Madeline Soto case: Court hearings set for man accused of killing Osceola County teen

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Two pretrial hearings are scheduled on Wednesday for Stephan Sterns in Osceola County.

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He’s facing murder charges in the death of Madeline Soto, as well as dozens of other counts related to sexual battery and child sex abuse material.

Sterns is not expected to be in court Wednesday because he filed a waiver of presence for both conferences.

Read: State to seek death penalty against Stephan Sterns

One of the hearings is for the murder charge he is facing; the other hearing is for the dozens of child sex abuse and possession of sex abuse materials charges he was arrested for before the murder charge.

According to the Osceola County Clerk of Courts’ website, the trial for the murder charge is tentatively set to begin July 16.

The trial for the other charges is planned for Aug. 19.

Read: Stephan Sterns faces 60 new charges

This all comes after Sterns and Maddie’s mom reported the teen missing on Feb. 26.

However, deputies later said Sterns’ report was completely made up.

Deputies said video surveillance showed him throwing Maddie’s items in a dumpster.

Watch: Bodycam videos show Stephan Sterns’ 1st interactions with deputies

He’s then accused of driving her body to Saint Cloud and leaving it for deputies to find days later.

Channel 9 will have a crew monitoring both court hearings and will provide updates on Eyewitness News.

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