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

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yes, same self initiated interview! CS: "too bad he wasnt smart enough about the phone". unbelievable statement. CS turned over the thumb drives which IMO, clearly only turned it over because he wasnt sure if LE had evidence that thumb drive data existed elsewhere. well, SS phone had plenty, which he was told.

If CS opened any of those files on the thumb drive I would think it would have a last accessed date? If I recall correctly, CS claimed in the joint parental media interview he 'hovered the mouse' over the file(s) on the thumb drive but didnt open them. Im curious as to when those files were transferred to the thumb drive.

further, in their parental media interview, CS says it was weeks before LE came to retrieve the 'storage unit drive' and thumb drives (2). the LE docs say Kissimmee were notified by CS on April 11 he had evidence.... then they drove to Northport PD on April 12 to pick up the items CS provided. they then had to have a search warrant executed which was done on April 15 to review the data.

CS is so odd.....in this stop by interview he clearly was fishing and it appeared to me he was feigning surprise about the missing hard drive. also, to be absolutely enthralled with detective work, viewing 30 some thousand CSAM pics: 'thats amazing...did you have to see/view all 30,000?....how long does it take to do that?'
Stunning statements.

How about, maybe it would have been smarter if your adult son decided not to groom, abuse and film a child even once.

I get lost on the shell game for the missing hard drive. Here, there, storage locker, turned in, still missing.

I'm not sure how many hands are involved either.

Did a super helpful person remove and/or cover for a recently used hard drive, supplying instead a distantly used hard drive? Like LE couldn't tell that?

Both parents, over involved, in very weird ways. He's 37, not 14.

JMO
 
Between her "misremembering" and CS "misremembering" (thinking he saw CSAM on JS's phone)... I don't trust any of them as far as I could throw them!
yes, the misremembering and of course NOT REMEMBERING. the April LE subpoena answer to this question below and so many others, the response, I cant remember. we have JS and SS telling LE "Madeline didnt want to be seen in his car' for school drop off. originally, both SS and her actually make a big deal about it as if it was a recurring issue with Madeline being taken to school in HIS CAR . now suddenly it has morphed into this:

WJ: Okay. Now, if your daughter had been awake, would she come in and say goodbye to you before school or not? Just let you sleep?

JS: (Pause) I would have hoped she would have come by and say goodbye to me. (Laughs) Um, I can't remember if this is one of the first times that Stephan actually took her to school, so I (pause) I would have hoped she would have said goodbye, but I'm not sure. <----WTF does that mean 'I would have hoped'???????

lets take it back to very beginning....JS supposedly 'putting the word out' that Madeline is missing by giving 2 pressers. doesnt show a photo. she had to be asked what she was wearing. all she does is volunteer she has ADHD mentions autistic testing but nothing about asthma. nothing at all about medication.

the interviewer (Fox 35) asks about LE searching, she starts to enumerate what LE is doing, taking vehicles in the woods BUT then poo poo's their efforts where they are searching, and says: "I dont feel like thats going to find anything right now,' we had people all day on that trail'.

one would think she would be GRATEFUL, they are starting at the place Madeline was supposedly last at, where they both told LE this is where she was dropped off.

well, LE was not wasting time, they were busy pulling CCTV and license plate readers and most notably the complex CCTV, SS movements there, in and out, in and out and captured his late nite travels in HER vehicle. just for starters.
 
I just watched part of a video interview JS had with LE and in it she tries to gloss over another lie she told. She had to admit she did not see MS the morning she went missing as she previously told LE. Instead she now says she did not see MS that morning and must have “misremembered” seeing her in her earlier statement. She tries to tell more lies in order to cover her previous lies. I can't even watch her full interviews as she disgusts and revolts me so badly. JMOO
The only thing I believe that she said is that she helped him with the leash. How does that saying go Truth in the lies. MOO
 
There has been a lot of talk as to SS’s computer that LE took that was missing the hard drive. We know CS supposedly turned over a hard drive he found in a storage unit, and two thumb drives to LE. LE told CS the hard drive they were given wasn’t the one from SS’s computer because it hadn’t been accessed in several years. Do we know where CS said the thumb drives were found?

What if there isn’t a missing hard drive? A computer can be booted and ran off a thumb drive, including internet access. Maybe SS took the internal hard drive out of it and was running it off a thumb drive. He could have used a thumb drive for file storage, or stored files in the cloud. CS probably wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
no, we dont know where the thumb drives were found. sure, the computer may have been missing the hard drive and he was using a thumb drive, but we have no idea if an OS was loaded on it. IMO, I think SS stored those pics on a thumb drive and somebody took the hard drive out and well....its been destroyed. but wa-la, CS finds a hard drive in the storage unit, not used since 2020 with no evidentiary value as far as we know.

guess CS would know more, he claims he is a 'techy guy'....were there operating system files on it? if not, he wasnt booting off of it unless there is a flash drive somewhere, destroyed. CS claimed he plugged one of the thumb drives in but didnt open any files....but they were named and he was like, oh, better not, wont be able to unsee....he was way interested in knowing whether there were MORE Madeline pics on the thumb drive....amidst those over 30000 files. why would that matter to him considering what was found on his phone?
 
no, we dont know where the thumb drives were found. sure, the computer may have been missing the hard drive and he was using a thumb drive, but we have no idea if an OS was loaded on it. IMO, I think SS stored those pics on a thumb drive and somebody took the hard drive out and well....its been destroyed. but wa-la, CS finds a hard drive in the storage unit, not used since 2020 with no evidentiary value as far as we know.

guess CS would know more, he claims he is a 'techy guy'....were there operating system files on it? if not, he wasnt booting off of it unless there is a flash drive somewhere, destroyed. CS claimed he plugged one of the thumb drives in but didnt open any files....but they were named and he was like, oh, better not, wont be able to unsee....he was way interested in knowing whether there were MORE Madeline pics on the thumb drive....amidst those over 30000 files. why would that matter to him considering what was found on his phone?
Yes @Pruddennce …. I also find CS behavior odd too. Very odd. And IMO wonder about his knowledge and possible involvement as well.

And that matter of saying that only hovered over the files but didn’t open them? Really? So that seems to suggest he was aware of what they contained in terms of graphic content? Was CS ever asked if he had ever viewed any information on that computer and hard drive? Ever, previously? If so when? He seems awful knowledgeable about it IMO. And were the files really that specifically named? Have we seen a list of the files? (Not the images themselves…. just the names?)

And all the discussion of CS and DS about cleaning SS room since ‘he wasn’t coming back’. I tend to think cleaning evidence instead. SMH. MOO
 
I just learned a new slang term when what I Googled for the NYT's crossword puzzle called Netflix & Chills. Google corrected me thinking I didn't mean to include the s on the end. I was rather shocked to see what Google offered up.

"Netflix and chill" is an Internet slang term used as a euphemism for sexual activity, either as part of a romantic partnership, casual sex, or as an invitation

So, when SS said something about watching Sister Act, did he actually say "watch Netflix and chill"? I searched through the treads and saw @ttjo say that. Because if he DID actually say "Watch Netflix and chill"... I know he knows what that's slang for. At least IMO he knows. And if he said that and knew what it meant it would be like an inside joke to him that he's blatantly saying what he's about to do, and it went right over JS's head. I can see him being smug about something like that.

ttjo's post: Found Deceased - FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #12
OMG no , thats just a slang I say, and I didnt even know it had a sexual connotation!!!! good grief I hear it on tv all the time. I thought it just meant hang out and watch a movie. I think I was being sarcastic, I know for a fact he never said that.
 
I just learned a new slang term when what I Googled for the NYT's crossword puzzle called Netflix & Chills. Google corrected me thinking I didn't mean to include the s on the end. I was rather shocked to see what Google offered up.

"Netflix and chill" is an Internet slang term used as a euphemism for sexual activity, either as part of a romantic partnership, casual sex, or as an invitation

So, when SS said something about watching Sister Act, did he actually say "watch Netflix and chill"? I searched through the treads and saw @ttjo say that. Because if he DID actually say "Watch Netflix and chill"... I know he knows what that's slang for. At least IMO he knows. And if he said that and knew what it meant it would be like an inside joke to him that he's blatantly saying what he's about to do, and it went right over JS's head. I can see him being smug about something like that.

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

Thats what I said, wow, how ironic, even though I didnt know its true meaning at the time.
 
OMG no , thats just a slang I say, and I didnt even know it had a sexual connotation!!!! good grief I hear it on tv all the time. I thought it just meant hang out and watch a movie. I think I was being sarcastic, I know for a fact he never said that.
OK, so SS never said that then. Thanks for clearing that up! :)
 
I get lost on the shell game for the missing hard drive. Here, there, storage locker, turned in, still missing.
Shell game . perfect analogy.
I have to listen again, and the tech people in here like @Odeto BJ can explain what happens to a computer when hooked up to an external drive. and thats what is missing ( a removable drive) I know you might see components, but if its missing its external hard drive ,what would you see on the screen if you turned it on? Would an OS be present? Like you said before LE would see that.

so MY question is: how could CS have not known the hard drive was missing, unless it turned on and showed an OS present( just the storage was missing) and he just couldnt get in. Im not techie so I hope that makes sense.
Or he didnt even try to turn it on.
 
I've read/heard speculation that JS is not being charged because prosecutors need her to be their star witness at SS's trial.

I don't see that at all. From what we've seen her first priority is to shield SS. Also she comes across at best wishy washy and at worst, lying.

The only thing I can think of is that prosecutors expect SS's defense to be that JS actually killed Maddie and he was only trying to help her cover it up. In that case they would need JS's testimony.

Thoughts?
I've had the same thoughts, ie., that SS defense can say that JS killed MS in a fit of jealousy and SS disposed of MS body. As far as I know the evidence so far is for the Sexual abuse of MS and the disposal of her body. Someone correct me if I missed something. Has there been any evidence that he killed MS?
 
Yes @Pruddennce …. I also find CS behavior odd too. Very odd. And IMO wonder about his knowledge and possible involvement as well.

And that matter of saying that only hovered over the files but didn’t open them? Really? So that seems to suggest he was aware of what they contained in terms of graphic content? Was CS ever asked if he had ever viewed any information on that computer and hard drive? Ever, previously? If so when? He seems awful knowledgeable about it IMO. And were the files really that specifically named? Have we seen a list of the files? (Not the images themselves…. just the names?)

And all the discussion of CS and DS about cleaning SS room since ‘he wasn’t coming back’. I tend to think cleaning evidence instead. SMH. MOO
cleaning....and wondering what they can sell off. OMG

IMO, yes, his comment suggested he was aware of what those images could be because SS was arrested at this point for the CSAM found on his phone. I can only imagine why he turned these 2 thumb drives over to LE....the room was searched at this point, but then CS/DS found them? we dont know where they found them exactly....LE didnt say.

some suspect that maybe he never had one ever or the one found in the storage room was 'it' and there isnt a missing drive. but LE clearly said the storage unit drive wasnt accessed since around 2020. (last known activity) and nothing of value was found.

LE would know when those files originated on the thumb drive. what dates are associated with them and the file properties for each one. Im curious about that.

IMO, there must be something indicative there once was one internally for LE to comment on it and say it was missing. LE hasnt commented any further about the 30000 images on the thumb drive, never said anything about booting off of it either because he didnt have an internal hard drive. I think he did have one and it was removed and will never be found. unless CS or DS 'find' it. /s

ETA: according to his parents, they moved what they called the 'gaming computer' to the garage because they didnt want it in their house. why move it?
 
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I've had the same thoughts, ie., that SS defense can say that JS killed MS in a fit of jealousy and SS disposed of MS body. As far as I know the evidence so far is for the Sexual abuse of MS and the disposal of her body. Someone correct me if I missed something. Has there been any evidence that he killed MS?
Direct evidence? to my knowledge no. Plenty of circumstantial tho.
we don't know the time of death, ( no autopsy report has been seen)
BUT
if he was the last person to see her alive and a video that shows him throwing her backpack and laptop in the trash, and an admission ( lie) that he dropped her off at school, and later a video of him moving her to the trunk. Eyewitness testimony that saw him fixing a flat where her body was recovered. and COD is strangulation with a broken hyoid bone (in children its not typically caused by a hanging) and later a shredded tire that matches his vehicle. those are pretty good bread crumbs.
Time of death: ??? autopsy will hopefully know?
 
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Direct evidence? to my knowledge no. Plenty of circumstantial tho.
we don't know the time of death, ( no autopsy report has been seen)
BUT
if he was the last person to see her alive and a video that shows him throwing her backpack and laptop in the trash, and an admission ( lie) that he dropped her off at school, and later a video of him moving her to the trunk. Eyewitness testimony that saw him fixing a flat where her body was recovered. and COD is strangulation with a broken hyoid bone (in children its not typically caused by a hanging) and later a shredded tire that matches his vehicle. those are pretty good bread crumbs.
Time of death: ??? autopsy will hopefully know?

The problem as I see it is none of these things is inconsistent with JS having killed Maddie and SS trying to cover it up for her.

I don't think that's what happened but I think he'll try to use that as a defense.
 

to view select file: 20240301north-port-pd-agency-assist-property-receipt-39942 - taken from garage 1 Cyber Power PC Tower and power cord -retrieved by LE on 3/1/2024

same link: inside the file named Witkowsky, 6 pages which includes a narrative about CS moving it to the garage. DS 'denied' SS had ever returned to the home on wednesday.

SS is arrested on the 2/28th and on March 1st, the computer has been moved by his parents. and BTW, both claiming the room was 'untouched' before the search, just cleaning up 'trash' and took pictures. *uh huh*
 
The problem as I see it is none of these things is inconsistent with JS having killed Maddie and SS trying to cover it up for her.

I don't think that's what happened but I think he'll try to use that as a defense.
I know, I agree, thats why I mention time of death > The first video of her in the front seat at the garbage bins, doesn't exactly confirm death.
That and the fact that JS is a total ride or die for S.S. knowing what she knows now, is mind blowing. The questions she asks tho, how do you know its him in those pictures??. Could be that she doesnt want him to go down for murder and minimizes the sexual assault, because what she did was worse? who knows? Occam's razor says when you have 2 competing ideas choose the simplest one.
 
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Between her "misremembering" and CS "misremembering" (thinking he saw CSAM on JS's phone)... I don't trust any of them as far as I could throw them!
Yes! Another very odd statement CS made. He thought he saw a photo from JS but he misremembered and it must have been his visual from a description? I think CS is full of it. His comments make no sense.
MOO.
 
Direct evidence? to my knowledge no. Plenty of circumstantial tho.
we don't know the time of death, ( no autopsy report has been seen)
BUT
if he was the last person to see her alive and a video that shows him throwing her backpack and laptop in the trash, and an admission ( lie) that he dropped her off at school, and later a video of him moving her to the trunk. Eyewitness testimony that saw him fixing a flat where her body was recovered. and COD is strangulation with a broken hyoid bone (in children its not typically caused by a hanging) and later a shredded tire that matches his vehicle. those are pretty good bread crumbs.
Time of death: ??? autopsy will hopefully know?

LE has lots of collective experience. They called JS in, have her a chance to true up her statements and I think gave her that qualified immunity because ultimately I think they expected as many of us would that JS would be full Team MS and completely not Team SS. When they previously showed her an image of SA and asked her to identify what she could, I don't think they expected she'd run to SS's dad (by phone, was it?) to advise him to get a lawyer for SS. Shocking. I think they expected she'd join Team MS, the team LE was on. So, this immunity interview was a generous opportunity for her to abandon SS and come aboard.

LE had to be absolutely agog at her responses, her memory and lack there of, her emotion and lack there of, her wild disconnect.

I get the distinct feeling JS operated in a realm of If I Don't Look At It I Don't See it. Doesn't want it to be true so it's not.

Hard to imagine how she fared in the adult world with that sort of mentality. Something like: best way to deal with stressors, ignore them. It was like there was little left over after sleep, meds and this staying stable, shut out everything that didn't fit in that.

SS says he can be trusted. Refused to face anything outside of that.

I do think she lied a lot, mostly because she didn't want to look like a bad mom for missing the party, fobbing MS off, not being at her party, not seeing her afterwards. So she filled in some details ....er, made them up.

I don't think she thought MS was dead until LE showed her the photo, even then it was a slow nod.

She gave that monster her unchecked trust. Didn't think he'd molest MS, kill her, etc. Struggled to believe it even when confronted with the facts.

SS doesn't need a fall guy. I think he pretty well recorded his actions leaving no space for a conspiracy nor for an accomplice. He did this himself.

JS was no obstacle.

JMO
 

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