Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #12

[PawneeDew]

I believe it was CS who provided LE with the thumb drive of 30K images, as well as the hard drive which he said was found in the storage unit. But if the hard drive hadn't been accessed since 2020, then where is the hard drive from SS's computer in the house! And why was the mother cleaning out SS's room. Part of me suspects the two of them removed/destroyed some evidence, while seemingly cooperating at the same time. MOO.

I would not doubt that in the least. Sounds like they were used to covering for him. Moo

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

bbm


And??? Was it him or his son SS, who didn't properly lock the unit? Or SS with a "client"? Was the storage some sort of store?

I’m guessing that if questioning leads LE to need to further corroborate the facility’s 1/31 and 2/16 dates with CS’ timeline and accounting of events they will probably use a variety of strategies to do so such as looking through CS’ phone and GPS data, verifying with his job the existence and storage of tax documentation, bring him and SS in again for further questioning about the facility’s use and perhaps due another forensic sweep of the unit and property around it if they are concerned or surmise that SS uses it to exploit and prey on more victims.

Just my own opinion based on how through the investigators have seemed so far

 

[LoveyG]

I can't imagine ANY 12yo wanting to be pregnant and birthing a baby.

jmo

I agree with you. However, SS had been grooming MS since at least age 8. It's hard to say what she really thought their relationship was.

 

[Shadowtrix]

I can't imagine ANY 12yo wanting to be pregnant and birthing a baby.

jmo

Yeah, no.

Agreed.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

A 12-year-old wouldn't be able to imagine what pregnancy and childbirth are actually like. They might think about how sweet it would be to cuddle a baby, etc.

 

[CuriousCricket]

A 12-year-old wouldn't be able to imagine what pregnancy and childbirth are actually like. They might think about how sweet it would be to cuddle a baby, etc.

Yes. Their imaginings would be romanticized. Even pregnancy would be about all the attention and maybe how cute the baby bump would be. I've read/seen/heard more than one child mother who "just wanted something that was all mine". I wish I could remember where, but it's just over the course of my lifetime.

 

[Pruddennce]

I believe it was CS who provided LE with the thumb drive of 30K images, as well as the hard drive which he said was found in the storage unit. But if the hard drive hadn't been accessed since 2020, then where is the hard drive from SS's computer in the house! And why was the mother cleaning out SS's room. Part of me suspects the two of them removed/destroyed some evidence, while seemingly cooperating at the same time. MOO.

I agree....here are the disconnects for me:

CS saying he thinks SS took the hard drive with him on sunday when leaving for Kissimmee on the 26th. why would he think that? CS thinks SS broke into his storage unit...and there is a myriad of issues discussed with the lock, the records, etc. being accurate as to when it was last accessed. Im not sure if info was finally validated?

tidbits: CS says he took SS's 'gaming computer' and put it in his garage after he was arrested, he didnt want it in his house, may have 'evidentiary value'. he also states that SS accessed his computer POSSIBLY when Madeline was missing. DS denies SS was at their residence on wednesday.

CS called Northport Police to hand over SS PC tower left 'in his old room"...it was picked up, it then went to Kissimmee, search warrant executed>---this is the one with the missing hard drive.

April 10, the recorded jail call between SS and his parents, then coincidentally, the next day, CS calls LE to tell them he has an update. cleaning out his storage unit and he finds a hard drive in a bin. <----this one is old, nothing of value on it
page 49 https://www.scribd.com/document/761...-the-investigation-into-Madeline-Sotos-murder

didnt LE previously search the unit and 'found nothing of evidentiary value'? also CS provided them with two USB drives. (I dont see any info WHERE those were found, in the bin????)

On April 12, the drive found in the bin and USB items are picked up in Northport. On April 15, they get a search warrant to retrieve the data.

there are so many reports and follow ups in different doc dumps released, so I apologize Im bouncing around....what date was DS screaming for Madeline....was this the doll torso event?

 

[ttjo]

Its possible to run Windows along with required "boot" drivers on a thumb drive and do all writing/download to another thumb drive or external hard drive: remove the second drive and the machine has nothing at all on it; not even use history or "recent" menu. Besides some editing of the ROM-BIOS, on older desktop machines the arrangement required a power bridge (jumper) to be applied to the SATA or MOLEX connector. Old fashioned advantage was, if the typical applications were memory hogs (any of the CAD programs; some photo editors; RPG and video editors), Windows would load very quickly and you could clear up EM and scheduling type topics before starting up the big ugly, where you might spend the rest of your day.
This could be configured and partitioned with some software such that the exit state for each application was stored on individual thumb drives so the operator opened that alone, not all the exit states/ recent saves, event logs or backup files from the rest of the applications that might be on a machine. As desktops got cheaper and networks more capable, much of this configuring and structuring to make a single machine more time effective, was replaced by the simple step of adding more machines.
So, the machine may not ever have had a conventional hard drive; it may have run off some mix of external HDD or SSDD and thumb drives or even laser disks or mag disks....though that would be apparent from the start up BIOS and the file management arrangement. For the desktop in the Stearns house: If none of those were there, then there is still some files and firmware to be found on some electronic storage or media. Of course, there is a sub culture that hides such things by camoflaging SSD's as other mundane objects you might find on a desk. Such things as books and potted plants.

Ok bare with me b/c I had to read that 10x to understand lol. wow thanks for that, But if I understand what youre saying, is : it makes sense that he would have a system set up the way you describe because its faster. (specifically loading and exit times? ) makes sense to me so far .
and youre saying that if his computer ran this way on external drives, and never had a hard drive that should be apparent from the start up BIOS and the file management arrangement.... whew,
basically saying its possible that he could have been on it yet also appear to have a missing hard drive? however LE should be able to tell right? I would hope that they would have released that info instead of saying " it had nothing on it"

for some reason I dont find him that sophisticated, but never know right?

Please feel free to correct what I am wrong about. I admire your knowledge level with that B/c to me it was like reading French ( lol)

 

[Skillz]

I have bipolar 2. I can only speak to my experience. I do take my meds at night - only because otherwise I forget in the morning rush to get kids to school.

I have bp2 so I can comment to my own experience. I do take my meds at night - only because I am more likely to forget them in the morning rush to get the kids out the door. That piece did not surprise me at all. That said, the meds are not at all sedative. It’s a mood stabilizer that keeps mood in smaller boundaries than they would be on their own. bP2 is more likely to cause depression, with bouts of hypomania - very different from BP1 and mania. Hypomania can look like excessive shopping, drinking or drug use, hypersexuality, sleeplessness etc. Bad decisions but not losing touch with reality. I ALSO have situational anxiety so she may also have an anxiety diagnosis separate from the BP2. They aren’t the same. Those meds ARE usually sedative. That said they are supposed to bring an anxious person down to a typical person, not knock them out. Finally, if I miss a dose I would definitely NOT feel weird the next day. It takes time for the meds to leave the system. I am super protective of sleep though bc it’s my number one trigger. Meaning if I don’t get sleep I notice symptoms of BP2 more quickly than with any other outside catalyst. Despite
Of all of this - there is NOTHING about bp2 that would cause the extreme lack of judgment, callousness, selfishness, blunt affect, and negligence of sending your child to sleep with a man who isn’t even a relative for YEARS. That is a personality disorder and that interview confirmed it for me. I have decades of experience in mental health - my own and others- and it would shock me if she wouldn’t be diagnosed with a cluster b disorder quite easily.

Thank you for sharing your experience and insight. It was very helpful.

 

[Taffy550]

I wonder if SS had an external hard drive. I have one. I put all my video games on it, so they dont take up all the space on my pc hard drive. External hard drive is small and portable. Leaves no trace if used on another pc, just like a thumb drive. Jmo
Sorry, didnt know this was already discussed. Just happened to pop into my little pea brain.

 

[Poedelini]

Did anyone see the analyses of the behavior panel?

Very interesting watch.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Ok bare with me b/c I had to read that 10x to understand lol. wow thanks for that, But if I understand what youre saying, is : it makes sense that he would have a system set up the way you describe because its faster. (specifically loading and exit times? ) makes sense to me so far .
and youre saying that if his computer ran this way on external drives, and never had a hard drive that should be apparent from the start up BIOS and the file management arrangement.... whew,
basically saying its possible that he could have been on it yet also appear to have a missing hard drive? however LE should be able to tell right? I would hope that they would have released that info instead of saying " it had nothing on it"

for some reason I dont find him that sophisticated, but never know right?

Please feel free to correct what I am wrong about. I admire your knowledge level with that B/c to me it was like reading French ( lol)

I don't find it improbable that SS would have highly inflammatory CSAM on an external hard drive. That's not something you'd want anyone to come across, like his parents.

I agree SS is not the sharpest tool in the shed because he had all of the pics and vids of the grotesque action he took against Madeline on his phone. I think he kept those on there because he wanted easy access to relive them and maybe forward to other sick minded individuals.

It's just disgusting and sad what poor Madeline was subjected to from the age of 8. It's soul wrenching hard to even hear about, and then her young life ended in murder. SS needs to pay the ultimate price for his actions IMO, and I have no words about JS that I can repeat here.

JMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

I agree....here are the disconnects for me:

CS saying he thinks SS took the hard drive with him on sunday when leaving for Kissimmee on the 26th. why would he think that? CS thinks SS broke into his storage unit...and there is a myriad of issues discussed with the lock, the records, etc. being accurate as to when it was last accessed. Im not sure if info was finally validated?

tidbits: CS says he took SS's 'gaming computer' and put it in his garage after he was arrested, he didnt want it in his house, may have 'evidentiary value'. he also states that SS accessed his computer POSSIBLY when Madeline was missing. DS denies SS was at their residence on wednesday.

CS called Northport Police to hand over SS PC tower left 'in his old room"...it was picked up, it then went to Kissimmee, search warrant executed>---this is the one with the missing hard drive.

April 10, the recorded jail call between SS and his parents, then coincidentally, the next day, CS calls LE to tell them he has an update. cleaning out his storage unit and he finds a hard drive in a bin. <----this one is old, nothing of value on it
page 49 https://www.scribd.com/document/761...-the-investigation-into-Madeline-Sotos-murder

didnt LE previously search the unit and 'found nothing of evidentiary value'? also CS provided them with two USB drives. (I dont see any info WHERE those were found, in the bin????)

On April 12, the drive found in the bin and USB items are picked up in Northport. On April 15, they get a search warrant to retrieve the data.

there are so many reports and follow ups in different doc dumps released, so I apologize Im bouncing around....what date was DS screaming for Madeline....was this the doll torso event?

Something seems not right by all parties here to me.

JMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

A 12-year-old wouldn't be able to imagine what pregnancy and childbirth are actually like. They might think about how sweet it would be to cuddle a baby, etc.

Especially a young girl who had been repeatedly abused from the age of 8. Perhaps they would think they would receive unconditional love from someone who wasn't using and harming them. So very sad to even think about.

JMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

Snipped from above: "its also interesting in his parents interview that his mother said she took pictures of his room before it was searched. why would she do that? and after that she starting cleaning out the room, getting rid of his 'trash'."

I think it's so she could (in her mind) hold LE responsible if anything was broken or 'missing.' She comes across, to me, as one of those people who expects to be wronged by others and stays in self-protection mode.

Agree and also SS protection mode. Who knows what she could have removed on her own before her pictures of SS's room before it was searched.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

I can't imagine ANY 12yo wanting to be pregnant and birthing a baby.

jmo

A normal 12-13 yo probably not, but Maddie lived in a house of horror feeling completely unloved IMO and abused. A baby would something all her own, that she could love and be a better 'parent' to.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

That's very interesting! Thanks for the info.

Gotta say, though, it all sounds well beyond SS's ability, given how stupidly he managed everything else.

Agree, but it appears SS was smart enough when it came to computer issues. A lot of these CSAM people know how to hide their secret stash especially if they are posting it or sharing it.

MOO