On Monday, Florida police released bodycam footage from the night a 13-year-old girl was reported missing in February.
Orange County police believe Madeline Soto was murdered by her mother’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, 37. WESH obtained bodycam footage from the day Soto was reported missing on February 26, showing Soto’s mother explaining how she went to pick up her daughter at the middle school but she never showed up.
“So my daughter was dropped off close to school this morning but never made it,” Soto’s mother said while standing next to Sterns.
She went on to claim that she did not want Sterns to drop her off at the school because she was embarrassed by his car.
“She didn’t want to be dropped off at school. She wanted to be dropped a half block away so she could walk,” she said, according to WESH.
Sterns lived with Soto and her mother. Soto claimed he dropped her off at school that day. However, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said they believe that wasn’t true and that “she was already dead at the time and that Stephan Sterns moved her body in the early morning hours on that day.”
Sterns was allegedly seen discarding a child’s items in a dumpster the morning of Soto’s disappearance. Authorities reportedly found a laptop and backpack in the dumpster.
In the bodycam footage, Sterns told the police officer what Soto was last seen wearing. Detectives also reviewed security footage which confirmed Soto never made it to school.
On March 1, Soto’s body was reportedly found in a wooded area in Osceola County. Stearns was said to be in the area changing a tire days prior.
In addition to first-degree murder, Sterns is charged with sexual battery for abusing Soto during his relationship with her mother. He remains jailed without bond.
