Girl's mother's boyfriend sits in jail, refusing court appearances
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The body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, missing since Monday, was found late Friday afternoon in a wooded area off Hickory Tree Road. -
Police believe Madeline Soto, 13, was already deceased on Monday, when Stephan Sterns was scene driving this 2010 Lincoln MKZ with Florida tag IYL L82, and dumped her backpack and laptop in a dumpster. PHOTO/KISSIMMEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
6:30 p.m. UPDATE: Kissimmee Police announced that, around 4:30 p.m. Friday, searchers discovered the body of 13-year-old Kissimmee girl Madeline Soto was found in a wooded area off of south Hickory Tree Road near Pearl Lake. KPD waited to notify the girl's family before making the announcement.
"I am thankful that she was found and for the coordinated efforts of the Kissimmee Police Department, St. Cloud Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office that are able to bring some closure to the family." says Chief Betty Holland of the Kissimmee Police Department. "This is a sad day for our community and we mourn the loss of such a young life."
Earlier on Friday, Holland and Orange County Sheriff John Mina confirmed the Soto's disappearance had transitioned from a missing persons case to a homicide case.
Her mother’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, 37, claimed he dropped her off in front of a church blocks away from Hunter’s Creek Middle School in Orange County Monday, but Mina said evidence from an intense investigation this week says otherwise.
Instead, Mina said Friday his agency and the Kissimmee Police Department, now the lead agency in the case, is going on information that Soto was killed in Kissimmee, that Sterns moved her body in Monday morning.
Sterns was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material after a search of his phone. Holland noted Friday Sterns has been moved from the jail in Orange to Osceola and held on those charges, and there may be more charges as the investigation continues. He refused to participate in an initial court appearance Thursday.
Court records show that, prior to this, Sterns had no arrest record in Orange or Osceola counties.
Mina said there is video evidence that Sterns discarded items, including Soto's backpack and school-issued laptop, around 7:35 a.m. that Monday in a dumpster at the Kissimmee apartment complex they lived in. At 8:19 a.m. Mina said Sterns returned to the complex, with Soto visible in the car; Mina said he believes she was dead at that time.
While neither Mina or Holland confirmed the location of the dumpster, Stern's booking information includes an address in the Venetian Bay Villages condominium complex off Hoagland Boulevard north of U.S. 192.
Holland said Sterns was driving a silver 2010 Lincoln MKZ with Florida tag IYL L82, and that there is evidence Sterns was in this car between 1-2:30 p.m. Monday in areas near U.S. Highway 192 and Old Hickory Tree Road, and Old Hickory Tree and Nolte Road. It is believed the car had a flat tire and Sterns may have been seen changing the tire in that area. KPD ask the community's help to report if they've seen that vehicle by calling Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
KPD officials said Friday evening that investigation remains ongoing further information released while evidence is collected and Detectives manage the crime scene.
If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, you are asked to call 911, Crimeline or Kissimmee Police Department at 407-846-3333.
