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

[Hestia's Fire]

I feel like he is the source of her "saying" she wanted to "go live in the woods". That way, when she went missing, it might be more likely to LE/family that she ran away.

That's a definite possibility. Seems kind of stupid to post that if you're gonna kill her and dump her in the woods, since you're basically telling LE where to look when she vanishes, but no one has accused this man of being a criminal mastermind.

But if she did make that post/text herself, I think she knew something even worse was coming.

 

[photographer4]

Awww, poor lil snowflake.

"Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges."

Madeline Soto: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance day after teen's body found in Osceola County

Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court on Saturday. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges.

www.fox35orlando.com

Why not? Doesn't the entire State already know what was on his phone and what he's already been charged with? He seemed awfully proud of himself when he made the photos / videos... I think they should go ahead and scream this all from the rooftops and with megaphones throughout the jail.

 

[Curious Me]

MOO, I can’t help but wonder if Maddie said that she wanted to live in the woods after her 13th birthday because SS told her something along the lines of when you’re 13, I’ll be done with you (or something of the like).

Madeline Soto: Missing Florida girl wanted to 'live in the woods' after her 13th birthday, sheriff says

Are you implying Madeline liked his attention and would be upset if it stopped?

MOO, it stands to reason, she wanted to go live in the woods to get away from him and having to be subjected to what he was doing to her. She couldn't tell. I don't think she'd be upset if he was going to leave her alone and not molest her. MOO again, she wasn't happy, she wanted to get away and maybe her mother was blind to the situation.

JMO here, it seems likely the mother was in denial of what was going on, and taking advantage of some guy willing to help with the childcare. This is not blaming the mother saying perhaps she was fooled by his yucky "sensitivity" thinking those were real tears he could shed. I think Madeline wanted to get away from his advances and go live in the woods. ​

 

[BrownRice]

Are we allowed to link the arrest affidavit from the Facebook group about searching for her?

It was already linked here when it was released earlier this week.

 

[SMK777]

It was already linked here when it was released earlier this week.

Oh, okay. Thank you.

 

[SMK777]

Just thinking about the text about the woods…If Maddie did write it, is it possible that all the recent coverage about Audri’s case prompted her to find the courage to want to leave/possibly want to report the SA to the authorities? Maybe SS picked up on this and knew he was losing control over her? Speculation and MOO.

That could well be.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

I can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable and unsettled she felt at home possibly being told that, as well as everything else. Home should be your safe space where you feel loved and wanted and it sounds like she hasn't had that for at least a very long time. And now this.

In her photo with the birthday cake, it looks like she has dark circles under her eyes... stress? tired? trauma? Compared to the photo of her in the dark color shirt.

 

[Lirael]

Are you implying Madeline liked his attention and would be upset if it stopped?

MOO, it stands to reason, she wanted to go live in the woods to get away from him and having to be subjected to what he was doing to her. She couldn't tell. I don't think she'd be upset if he was going to leave her alone and not molest her. MOO again, she wasn't happy, she wanted to get away and maybe her mother was blind to the situation.

JMO here, it seems likely the mother was in denial of what was going on, and taking advantage of some guy willing to help with the childcare. This is not blaming the mother saying perhaps she was fooled by his yucky "sensitivity" thinking those were real tears he could shed. I think Madeline wanted to get away from his advances and go live in the woods. ​

I seriously doubt that's what they were saying. Many pedophiles have certain age groups they are interested in hurting. With the knowledge that he's been in Madeline's life for several years and not knowing when the abuse started, it's possible she was getting "too old" for him. That's what I took @UnapologeticallyAspie's comment to mean. If she got the feeling her life would be in danger once he was no longer interested in molesting her, wanting to run away would make sense.

Of course that's assuming the messages were actually written by her, which there's still debate on.

 

[PayrollNerd]

In her photo with the birthday cake, it looks like she has dark circles under her eyes... stress? tired? trauma? Compared to the photo of her in the dark color shirt.

My half sister has those and part of it is her olive complexion and part of it is her allergies. I have them too but even tho we both have English in us, my other half is Czech. Mine are not as prominent.

 

[TravelingBug]

True, but it might have helped them find her body quicker, same with Audrii, but we can't ever be certain.
It's still not good enough though because there may be kids that it could save in the future. JMO

For those with kids in schools that use the PowerSchool app/system, you can set your notifications to immediately alert you if your child has been marked absent.

You can get it to send you an alert notification pop up via the app (and it will show up on your phone notification screen if you have it set to do so) or email for both iOS and Android.

For kids in upper school grades (MS/HS where they rotate classes) they get marked present/absent in each class, which means you might also get mid-day notifications (if you child were called to the office, were with the nurse feeling ill, were tardy enough to miss attendance initially).

It's VERY handy!

You would be notified if your child missed the bus b/c they would be marked absent in the first class (and you'd get a notification often well before school attendance calls, even if they are first thing in the day unlike was the case with Madeline and Audrii) or if you have a child who lives with another parent part time and perhaps you hadn't been told they were late to school or ill or whatever in advance.

To our child's chagrin, it also outed that they were in the office one day during a particular class (nothing the school felt we needed to know about, nor would our child have told us) because our child was initially absent during a class later in the day (initially it showed as "absent," was eventually changed to "administration" and then eventually to "present" all in one 50 minute class period). It let us ask about a situation we'd likely never have been told about all because we have our notifications set to alert our phones for anything attendance related.

I DEFINITELY suggest taking advantage of this tool if your school uses PowerSchool - as attendance calls happen from the attendance pulled from PowerSchool, so you'd almost certainly get a faster notification no matter what time of day your school typically does attendance calls.

See HERE for how to do it:

PowerSchool Mobile APP: Setting Up Notifications

Last Verified by an expert at Evergreen CSSD Knowledge Centre on Nov 16, 2023

app.getguru.com

 

[PayrollNerd]

What a crybaby! Doesn't appear, lawyer doesn't want charges read in open court..... oh my, maybe he thinks he'll still have a rosy reputation in the court of public opinion. He's already been crucified and justifiably so, in the media.

Madeline Soto: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance day after teen's body found in Osceola County

Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court on Saturday. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges.

www.fox35orlando.com

 

[SMK777]

I seriously doubt that's what they were saying. Many pedophiles have certain age groups they are interested in hurting. With the knowledge that he's been in Madeline's life for several years and not knowing when the abuse started, it's possible she was getting "too old" for him. That's what I took @UnapologeticallyAspie's comment to mean. If she got the feeling her life would be in danger once he was no longer interested in molesting her, wanting to run away would make sense.

Of course that's assuming the messages were actually written by her, which there's still debate on.

Yes, along this line she might feel that if he was done with her, he might kill her so she could never tell. “Dead men tell no tales.”

 

[MassGuy]

In regards to this guy working at Disney, unless there was another statement released, Disney merely said that he was not (currently) employed by them. This wouldn’t mean that he was not employed with them in the past, like he claimed.

I’ve seen plenty of evidence that he did work there.

 

[Knox]

Grady Judd is the best, no-nonsense, and funny too. Do yourself a favor and take a listen to him on You Tube!
MOO

Love me some Grady Judd! I've followed a case in his jurisdiction years ago but I don't remember what it was.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

What a crybaby! Doesn't appear, lawyer doesn't want charges read in open court..... oh my, maybe he thinks he'll still have a rosy reputation in the court of public opinion. He's already been crucified and justifiably so, in the media.

Madeline Soto: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance day after teen's body found in Osceola County

Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court on Saturday. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges.

www.fox35orlando.com

Is this the paedophile equivalent of a toddler covering their eyes and thinking you can't see them?

 

[Knox]

I think if he was parked along the road there was too much traffic for an opportunity to remove her body from the car and get it to the area behind the row of trees and return to the car without being seen. Also, why would he take the time, with a body in his car, to set up a scene that resembled a flat tire situation before he removed her from the car. I don't think he would take the chance when it appears he could have driven through the gate and behind the trees and not been that visible to passing vehicles which is what I think he did. It was when he was entering that something punctured the tire but it could have been punctured where he was parked or when he was exiting. Whenever it happened, real or fake, pre removal or post removal, the car had to have been out of the roadway on somewhat flat ground to have used a bumper jack or an axle jack effectively.
Always moo.

Of all the areas to dispose of her body, he left her seemingly in the open and easily discoverable. Grateful for this, but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

 

[JosieMae]

I'm getting a little confused here. Do we know when the last credible sighting of Maddie was?

 

[PayrollNerd]

I'm getting a little confused here. Do we know when the last credible sighting of Maddie was?

I suspect it was when her mother said they came home from the party and went straight to bed. I'm sure the party was exhausting and the mom had to work in the morning I think.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

What a crybaby! Doesn't appear, lawyer doesn't want charges read in open court..... oh my, maybe he thinks he'll still have a rosy reputation in the court of public opinion. He's already been crucified and justifiably so, in the media.

Madeline Soto: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance day after teen's body found in Osceola County

Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court on Saturday. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges.

www.fox35orlando.com

Ugh, reminiscent of the recent Adam Montgomery trial In NH for the murder of his little girl, Harmony. He refused to attend his own trial. They should be forced to.

 

[Curious Me]

This was a longer version of the mother talking, and the bf behind her monitoring what she said and his creepy hand movements. Mother says Madeline was evaluated by two different drs. One dr. said she had autistic traits, but didn't actually diagnose autism, and the other one didn't say so.

Why I mention this is it seems there was concern about Madeline at that time... what prompted Mom to want to have her evaluated? I imagine bf wouldn't want Madeline talking, and maybe spilling anything that might've been going on with him taking advantage of this young girl's vulnerability.

(MOO here-- If he was abusing her before the day he killed her, which seems likely, then Madeline must've been being groomed and constantly told to not tell. His killing her might indicate he felt threatened it was going to come out.)

I want to hear what the grandmother and other family members perceived of him. Mom talks as though she, herself, was at that birthday party, but she wasn't. Later she includes that she heard about it and that Maddy told her all about the presents she got. It all matters because apparently that night SS killed this young girl, and dumped the body early the next morning. ​

Madeline Soto: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance day after teen's body found in Osceola County

Stephan Sterns was a no-show for his first appearance in Osceola County court on Saturday. His lawyer didn't want the judge reading out the charges.

www.fox35orlando.com