Man accused of murdering Kissimmee teen Madeline Soto, per usual, not in court at hearing
The defense team for Stephan Sterns, accused in the murder of Kissimmee teen Madeline Soto, filed a motion for a continuance late Tuesday in the cases against him.
The Public Defender's office asked the court to set the case for a status hearing "two-three months out in lieu of being given a new Pre-Trial Conference date," and Judge Keith Carsten granted that at a Wednesday afternoon pre-trial hearing. The next hearing, a status hearing, is scheduled for Oct. 14 at 9 a.m.
Public defender Beth Bourdon, new to the case, noted "There is quite a bit of work still to do" to build Sterns' defense, noting there are about 177 witnesses listed as part of the case.
Sterns was set for separate pre-trial hearings Wednesday morning and afternoon on the first-degree murder charge well as 60 sexual battery-related charges levied against him. Those were heard in one hearing Wednesday afternoon attended by Assistant State Attorney Danielle Pinnell and Sterns' defense team.
This was after the Orange/Osceola Public Defender’s office filed a waiver in Osceola County Court Tuesday afternoon to notice the court that Sterns intended to not attend those Wednesday hearings.
“The undersigned attorney will appear on behalf of the accused at all scheduled pretrial conferences,” the Waiver of Defendant’s Attendance at Pretrial Conference filed Tuesday afternoon reads.
Sterns has yet to make any appearances in court or in front of any judge, including his initial appearance after his arrest in March, or his April arraignment to hear a formal reading of his charges.
In the motion to continue, Sterns' public defense team noted additional time is needed to prepare the case — court documents filed last week noted a deposition would be taken in September. The defense noted the motion "is filed in good faith and not for he purpose of delay," that Sterns waives right to a speedy trial, and that prosecutors do not object to the continuance.
Sterns' defense team declined to comment on the case while leaving Wednesday's hearing.
Sterns is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, who went missing on Feb. 26 of this year after not appearing at school. He said he took her from their Kissimmee home to Hunter’s Creek Middle School. A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for that at 10 a.m.
The State Attorney has filed to seek the death penalty against Sterns, who remains in the Osceola County Jail.
He also faces 60 other charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and possession of child sex abuse material, charges filed by the State Attorney’s office after searching his phone and Google drive.
His trial on the murder charge was scheduled to begin July 16, and the trial on his 60 other charges was set for the Aug. 19 trial docket. As a notice that defense attorneys will be taking at least one more deposition in mid-September in the case, those dates will likely be continued into the fall.
It is unclear if Sterns will appear at any of his trials.
