Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #3

[sunshineray]

I can see how that maybe at first glance it appears it took LE a long time to respond to the home to formally put down on paper, fill out the report. if she simply called and said my daughter wasnt here for pickup, naturally, additional information had to be provided. LE cannot search in a vacuum, they need as much information as possible. it takes time.

when ultimately confirmed she was never in school, and all friends, etc were contacted, and JS stating she would never run away, the timeline and location were established. per both of their interviews, they both met LE at the scene, I assume the church lot. and LE began their search in the surrounding areas.

then they move on to gathering info as to Madeline, SS and JS movements, previous nite, the morning and rest of the day. pulling surveillance video from the church, her supposed last place dropped off....roads travelled to school, and of course her apt complex.

being asked very uncomfortable personal questions about homelife....any issues. did she every run away before. etc etc. is so important, but of course some information can be withheld by the parent/guardian for a myriad of reasons. one of which can be a coverup (just 'saying). and for SS, it was confirmed HE LIED.

LE stated the living in the woods communication via text and social media was the only indication of an issue in the home. but they did not elaborate. LE did not say if they 'recovered' this message on Madeline's phone/social media, meaning it was not visible to the mom who said she checked her msgs, even the deleted ones. all we know is JS said there was nothing unusual.









I commented above

But it either took LE 3 hours to make contact or it didn't?

 

[Vanilletx]

I don't.

As I said previously, she may not have known about the abuse Maddie was suffering at the hands of SS, but I am 100% certain she knowingly assisted SS in his attempt to cover up Maddie's murder.

How could she be coddling him on video if she knew he unalived her baby on her birthday weekend? I just don’t get it. This is the thing that doesn’t sit well with me and makes this case so perplexing, especially because we can just conjecture right now.

 

[scottishgal]

I think that it's very easy to underestimate the amount of child rapists living comfortably in suburban neighbourhoods. Though some may know of others, they certainly don't all know each other and aren't all connected.

One in three girls and one in five boys are sexually assaulted by age eighteen. Most of them are attacked by someone close to them, many in their own homes, by their own family members.

MOO

Yes but arrested dad and suicided son in the same week in the second case ....the timing that both these , or all three of these predators including SS were busted by LE ....and it was to St cloud that SS took MS that day as that's where she was found on Friday. Are there really that many , Good God, i feel like Child SA is a war situation then to be tackled immediately. We should stop everything else n focus on that , even the other biggies like Cl change. Govts should handle this like the pandemic response I feel ?

 

[Skigh]

I am surprised that with so many lakes around which would have contained alligators , that SS left Madeline on land. Did he genuinely have a puncture and was forced to rethink his plans ,or were the woods somewhere her did know and chose the spot?

 

[BrownRice]

I remember reading once that people who have just committed a crime are more likely to have a traffic violation. So if police don’t know who to look for, sometimes they review traffic cams just to watch for writing driving; people screwing up basic stops; lane changes; speeding and…driving slower than the law requires.

That fascinated me! I wish I could relocate the article - it was from years ago - I would link it. But alas I can’t recall where it was from. Still very interesting!

All that made me wonder if they are reviewing JS’s driving that day from when she went driving to the school and to look around etc. If she actually did those things she may have been caught on cams too. And if she didn’t, the lack of sightings may also be at odds with her statement(s) to LE.

My degree is in criminal justice. 30+ yrs ago and one of my professors said that. And gave back up cases showing it. I found it fascinating and just dumb. Another reason I’d never be a good criminal. Every block I’d be out checking to make sure my brake lights were still working. And using cruise control all day long.

 

[modesty blaise]

I understand your thought process - but can’t underestimate the power a predator can wield over a child. They use all kinds of threats and lies to keep their victims silent. Threatening her life, her mother’s, shaming her and convincing her that others would be ashamed of her or mad at her, etc.

ETA: not saying she didn’t tell and all parties are innocent, just saying most child SA victims don’t tell for those reasons.

I'm betting this particular vile pedo would be one to threaten self harm. Just the nasty gaslighting manipulative vibe I get from him.

 

[BrownRice]

I understand your thought process - but can’t underestimate the power a predator can wield over a child. They use all kinds of threats and lies to keep their victims silent. Threatening her life, her mother’s, shaming her and convincing her that others would be ashamed of her or mad at her, etc.

ETA: not saying she didn’t tell and all parties are innocent, just saying most child SA victims don’t tell for those reasons.

And remember as well, another “shameful “ part of this is that it can feel good too, so that adds another confusing layer to the victim. When I volunteered in a child sexual abuse clinic and heard a therapist say this to a victim, I was horrified (did she just say the victim liked it? ). So you have sometimes physical pleasures (which still doesn’t equate to consent since there can’t be consent with a child), being spoiled with toys (remember all the Reddit posts of his weird obsession with toys…where was the $ coming from btw), being told she was so special, and of course this being a secret she couldn’t tell anyone. Mom would be mad at her, nobody would believe her, foster care, etc. And he had years of experience doing this to her.

There are so many layers of trauma to child sexual abuse. I volunteered and worked at that clinic for about 3 years. There were victims there telling their stories 40 yrs after the fact. The damage can be lifelong. And it’s SO prevalent.

SS being presumably behind bars now forever will save his future victims.

 

[BrownRice]

Yes but arrested dad and suicided son in the same week in the second case ....the timing that both these , or all three of these predators including SS were busted by LE ....and it was to St cloud that SS took MS that day as that's where she was found on Friday. Are there really that many , Good God, i feel like Child SA is a war situation then to be tackled immediately. We should stop everything else n focus on that , even the other biggies like Cl change. Govts should handle this like the pandemic response I feel ?

So agree. I know this is impossible……but can you imagine a world with no CSA. It’s so prevalent and still taboo to talk about. So much violence, crime, suicide , especially addiction can be rooted back to child abuse (in my opinion)

 

[BrownRice]

I am surprised that with so many lakes around which would have contained alligators , that SS left Madeline on land. Did he genuinely have a puncture and was forced to rethink his plans ,or were the woods somewhere her did know and chose the spot?

He definitely didn’t appear to think this thru well which leads me to believe it was unplanned.

 

[bigsnoopy]

Update from the aunt: “Thank you to everyone for the overwhelming amount of support and generosity. We have reached the goal and have paused donations for the time being. There was a funeral home that graciously offered to cover the cost of Maddie's funeral; however, my family and I had already made arrangements when the offer was made… The funds will be used for Maddie's funeral arrangements and to support our family.”

 

[Bbgiraffe]

This guy seems like a textbook pedophile child groomer. Sadly it seems that non biological parent figures in the home might pose a higher risk of harming children. I think there needs to be more prominent education available of red flags to look for in those who might pose a risk to children.

Reading his response to that reddit post I am sure he used those same words to gaslight the mom into not asking questions. She may have been very naive at first though I'm pretty sure I read in the documents released that she backed up his story about dropping Madeline off so she had to know something was wrong.

 

[Bbgiraffe]

I want to say too and I hate even posting this but I don't know how long he had been with Madeline's mom it seems like from his reddit that about two years ago he suddenly got interested again (just suddenly according to his own post) in tamagotchi. Then he's buying tamagotchi for the "stepdaughter" which im assuming was Madeline. Would be innocent if this was a normal guy, but we know he's not and this was likely a way to have a shared hobby with Madeline to further bond them and groom her.

Prior to the tamagotchi obsession on reddit, he was posting about Warhammer 40k and so that kind of makes me wonder if a prior child he was grooming was interested in that game and this is just his MO. Find something that interests the child and learn about it in order to create a connection and friendship with the child.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

And remember as well, another “shameful “ part of this is that it can feel good too, so that adds another confusing layer to the victim. When I volunteered in a child sexual abuse clinic and heard a therapist say this to a victim, I was horrified (did she just say the victim liked it? ). So you have sometimes physical pleasures (which still doesn’t equate to consent since there can’t be consent with a child), being spoiled with toys (remember all the Reddit posts of his weird obsession with toys…where was the $ coming from btw), being told she was so special, and of course this being a secret she couldn’t tell anyone. Mom would be mad at her, nobody would believe her, foster care, etc. And he had years of experience doing this to her.

There are so many layers of trauma to child sexual abuse. I volunteered and worked at that clinic for about 3 years. There were victims there telling their stories 40 yrs after the fact. The damage can be lifelong. And it’s SO prevalent.

SS being presumably behind bars now forever will save his future victims.

The damage is lifelong. Fifty years after the fact, I still struggle with the aftermath of CSA. Even with the best therapy efforts, your brain was changed by the trauma. There are so many people walking around affected by C-PTSD and if you have the history you see the signs. Observing people in public, in meetings, social gatherings, etc.
Bessel van der Kolk's 'The Body Keeps the Score' is an excellent read for anyone wondering about trauma's effect on your body and brain.
moo edited to correct title

 

[shetalksinstereo]

My degree is in criminal justice. 30+ yrs ago and one of my professors said that. And gave back up cases showing it. I found it fascinating and just dumb. Another reason I’d never be a good criminal. Every block I’d be out checking to make sure my brake lights were still working. And using cruise control all day long.

We live near the border with Canada so there are always border patrol officers in addition to local police, county sheriff and NYS Police driving around a lot in the area due to illegal border crossing, human smuggling, and human or drug trafficking. So many drug busts happen due to traffic stops for a headlight or brake light out, running a stop sign, speeding, etc. I can't imagine having ten pounds of cocaine in my car and doing 55 mph in a 30 mph zone or driving with one headlight! Thank God that these criminals are lax though, because it gets them caught!

 

[photoprose1122]

Here’s a question - if mom really is a suspect, why haven’t they charged her with anything yet? Or even named her as a possible suspect? Genuinely asking for possible reasons, as I’m curious with how quiet it has been.

 

[BrownRice]

We live near the border with Canada so there are always border patrol officers in addition to local police, county sheriff and NYS Police driving around a lot in the area due to illegal border crossing, human smuggling, and human or drug trafficking. So many drug busts happen due to traffic stops for a headlight or brake light out, running a stop sign, speeding, etc. I can't imagine having ten pounds of cocaine in my car and doing 55 mph in a 30 mph zone or driving with one headlight! Thank God that these criminals are lax though, because it gets them caught!

Exactly! Really goes to show how dumb they must be.

 

[Leilei]

Here’s a question - if mom really is a suspect, why haven’t they charged her with anything yet? Or even named her as a possible suspect? Genuinely asking for possible reasons, as I’m curious with how quiet it has been.

They've been very quiet, and, to me, that means that they are doing their due diligence as far as the investigation goes. Naming her as a suspect or POI too early would be a mistake, IMO. We're all anxious for news, but we also have to trust the process. There will be justice for Maddie.

 

[CuriousCricket]

But it either took LE 3 hours to make contact or it didn't?

Sort of. Perhaps when JS first called she was told no one was available at that time. Someone would call her as soon as they could. In the meantime, JS was told by LE what steps to take: figure out who saw her last and what she was wearing, check with all Maddy's friends and their parents; double check with all Maddy's teachers in case she had been in school for a subject or two; drive any routes she might have walked to a relative's house, friend's house, comic book store, where ever she might have walked to; look for cameras and see if video might be available. LE prob outlined different things JS was too upset to think of doing.

 

[photoprose1122]

They've been very quiet, and, to me, that means that they are doing their due diligence as far as the investigation goes. Naming her as a suspect or POI too early would be a mistake, IMO. We're all anxious for news, but we also have to trust the process. There will be justice for Maddie.

True, I guess there’s the other side of that - if there were no other suspects and it was clear what happened, they likely would have said more by now. IMO.

 

[CuriousCricket]

That wouldn’t surprise me either to be honest.

But did she do that because she feared he might kill her too (self preservation is a powerful motivator!).

She had to have had a big motivating reason to help him cover it up. What was it?

During the 3 hours between the call Maddy was missing and actually getting with LE to file the report, SS was driving around with JS. He was freaking out knowing he had been the last person to see her -- and you know what the public is like. "They'll crucify me!!!" "Everyone will think I did something to her." "You know, they'll crucify you, too. You weren't at her birthday party, you didn't see her before school the next morning." What if the motivation was to save them both from the court of public opinion? At least as much as possible.

He could have been very compelling and insistent