This time last year Stephan Sterns was given 21 life sentences for the death of 13-year-old Madeline “Maddie” Soto.

Maddie was reported missing February 26, 2024, after she didn't made it to Hunter’s Creek Middle School in Orlando. Mom's boyfriend, Sterns, initially claimed he had dropped Maddie off that morning, but surveillance footage showed the lie.

Two days later, March 1, 2024, Maddie's body was found in a wooded area near St. Cloud. Her death rules a homicide by strangulation. Investigators believe she was already dead the morning she was reported missing and that Sterns moved her body that day when he said he was taking her to school. Video evidence showed Sterns discarding items, including her backpack and school laptop, into a dumpster at the apartment complex where she lived.

Forensic analysis of Sterns’ phone revealed images and videos of child sexual abuse, dating back to when Madeline was as young as eight. When investigators initially looked at the phone, they found it had been factory reset. He claimed that was an accident.

Sterns was arrested February 28, 2024 on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material, and later indicted for first‑degree murder and multiple sexual offenses. Sterns pleaded no contest to first‑degree premeditated murder and guilty to 60 other sex crime charges. He began serving his 21 concurrent life sentences with no possibility of parole at the Central Florida Reception Center.

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