Jennifer Soto, mother of Madeline Soto, a 13-year-old girl murdered in Florida, confessed to detectives that her boyfriend and stepfather abused her.
The statement came March 1 after the teen’s lifeless body was found in rural Osceola County.
The woman said Stephan Sterns was manipulating and abusing her daughter.
Before that exchange with officers, Jennifer had apparently not reported her partner to the authorities.
Asked if she thought Sterns killed Madeline, she replied: “At this point, yes.” Before her answer, officers had shown her a photo of the young girl slumped over in her stepfather’s car.
Sterns is a “master of lies”
In the interview, the Hispanic woman also described Sterns as a “master of lies” and added that she wanted to believe that the man had nothing to do with her daughter’s disappearance. After seeing the photos, she internalized that her partner was “guilty,” according to the FOX 35 report.
Officers arrived at the residence that morning for a follow-up interview, the news station’s report said, citing recently released case documents.
The more than 100 documents reveal inconsistencies between what Madeline’s mother and Sterns initially told investigators about the girl’s possible whereabouts after her disappearance on February 26 and her relationship with her alleged killer.
In a previous interview with the same television station, the woman said she believed someone had taken her daughter.
“I saw all of his social media posts, all of his deleted social media posts; nothing seemed unusual,” the woman said.
“I feel like someone took her, because she is not like that; she just disappeared and didn’t tell us where she was going or who she was with,” he said.
Jennifer alleged that the last time they saw her daughter was on the morning of February 26 when Sterns allegedly dropped her off at her school.
“On Monday morning we took her to school; we dropped her off near the school, across the street from a church that is right next to the school. She crossed the street and walked to school or we think she walked to school. My boyfriend who dropped her off at school, left the scene at that point. You could see on video that she stayed in the parking lot of the church for a few minutes and then walked to school. But she never came…that was around 9 a.m. She never came to school after that. It’s right next to the school. I don’t know why she didn’t come. I don’t know if something happened on her way or someone took her. But she never came,” she said.
While Soto answers the questions, Sterns can be seen in the background, sitting and not making any comments.
Sterns was arrested two days after he went missing. However, he was initially charged only with child sexual abuse charges, as officers did not have enough evidence to link him to the death.
At the time, authorities filed 60 counts of sexual crimes against the suspect, including assault, abuse and possession of child sexual abuse material, after he handed his cell phone over to police.
Last April, Sterns was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by a grand jury in Osceola County. In June, the Florida State Attorney’s Office formally notified him that it will seek the death penalty against the defendant for raping and killing his stepdaughter.
In July, a county judge scheduled the next status hearing for the case for October 14 at 9 a.m.
The judge was responding to a motion for continuance filed by Sterns’ attorney. This legal remedy is used to request the postponement of a hearing, trial or other proceeding. This is not the first time that the man’s defense has made this request.
Continue reading:
Video released of Madeline Soto’s mother and stepfather just after her disappearance in Florida
Stepfather accused of raping and killing Madeline Soto in Florida claims the girl only received love at home
Madeline Soto slept in the same bed with her mother and stepfather; man is accused of raping and murdering her
Madeline Soto case: stepfather accused of raping a minor in Florida complains about prison conditions