New emerging details come to light that surrounds the death investigation of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
In new body camera footage recorded 24 hours after the teen was reported missing, detectives spoke with the teen’s mother and accused killer Stephan Sterns.
In a 30 minute recorded audio clip, detectives speak with Jennifer Soto about what happened to her daughter and the conversations she had with her boyfriend Sterns after he told her he dropped the teen off at a church by the school.
On Feb. 27, a detective spoke with Soto about where her daughter’s phone was after she told detectives the teen left the phone at home.
Read: Madeline Soto case: Police have no plans to charge Jennifer Soto, sources say
Partial Recorded Audio:
Detective: Did you guys take the phone anywhere other than when Detective Hunt took the phone?
Jennifer: I think it’s been home all day. I don’t think I left the house with it.
Detective: Did Stephan have access to the phone?
Jennifer: I’m sorry I took my medicine, so I feel a little spacey.
Read: Madeline Soto: A timeline of her disappearance & death
Sources tell Eyewitness News the teen’s mother will not be charged because she has done nothing criminal.
In the body-worn camera footage from the Orange County Sheriff’s office, Sterns is seen telling deputies he dropped Maddie off at the church near her school in Hunter’s Creek.
Based on the evidence in the investigation, we now know she was never at the location, but you even see him in the footage guiding deputies around before they used a K-9 to help sniff out her location.
“Somewhere around here. Maybe not this [apartment complex] one, but the next one. Possibly it was right in this stretch,” said Sterns.
The next day, on February 28th, Sterns spoke to detectives again. This time, they asked him to go over his story of where he was, where he dropped her off, and what times.
In the audio, the detective points out his inconsistencies, knowing he was not telling them the whole truth.
Read: Madeline Soto case: State to seek death penalty against Stephan Sterns
Partial Recorded Audio:
Deputy: let’s just, say you drop her off at 8:40. We don’t see your car come back south until 10:00 o’clock in the morning, so what are you doing between 8:40 and 10:00?
Sterns: Cruising around a little bit.
Deputy: okay, but I asked you earlier, you know, like what you were doing, and you said you were there for [like] 5 or 10 minutes, and then you came back home.
The same night, Sterns told detectives about changing his flat tire on 192 and hurting himself in the process. Detectives also went into further details about his messages with Maddie and late-night Facetime calls with the teen.
After the discovery, Kissimmee Police arrested Sterns on the 28th. He is now facing 60 charges, including Capital Sexual Battery, Lewd or Lascivious Molestation, and Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child. He has been in jail on no bond since his arrest.
Madeline’s body was discovered in a semi-wooded area in St Cloud.
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