Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #4

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

I think it is bollocks. Mom did not see MS get ready for school that morning if police believe she was seen in the car, already dead at 8:19am. I can not make myself even believe that she confused that day with some other day. Also, Maddie wasn't found wearing black shorts. SHe was found wearing blue jeans.

Maybe Mom was at work or sleeping at 8 am, if she was working, she could have called from work around the time, MS should be getting ready for school. He said shes getting ready, look. and sent her the clip of MS getting ready at 8am.
She would have no way of knowing if that was pre-recorded or live, or assumed it was at that moment.
So when she says I saw her getting ready at 8am, in her eyes, she did.
I mean I could be wrong, but I really feel her emotions have been surfed by SS for along time.

ETA: Do we know where mum worked? I feel like someone said a hotel a couple of threads back?
if so she may have been doing 12am-8am shift. It's travel industry area, hotels, airports, fast food is open 24 hours.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

If JS has absolutely nothing to do with what happened, then I cannot imagine how she is feeling right now.
Betrayed, over and over.

JMO
ETA: Correcting initials from MS to JS

 

[Mack the Knife]

True, but wouldn't you also tell the police everything you knew that might help bring the SO down? If you truly didn't know what was happening.

Maybe JS is doing this, we don't know.

TBH if I was in JS’s shoes, I would not be saying anything to LE that my lawyer didn’t approve of. They have MS’s body, they have damning evidence of SS abusing MS, and they have probably damning evidence of SS with MS after she died, all within 2 weeks of her disappearance. Of course prosecutors always want more evidence, but IMO they shouldn’t need anything from JS to get a conviction for SS, so there is mostly only risk of JS getting herself in trouble if she talks, even if she is factually innocent of any crimes.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

The phone thing has been bugging me. Is it normal for LE to request the phones/devices be turned over from parents/caregivers of missing children? Or, was this due to SS telling them that he accidentally (ha) factory reset his? I would think that if they took his to look for possible evidence, they would also take JS's, since they were living together and raising Maddie.
Did his running his mouth about the reset cause the dominos to fall, or were they suspicious of him from the beginning?
Hoping for a definite timeline soon.
IMO.

If a parent, when handing over their phones to LE, when they have reported their child missing says "I accidentally factory reset". I would be telling my partner as soon as possible to get getting the best tech on that phone ASAP!

ETA: Note to self - You are not on a police show, and you do not have a cop partner

 

[photographer4]

If MS has absolutely nothing to do with what happened, then I cannot imagine how she is feeling right now.
Betrayed, over and over.

JMO

I’m sorry. I cannot give her a free pass for this. Why did she move the monster in? What made him / her needs more important than Maddie’s need for safety and security? One look at his social media was enough to creep me out before he was arrested. I mean even just his friend list on Fb was concerning. There is a line between I was duped and I didn’t bother to notice.

JS doesn’t seem at a glance to have had stable long term relationships. Eg: didn’t work out with Maddie’s bio dad (idk why not and don’t need to know. It just didn’t work out). Maddie was born in 2011.

By 2015 JS is married to a man who shall remain nameless as he isn’t a person named by LE in this matter. By 2017 they’re divorced. Ok. What happened? Why such a short marriage? How long did they date anyhow?

When Maddie is 9 SS has a post about her on his social media for painting a little tiny video game character. So we are at around 2019/2020 now. How long did she know SS? How did they meet? How fast did she decide yes, let’s have him meet Maddie and become a family??

I’m sorry. I don’t have a free pass when she has a clear history of poor relationship outcomes regardless of reason.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

TBH if I was in JS’s shoes, I would not be saying anything to LE that my lawyer didn’t approve of. They have MS’s body, they have damning evidence of SS abusing MS, and they have probably damning evidence of SS with MS after she died, all within 2 weeks of her disappearance. Of course prosecutors always want more evidence, but IMO they shouldn’t need anything from JS to get a conviction for SS, so there is mostly only risk of JS getting herself in trouble if she talks, even if she is factually innocent of any crimes.

Oh I absolutely agree, but if I had nothing to do with it I would be helping LE as much as possible within what my lawyer advised.

 

[PawneeDew]

Shortened for focus.

Reading your post made me consider that JS might have walked in on "something" going on, or saw evidence of it on SS's phone (snooping for something else), or Maddie finally told her "secret" and mom freaked out and killed Maddie (sometimes the victim gets blamed. Sad but true).

It would have had to be with a gun for that to have happened if SS was there as he is tall and stronger than JS. Or, SS might not have even been there because as we've all seen many times now from the arrest warrant... it's been said he was asked to pick her up and drop her off at school. You don't pick someone up if you are already there.

View attachment 489778

With all that said... IF it's true that SS isn't the one who killed Maddie (they have him on SA charges from evi from his phone, not for murder (to the best of my knowledge. I'm behind again. lol)), it could make a whole lot of sense out of some things.

As horrific as that sounds that's my theory. Horrible, and heartbreaking if true moo

 

[Vaderman]

Is it normal for it to take this long to bring about murder charges?
~10 days since her body was discovered.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

I’m sorry. I cannot give her a free pass for this. Why did she move the monster in? What made him / her needs more important than Maddie’s need for safety and security? One look at his social media was enough to creep me out before he was arrested. I mean even just his friend list on Fb was concerning. There is a line between I was duped and I didn’t bother to notice.

JS doesn’t seem at a glance to have had stable long term relationships. Eg: didn’t work out with Maddie’s bio dad (idk why not and don’t need to know. It just didn’t work out). Maddie was born in 2011.

By 2015 JS is married to a man who shall remain nameless as he isn’t a person named by LE in this matter. By 2017 they’re divorced. Ok. What happened? Why such a short marriage? How long did they date anyhow?

When Maddie is 9 SS has a post about her on his social media for painting a little tiny video game character. So we are at around 2019/2020 now. How long did she know SS? How did they meet? How fast did she decide yes, let’s have him meet Maddie and become a family??

I’m sorry. I don’t have a free pass when she has a clear history of poor relationship outcomes regardless of reason.

I agree with all you say, if she knew he was a wrongun. I am not sure she did. He may have had her completely under his thumb. I do not mean she was missing red flags; I mean he gaslighted and manipulated her to think she was the bad one. Maybe calling her paranoid and questioning her mental health.
It happens.
Every day, worldwide, except not all are trying to get to your child. Sometimes, they want a free place to stay. They know exactly how to play the victim, so the victim does not even know they are a victim and may even have been manipulated to think they are the bad one.
ETA: I am not saying she is innocent or not innocent. I am just grasping at the last strands of humanity for us. Taking one for the team

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Is it normal for it to take this long to bring about murder charges?
~10 days since her body was discovered.

There's no hurry, SS isn't going anywhere and LE wants to build a solid case.

I was pondering, though--what if LE found evidence that MS was murdered at the apartment in Kissimmee but no evidence of who did it?

JS and SS could be pointing fingers at each other.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

Oh I absolutely agree, but if I had nothing to do with it I would be helping LE as much as possible within what my lawyer advised.

Do we know if she is cooperating with LE?
It's all been very quiet since they found her.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Do we know if she is cooperating with LE?
It's all been very quiet since they found her.

No, we don't. That was a point I was making earlier. In other cases I have seen LE go out of their way to say that the parents aren't suspects and are cooperating fully with the investigation, but we haven't seen that here as far as I know.

 

[BeeGirl]

I’m sorry. I cannot give her a free pass for this. Why did she move the monster in? What made him / her needs more important than Maddie’s need for safety and security? One look at his social media was enough to creep me out before he was arrested. I mean even just his friend list on Fb was concerning. There is a line between I was duped and I didn’t bother to notice.

JS doesn’t seem at a glance to have had stable long term relationships. Eg: didn’t work out with Maddie’s bio dad (idk why not and don’t need to know. It just didn’t work out). Maddie was born in 2011.

By 2015 JS is married to a man who shall remain nameless as he isn’t a person named by LE in this matter. By 2017 they’re divorced. Ok. What happened? Why such a short marriage? How long did they date anyhow?

When Maddie is 9 SS has a post about her on his social media for painting a little tiny video game character. So we are at around 2019/2020 now. How long did she know SS? How did they meet? How fast did she decide yes, let’s have him meet Maddie and become a family??

I’m sorry. I don’t have a free pass when she has a clear history of poor relationship outcomes regardless of reason.

Amen, sister. That’s what gets me.

This man used the same exact screen name on several different sites, including those where you can locate other users by phone number. His screen name should not have been a surprise to her.

A cursory look would show he was in some very weird subreddits for a grown man to be in. I wish we could take a poll of people not following this case and ask two questions: (1) have you seen his social media? and (2) would you let him babysit your pre-teen daughter? Absolutely no one would.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

I heard someone suggest a reason for dumping it in the apt complex garbage was in case it had some sort of GPS tracker on it.( I dont know how that would work if it was off tho)

Yes, JS says it in her interview(S), the school tried to ping the laptop but it was off.
I'm gonna try find a link
ETA: I don't know how to cross-thread post but it is discussed on the first thread

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

This just aired - Gray says he has a source on social media who helps out sometimes and this person took the phone number for SS off a document and using some tools that he has, found that SS's account accessed an online social media site that is used by predators for sharing information etc at 4:50am on Monday Feb 25, about 2.5 hours before SS chucked the backpack and pc in the dumpster.

It sounds like Gray used a Grey Hat Hacker. imo

 

[Gemmie]

Who knows but he told cops he was home til 2:30pm. I don’t think anything he says is believable really given what we ended up finding out about him

And we/LE/witnesses/cam videos have proof he wasn't. Seriously though... how dumb is they guy for someone that knew their way around computers/technology, yet thinks they can snow LE??? I'm shaking my head over here.

 

[Gemmie]

Maybe Mom was at work or sleeping at 8 am, if she was working, she could have called from work around the time, MS should be getting ready for school. He said shes getting ready, look. and sent her the clip of MS getting ready at 8am.
She would have no way of knowing if that was pre-recorded or live, or assumed it was at that moment.
So when she says I saw her getting ready at 8am, in her eyes, she did.
I mean I could be wrong, but I really feel her emotions have been surfed by SS for along time.

ETA: Do we know where mum worked? I feel like someone said a hotel a couple of threads back?
if so she may have been doing 12am-8am shift. It's travel industry area, hotels, airports, fast food is open 24 hours.

I thought JS worked from home.

 

[photographer4]

I agree with all you say, if she knew he was a wrongun. I am not sure she did. He may have had her completely under his thumb. I do not mean she was missing red flags; I mean he gaslighted and manipulated her to think she was the bad one. Maybe calling her paranoid and questioning her mental health.
It happens.
Every day, worldwide, except not all are trying to get to your child. Sometimes, they want a free place to stay. They know exactly how to play the victim, so the victim does not even know they are a victim and may even have been manipulated to think they are the bad one.
ETA: I am not saying she is innocent or not innocent. I am just grasping at the last strands of humanity for us. Taking one for the team

If he did those things, I am sorry. I am. But that’s still her responsibility. To keep Madeline safe at all costs. If he made her believe SHE was the problem then maybe she could have sent Maddie to her dad’s while she sought treatment and support. Or her mother. Or any other capable adult. I am sorry for her loss and whatever she went through. I am sorry for anyone in a manipulative horrible relationship. But she had other options that probably would have ensured maddie’s safety.

 

[BeeGirl]

There's no hurry, SS isn't going anywhere and LE wants to build a solid case.

I was pondering, though--what if LE found evidence that MS was murdered at the apartment in Kissimmee but no evidence of who did it?

JS and SS could be pointing fingers at each other.

I still can’t shake the feeling that the police may have had some sort of video/photo proof she was dead and that’s where their confidence that she was deceased came from before they found her body.

 

[photoprose1122]

I still can’t shake the feeling that the police may have had some sort of video/photo proof she was dead and that’s where their confidence that she was deceased came from before they found her body.

They did - they said she was visible in his vehicle caught on CCTV and appeared to be deceased, if I remember correctly?