they could understand how this whole situation came about and Stephan replies "Well I did't start it". Chris told Stephan he participated in it, and Stephan says "yeah". At no point during the conversation did Stephan deny he murdered Madeline." (78)

My callouts:

• I'm still thinking he might have returned to VBV before school to look for MS's other croc
  • I wonder, in the footage in which SS is seen moving MS's body from the passenger seat to the trunk, are her feet visible? That is, is she visibly wearing only one shoe?
  • SS had the gate clicker in his hand when he returned to VBV before school, so he definitely didn't return for it. We already didn't believe that was the reason he went back, but I thought it might still be true that he didn't have the clicker. Interesting that he was completely fabricating that, possibly enough that he intentionally went through the front gate to support his story
• It's very clear to me, from the way these reports on the interviews are written, that investigators were very suspicious of and did not trust SS, but that the same isn't true for JS. They may be side-eyeing her, but the tone in the reports doesn't read like they're calling her a liar in the same way they are with SS.
• Just reiterating my belief that people interested in these docs should read pages 57-59
• CS and DS again sound very frustrated with SS, in contrast to how...fawning? enabling? they sound when speaking to SS in those emails
• CS and JS both say that SS had visited three times total (including 2/25) since leaving. Is this consistent with the dates of CSAM?
• This is the first I recall hearing about SS having CSAM that was not of MS
• He is a lot more open sounding with his parents on the phone than he is in email. I actually thought he was being smartly quiet, not talking about the investigation really, but these phonecalls are not smart

Amazing work yet again, @Mack the Knife !

Thank you.

 

[ttjo]

Thank you ttjo….. a good reference. IANAL…. so there is that…… and on that statute section 827.03(2) Offenses - (b) & (d): ‘A person who willfully or by culpable negligence’……

to use an analogy, seems one could drive a Peterbilt 379 truck through that ‘culpable negligence’ clause as a basis and for inclusion / applicability. And IMO knowingly or willingly would not perhaps even be a consideration? The child was placed in a harmful and detrimental situation by the mother’s action to have instructed her (MS) to climb into bed with her ‘estranged’ boyfriend / partner IMO. And apparently on multiple occasions. Whether or not ‘great bodily harm’ would include death seems a matter for the legal professionals. Still SMH. MOO

you know.... maybe some lawyer can get around it by saying she had him around so she didn't have to pay attention, so how could she be aware. its like she didnt have the energy to care for her so she let him do it. she never saw it cause she never looked.
she talks about MS and SS like they are playmates. he was the babysitter, she purposely had him around so she didnt have to pay attention. ( negligence??)

 

[photographer4]

"Sources told Channel 9′s Shannon Butler that Jennifer Soto has done nothing criminal so far, so she will not face charges. ... Deputies have not found any evidence to charge her at this time." Madeline Soto case: Police have no plans to charge Jennifer Soto, sources say

I'm glad to hear there isn't any evidence she knew, she facilitated, she allowed, she offered up, and all the other awful things folks have accused her of.

jmo

I don’t care that police can’t find evidence to charge her. I am unable to applaud this fact given the evidence is quite clear she sent her child to bed with a grown man. Repeatedly. I don’t know how that isn’t child abuse / neglect or endangerment. But it’s not my call to make. She has to live with herself. I hope her sleep was worth it for her.

 

[photographer4]

I was mistaken. Most of these reports are new enough to me that I don't outright recognize them. There are a lot less redactions than in other records. I frankly don't know how some of this stuff hasn't been reported on already. It doesn't make sense that I would get a "scoop" when I've been specifically only requesting records that have already been released.

Here are my notes on 24001896:

• COD: Asphyxiation (2)
  • Right portion of the hyoid bone was not in tact (60)
  • Cause of death ruled strangulation (71)
• Believed the homicide likely occurred in the home (5)
• A witness identified, from a photo line up, #5 as the person he saw on the side of the road at Old Hickory Tree Rd (it is not specified which photo, if any, is SS) (10)
• Investigators obtained surveillance footage of the middle school from 2024-02-26 14:00-16:40, but some of it was corrupted (17)
• An officer went to the VBV home 2024-02-26 at 20:17 (which would have been while JS and company were speaking to police at her mom's office) and spoke to the "leaseholder," who is also described as JS's roommate, who allowed him to search the home and said MS wasn't one to run away and didn't know why she would (19)
• Apartments 106 and 104 have video doorbells (the Soto residence is 107) (22)
• CS (SS's father) contacted North Port PD after SS's arrest to turn over one of SS's old computer towers. No hard drive was found inside of the tower (27) CS later believes he found that hard drive in his storage unit and that SS may have put it there on 2/28 when he drove to North Port (71)
• District Nine Medical Examiner's Office located in Orlando performed the autopsy and evidence items were collected under case number ME24-00403 (36)
• There is a description of physical evidence taken from the ME's office that includes left and right "hand" and "foot" bags, which I am not sure how to interpret (45)
• Dextroamp-amphetamine tabs, Adderall XR tabs, and Hydroxyzine Pam tabs were collected (in their bottles) as evidence. It isn't specified who they were prescribed to (46)
• [Redacted] made a 911 call at 18:53 on 2024-02-26 on behalf of JS to report MS missing. [Redacted] "would call 911 two different times after the initial call to Orange County, wanting to know why deputies haven't responded yet." (50)
  • Based on this blurb alone, I would expect 18:53 to have been the first 911 call, but I don't think that's factually the case
• Detective Morris (KPD) recounts Detective Hunt's (OSCO) interview of JS on 2024-02-27. Morris's description seems to include more details than Hunt's. Same for Hunt's interview of SS (51)
• [MS's grandmother] "stated she doesn't like Stephan because he doesn't do anything, as in working. She said Jennifer just doesn't want to be alone." (53)
• A folder on SS's Google drive "appeared dedicated to [redacted-MS] and contained over 1700 files a majority of which depicted sexual positions (54)
• JS says that she woke up on 2024-02-26 to SS trying to get the leash on the dog, and he told her to go back to sleep and he would take care of the dog (56)
• JS "stated they recently ended their relationship and he moved back to North Port, Florida to stay with his parents. Jennifer said she ended the relationship because he was a messy person. Jennifer said they didn't have a sexual relationship because her medications affected her sex drive. I asked Jennifer who drived her vehicle, and she said only her and Stephan. Jennifer said Stephan took her vehicle Monday night because he decided to go drive around, searching for Madeline. This would have been when Stephan traveled back to Saint Cloud in the early morning hours of 02/27/2024." (56)
• "I asked Stephan if he stayed in the same room as Madeline the entire night. Stephan said he was up and down, maybe to grab a drink, but he never slept in Jennifer`s bed that night. Stephan stated Madeline would set her alarm for around 0700-0730 hours, and would then snooze for a while. Stephan stated they eventually make it out the door. This contradicts his prior statement saying they made good time getting out of the house to drop her off. Stephan said he was giving Jennifer updates as the morning went along, meaning he was telling Jennifer when Madeline was getting dressed and leaving. This was also not true, as Jennifer stated the only time they spoke is when he was getting the leash on the dog and he told her to go back to sleep. Stephan said they had time to kill since they were too early for school, so he returned home because he forgot his gate clicker for the complex. However, when Stephan arrived at the gate, he had his gate clicker in his hand while speaking with the security guard at Venetian Bay. Stephan said Madelinewas wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white crocs when he dropped her off. This is a different description he provided deputies during the initial contact." (57)
• Honestly I'd just recommend reading all of page 57 starting with "On February 29, 2024, at approximately 1709 hours, we contacted Jennifer." to page 59 "We arrived at the Orange County Sheriff`s Office where Jennifer was taken inside to be interviewed by Detective O`Malley and Detective Smallwood further."
• The lock to the gate of the property where MS's body was found didn't appear to be tampered with, meaning SS would have had to drop her body over the gate or the barbed wire fence, then move it. (60)
• JS's ex-husband says that when they were married, he and JS stayed in a room upstairs and MS had her own. He separately said MS would sleep with JS, but he wasn't comfortable with them (ex-husband and JS) sleeping with MS in the same bed. (61)
  • I think this whole interview is worth reading as well
• A friend or acquaintance believed (paraphrased) SS cared more about MS than JS and questioned how he had so much money for his hobbies without a job (62)
• DS (SS's mother) didn't approve of SS's and JS's relationship because of "drug use," but it isn't stated who used drugs or if they were illicit or prescribed. DS and CS felt Jennifer had significant mental health problems and that when one of them had an episode, it would bring the other down, and they would both sleep all the time. When SS and JS split up, he moved to his own room in the home (presumably room 4) and CS would pay his $600 rent. CS thinks SS seemed more anxious than usual before the 2/25 trip, and he spoke to him on the phone on 2/26 at 15:17 and thought SS seemed off, and when they spoke again at 16:54, SS said there had been "an occurrence" and that the area he dropped MS off was known for kidnappings and abductions. DS didn't like MS and SS sleeping in the same bed. CS thought JS was acting differently than she should have been, and nothing SS says is true (65)
  • Another one worth reading the whole thing
• A roommate returned from work on 2024-02-25 around 23:00-23:30 and did not see anyone but could hear people upstairs. When she went to sleep around 02:30, she could hear noises coming from SS's room, like someone putting things on a table, which would have had to be significantly loud for it to travel through two closed doors and across a hallway. She saw SS multiple times the next day (66)
• JS texted SS at 22:39 on 2024-02-25 telling him to make sure MS goes to bed "right now" (67)
• Texts between SS and JS indicate SS sometimes gave MS an unnecessary dose of her medicine (68)
• JS had an attorney for an interview she had at the State Attorney's Office 2024-04-18, which was given under oath (71)
• JS had a new job at Disney (which was at least sometimes at night/evening) that she was in training for, and SS came to help because if he was there, MS would get to stay at home, which would mean JS could see her more, unlike when MS was staying at her grandma's (72)
• JS seems to have texted MS's father about not wanting MS to be filmed under bathroom doors. This is similar to what SS apparently did in photographing one of their roommates. JS explained this was because she had heard a story about someone being filmed in an airplane bathroom (73)
• A USB drive collected from CS had 35k images of CSAM (they appeared to not be of MS) and was not used since 2020 (73)
• JS says SS told her, on 2/26, that he was going to go "cruising" on US-192 to look for MS, and JS questioned if that was a good idea (76)
• On 2/28 (presumably while stuck in the hotel) JS called the NCMEC and local news stations (76)
• JS said SS was anxious and panicky when law enforcement had his cell phone on 2/28 and they discussed how LE was focusing on the "wrong guy" (76)
• SS tells his parents he hadn't made it in time to go to MS's birthday party (78)
• On 2/28, SS tried logging in to his Google account while on his parents WiFi, but was unsuccessful. He told his parents he went to North Port to grab a few things and get his ducks in a row but couldn't find what he was looking for. LE believes he was attempting to log in to Google to deleted images of him abusing MS (78)
  • JS said at this time he tried to log in to his email from her phone but was unsuccessful because of 2 factor authentication
• CS "tells Stephan he wished they could understand how this whole situation came about and Stephan replies "Well I did't start it". Chris told Stephan he participated in it, and Stephan says "yeah". At no point during the conversation did Stephan deny he murdered Madeline." (78)

My callouts:

• I'm still thinking he might have returned to VBV before school to look for MS's other croc
  • I wonder, in the footage in which SS is seen moving MS's body from the passenger seat to the trunk, are her feet visible? That is, is she visibly wearing only one shoe?
  • SS had the gate clicker in his hand when he returned to VBV before school, so he definitely didn't return for it. We already didn't believe that was the reason he went back, but I thought it might still be true that he didn't have the clicker. Interesting that he was completely fabricating that, possibly enough that he intentionally went through the front gate to support his story
• It's very clear to me, from the way these reports on the interviews are written, that investigators were very suspicious of and did not trust SS, but that the same isn't true for JS. They may be side-eyeing her, but the tone in the reports doesn't read like they're calling her a liar in the same way they are with SS.
• Just reiterating my belief that people interested in these docs should read pages 57-59
• CS and DS again sound very frustrated with SS, in contrast to how...fawning? enabling? they sound when speaking to SS in those emails
• CS and JS both say that SS had visited three times total (including 2/25) since leaving. Is this consistent with the dates of CSAM?
• This is the first I recall hearing about SS having CSAM that was not of MS
• He is a lot more open sounding with his parents on the phone than he is in email. I actually thought he was being smartly quiet, not talking about the investigation really, but these phonecalls are not smart

Hand and foot bags may be the bags they attach to murder vic hands and feet to preserve evidence? Just a thought.

I think JS has lied through her teeth and I do believe she knows more than she has shared with Le. I will say she seems interested in protecting herself and SS but never her daughter imo.

It’s odd that SS said he didn’t start this. He doesn’t call out JS. So if he didn’t start this, then who else aside JS could have and why??

Why did Js speak with CS about filming under a bathroom door exactly?? This is madness! She clearly knew this was a concern. So why right then doesn’t she call the police?? Why not right then eradicate him from their lives?? Instead what does she do? Sends her kid. To bed with him. Unbelievable!!

 

[ttjo]

Hand and foot bags may be the bags they attach to murder vic hands and feet to preserve evidence? Just a thought.

I think JS has lied through her teeth and I do believe she knows more than she has shared with Le. I will say she seems interested in protecting herself and SS but never her daughter imo.

It’s odd that SS said he didn’t start this. He doesn’t call out JS. So if he didn’t start this, then who else aside JS could have and why??

Why did Js speak with CS about filming under a bathroom door exactly?? This is madness! She clearly knew this was a concern. So why right then doesn’t she call the police?? Why not right then eradicate him from their lives?? Instead what does she do? Sends her kid. To bed with him. Unbelievable!!

I know, too many red flags for her not to be alerted.