Madeline Soto Murder: Mother's Story Doesn't Add Up!

Statements made by Jennifer Soto regarding the murder of her daughter aren’t adding up!

As we’ve been reporting, Madeline “Maddie” Soto disappeared on February 26. Five days after the 13-year-old was reported missing, police discovered her body in a wooded area in St. Cloud, Florida. The cause of death has not been determined yet, but law enforcement does have a suspect currently — her mom’s boyfriend.

Stephan Sterns is believed to be the last person to see Maddie. He told Osceola County sheriff officials he dropped her off down the road from her school on the day she was reported missing. But that seems to have been a lie. Police discovered surveillance footage that showed Sterns throwing items in a dumpster at an apartment complex. When cops searched the dumpster, they came across Maddie’s backpack and school-issued laptop. Another video also shows Sterns driving a vehicle in the area of Hickory Tree Road, allegedly with the body of Maddie inside, between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. on the day she vanished. That same street was where police found Maddie’s remains.

Sterns has been arrested — though not for Maddie’s death. Despite all of the evidence against him, he has not yet been charged for her murder. As of right now, Sterns was only charged with sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material. Police uncovered evidence, including explicit videos and photos of Maddie from when she was 11 years old on his phone, that Sterns had been sexually abusing her for nearly two years. So, so awful.

When it comes to her murder, the investigation into that is still ongoing. So far, though, there have been some major mishaps in the case — mainly with the Sheriff posting a picture of Maddie’s decaying body on Instagram. But the twists and turns aren’t over yet — the latest twist comes from Maddie’s own mother!

Jennifer’s timeline surrounding her daughter’s disappearance has been called into question. Why? Her story doesn’t add up at all! Jennifer spoke to WFTV on February 27 — the day after Maddie was reported missing. She claimed Stephan had taken the teenager to school on February 26 and that the last conversation she had with her happened the night before. The pair discussed her 13th birthday party, Jennifer alleged, before bed that evening:

“I told her ‘good night,’ and yeah, that was it.”

But it turns out that was not the last time Jennifer saw Maddie! According to documents obtained by WFTV on Tuesday, the mom told law enforcement she saw her daughter on the morning of her disappearance! Jennifer explained to police on February 26 that she saw Maddie getting dressed from school at 8:00 a.m., and Sterns dropped her off at school at around 8:30 a.m. An initial report went on to state that Sterns claimed Maddie stopped to look inside her backpack after she got out of the car, and then he drove away. Wait, she lied to the outlet about when she last saw Maddie? It sounds like it…

And get this, readers. Jennifer may have not only lied to WFTV, but she possibly did to the police as well! After the report was taken, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Maddie was most likely dead earlier than the timeline Jennifer gave to police! He doesn’t even believe Sterns dropped Maddie off at school! He said in a news conference:

“Our detectives have determined that Madeline was never dropped off on the morning of Feb. 26 near her school. Instead, we believe she was already dead at the time, and that Stephan Sterns moved her body in the early morning hours of that day.”

OMG…

Per WFTV, surveillance footage went on to show Sterns dumping her belongings in the dumpster at 7:35 a.m. Mina stated that the video then shows Maddie in Sterns’ car at 8:19 a.m. — and she is believed to have already died by that point. So the version of events she told reporters has differed from what she’s been telling police? Not only that, her statements don’t even align with what investigators know about the case right now! Things are not looking good for Jennifer… especially since there are even more glaring inconsistencies in her story!

During her interview with WFTV, she said she AND Sterns “dropped her off at school, close to school,” adding:

“She wanted to walk the rest of the way.”

But remember, Jennifer previously had told the outlet the last time she saw and spoke to her daughter was on Sunday — the night before her disappearance. Of course, we know now she also told the police something completely different. So far as anyone can tell, Maddie never made it to school on the day she vanished.

And here’s another big issue. In the same interview with WFTV, she changed her story again! She went back to say that she didn’t see Maddie that morning:

“I wasn’t the one who took her to school in the morning. That was my partner.”

Clearly, Jennifer can’t get her story straight. But why would she lie? Watch the interview with WFTV (below):

Now, the outlet reports that her responses from multiple interviews are being investigated. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.

[Image via Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Corrections Department, WFTV Channel 9/YouTube]