Madeline Soto Plea Deal: Mom's Boyfriend Confesses to Rape and Murder of Girl, 13, to Avoid Death Penalty By Chris Spargo 19

The boyfriend of Madeline Soto’s mother has confessed to killing and sexually assaulting the 13-year-old girl before dumping her body in the woods.

Stephan Sterns entered guilty pleas to murder and multiple sexual battery counts on the same day his sexual battery trial was set to begin.

He would have been facing the death penalty in his murder trial scheduled for later this year, but prosecutors agreed to take that off the table as part of the agreement.

Madeline was first reported missing on Feb. 26, 2024, when the young girl failed to show up to school the day after her birthday.

On March 1, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office discovered her body dumped in the woods in rural Osceola County.

A suspect was already in custody by that time, though, with the Kissimmee Police Department having arrested Sterns two days prior.

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He had immediately become a person of interest in the case because he had been tasked with dropping Madeline off at school the day she went missing, according to an affidavit seeking a search warrant obtained by PEOPLE.

Officers quickly discovered that Madeline had not been dropped off at school. When they told Sterns that surveillance footage showed no sign of him doing so that day, his story began to change, according to investigators.

Sterns then authorized the KPD to search his phone, with the affidavit saying he informed officers he had done a factory reset of the device on the same day the girl went missing.

That reset did not clear his Google Drive, however, where officers said they discovered “disturbing images … that were criminal, and sexual in nature.”

That news release went on to say: “Detectives then were able to determine that those crimes were committed at the family home in Kissimmee.”

Sterns refused to speak with investigators from the OCSO and Kissimmee Police Department when questioned about this and invoked his right to an attorney — at which time he was placed under arrest.

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A few weeks later, Jennifer Soto spoke about the relationship between Sterns and her daughter with officers from the KPD.

“[Jennifer] stated Madeline never wanted to sleep alone in her bedroom. [Jennifer] couldn’t remember how many times she let Madeline sleep with Stephan alone in his bedroom,” read a supplemental investigation report from the KPD obtained by PEOPLE. “[Jennifer] stated she allowed it because she trusted Stephan, and he treated [Madeline] as his daughter.”

Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage from the morning of Feb. 26 showing Sterns driving with a slumped-over female passenger wearing clothing that matched what Madeline was reported to be wearing the day she went missing, according to the affidavit.

Additional surveillance video showed Sterns making multiple trips in two separate cars to dispose of trash bags as well that day.

During a search of a dumpster where Sterns had been seen throwing away trash bags, police found Madeline’s backpack and her school-issued laptop.

Sterns initially entered a not guilty plea to both the murder and 60 sexual battery charges he faced in the case, and would have faced the death penalty if found guilty of the former.

He is now expected to serve a sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced next month in an Osceola County courtroom.