Found Deceased FL - Madeline Soto, 13, Missing Child Alert, 13500 blk Town Loop Blvd, Orlando, 26 Feb 2024 *arrest* #5

[MassGuy]

Also that mom IS cooperating. There's been a lot of speculation on that, so now we know. She is.

They say that about suspects all the time, so that doesn’t move the needle for me. Cooperating doesn’t mean telling the truth, and they don’t want to close the door by saying she’s not cooperating.

They also had an opportunity to say that she wasn’t a suspect, and deflected by saying that pretty much everyone is a suspect.

 

[Megnut]

This makes me think they are waiting on toxicology to come back. I wonder if they suspect but can't yet prove some sort of drug overdose? Notice how they didn't confirm mum lawyered up? Only said she had cooperated and given an interview. Well, yes, there was one that we know of before they said her statements were inconsistent with what they knew.... I wonder if she has met with them since??

Drugged at or near the time of death, but also for signs of chronic drugging. Perhaps her hair will have its own harrowing story to tell.

 

[Pruddennce]

Also that mom IS cooperating. There's been a lot of speculation on that, so now we know. She is.

wording was: mother has cooperated, she did give us AN interview. ok, but factually, as the chief stated, everyone close to Madeline is a suspect until proven otherwise. I can imagine it was just one interview because she now has, IMO, a lawyer or had one for that interview.

 

[MassGuy]

Frustrating that these reporters know there is only a short set of time PD will allow for questions and yet they waste them on stupid sh**t.
Mother gave only one interview. Is this due to attaining a lawyer?

Did PD mention the word homicide or just investigation?

Oh wow, just one interview? Yeah, maybe she has lawyered up then.

 

[Mack the Knife]

I transcribed the parts I thought were notable. The times are relative to 2pm because I was watching a live stream, so timestamps are irrelevant.

All quotes are from Kissimmee PD Chief Betty Holland unless stated as a Q from a reporter:
:00

• Recap of what has happened and is known so far
• Received tip about SS’s car 3/1 in a rural area from St. Cloud which lead to discovery of MS’s body

:02

• Working closely with the State Attorney’s office and the medical examiner’s office

:03

• “We gather additional information from individuals close to the deceased. Each person interviewed is treated as involved until proven otherwise. This is a standard protocol to ensure all the facts are uncovered. During our investigation we have interviewed many individuals. Each interview has been vital to our understanding of the case. We are reviewing all of the information we’ve received and are following up on every lead.”
• “We intend to release additional information in the future, providing more details [unclear] we do not compromise the ongoing investigation.”

:04

• “I don’t have anything new that you don’t already know.”
• Reporter: “Is the mother a suspect or a person of interest in this investigation? And also with the videos that you uncover, is there any evidence of the mother’s involvement in these videos?”
  • “Everyone that was close to Madeline is considered a suspect until we prove otherwise.”

:05

• Still waiting on ME’s report
• No conclusion on if MS was killed inside the home or not
• SS has not spoken to LE at all

:06

• Reporter: “Do you believe that there are any other victims”
  • “Uh no it appears that this was isolated to the home”
• Chief does not think that SS’s lack of cooperation is slowing down the investigation

:08

• Chief is the mother and the family members being cooperative and answered questions, have they lawyered up? And also the father of Madeline who is not a Florida resident, is he a part of this investigation or at least being asked questions? Was he interviewed?”
  • “We have interviewed all those family members that are close. Mother has cooperated. She did give us an interview. So there’s, you know, no one is not cooperating other than Sterns.”
• Chief says identity of children involved is protected under the law

:09

• Reporter asks about, essentially, why SS would freely give up his phone considering the evidence on it. Chief can’t common on it specifically because it wasn’t her department, but it’s not uncommon for LE to ask people
• Reporter asks about Chief’s opinions. “My takeaway from this is talk to your children. Families, talk to your kids. Know that there are agencies out there, the abuse hotline, “help now”. You know that people can report suspicion too, and I would encourage mothers and fathers to have those conversations with the kids and be aware.”

:10

• Reporter: “Had you investigated this family before?”
  • Chief: “Not for anything like this, no ma’am.”
• Reporter asks about the duration of JS and SS’s relationship. Chief says they’re trying to get the timeline for this.

JB Biunno (whose stream I’m watching) comments that transferring this from the Sheriff’s office to Kissimmee PD could have slowed things down, but he also expresses shock that this was a press conference without an update.

My callouts:

• A pointed refusal to call out JS for anything OR to clear her of suspicion
• No one is “not cooperating” other than SS
• Chief says this appeared to be isolated to the home. Not clear if that means SS’s direct victims of abuse, or if that would also mean they don’t believe there was any transmission of CSAM to or from SS
• Chief says the family hasn't been investigated for something like this before. I would hope her answer to the question includes the sheriff's dept. and CPS/DFS investigating as well, but it wasn't specified.
• ME report not back yet.
• My read was that, regardless of if LE thinks JS was involved, they don’t seem to currently have any evidence that she was involved. The Chief declined to answer if JS was involved in any of the videos. I think there is about zero chance they have evidence she was involved in any videos or photos otherwise they would have arrested her already, so I think we can extrapolate that even if they think JS wasn’t involved in the murder, they would not say so until she is cleared
• I’m not as unhappy as some folks about this press conference. LE hadn’t really said anything since the allegations that JS is being untruthful came out, and IMO LE doesn’t hesitate to accuse people of being evasive and uncooperative if that’s what they want to do, and here they declined to say that JS is being untruthful

Edited to add: Chief mentions one interview from JS. We know about her sworn testimony about the day of and day before MS went missing, but I'm not positive that that would be considered an interview or the interview the Chief is referencing. Especially because that interview would have been with the Sheriff and not Kissimmee PD.

 

[Megnut]

'Mom, cooperating' IMO is LEspeak. Extra generous.

One interview?

LE was also pointed in saying everyone's a suspect...

LE stopped short of verbalizing any connection between the two sentences.

I wait. I watch.

 

[gloomy]

What a bizarre presser. I basically learned that everyone close to Madeline is still a suspect.... ugh so depressing.

MOO

 

[tlcya]

my take aways from this:

Q Is mother a suspect or POI in Madi's death and is there any evidence in the videos that she knew of the abuse?

A. Everyone close to victim is a suspect until proven not

and LE has not received the ME report yet.

Oh, and Stephan is not speaking and has attorneyed up (well duh we knew that)

I agree, could have been a presser. They mostly wanted to get press off their backs so gave them the gift of a Q and A session but weren't able to provide any answers (FACEPALM)

 

[ttjo]

DBM,

 

[lightofmine99]

'Everyone close to Maddy is a suspect."

So does that include Grandma Yolanda? Interesting choice of words.

 

[Universecalling]

What a bizarre presser. I basically learned that everyone close to Madeline is still a suspect.... ugh so depressing.

MOO

Interesting… someone reported that the moment the room realized that this was a waste of time, many reporters got up and left.

I need to rewatch… was there also a collective sigh or did my mind just sighed loudly?

 

[Universecalling]

Oh wow, just one interview? Yeah, maybe she has lawyered up then.

Right?
Doesn’t seem standard… three weeks and you talked to the mother once?

 

[MassGuy]

Right?
Doesn’t seem standard… three weeks and you talked to the mother once?

Yeah. As they uncover evidence related to SS, they’d likely have more questions for JS. So you’d expect multiple interviews.

 

[Universecalling]

Yes.

That explains a lot.

Guessing they're waiting on a tox screen. Likely over time.

Still, I was surprised they don't have a report from the ME yet.

Which brings me to this…
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember PD chief saying this is a homicide investigation in the presser.

 

[Beekarina]

My opinion: they are waiting for those involved to speak out against one another.

 

[Curious Me]

It's true when you have facts people can discuss facts. With no facts given, people tend to speculate further.

The speculations can be harmful. We all know the speculations in this case have possibly cast wrongful guilt on others, like JS, and MOO, that needs to be addressed and cleared up fairly soon.

It seemed unnecessary to hold a Press Conference and give no new info. No murder charges yet, no further facts on the case given at the PC. The investigation is ongoing. The Public must wait for more facts and that's just how it is at this time. ​

 

[tlcya]

Right?
Doesn’t seem standard… three weeks and you talked to the mother once?

particularly since you are charging her significant other with sex crimes against her deceased minor daughter. wouldn't they need and want her assistance in buiLding that case against him? To add context to the when's where's how's etc of the ongoing abuse that covered years?

I AM STUNNED THEY HAVEN'T INTERVIEWED HER MORE THAN THE ONCE??

Does that indicate her having obtained counsel or them not being that interested to hear what she has to say about anything because she is not credible in their mind after her inconsistencies?

 

[Megnut]

It's true when you have facts people can discuss facts. With no facts given, people tend to speculate further.

The speculations can be harmful. We all know the speculations in this case have possibly cast wrongful guilt on others, like JS, and MOO, that needs to be addressed and cleared up fairly soon.

It seemed unnecessary to hold a Press Conference and give no new info. No murder charges yet, no further facts on the case given at the PC. The investigation is ongoing. The Public must wait for more facts and that's just how it is at this time. ​

Yes. At first blush, it feels like a waste of a presser.

But we learned something.

About who was standing beside the podium.

And who wasn't

Said it without saying it.

 

[Skigh]

Yeah. As they uncover evidence related to SS, they’d likely have more questions for JS. So you’d expect multiple interviews.

I wonder if it is possible that they are unable to interview Mum for various reasons such as her having a mental health crisis and being admitted to hospital.

 

[Hestia's Fire]

My opinion: they are waiting for those involved to speak out against one another.

Mine: they're also waiting for the toxicology screen to come back so they know, if Maddie had drugs in her system, who those drugs might have originally been prescribed to.