Madeline Soto: Story Jennifer Soto gave law enforcement doesn’t line up with what investigators know The story Jennifer Soto -- the mother of 13-year-old Madeline Soto -- gave to law enforcement does not line up with what investigators know.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 learned Tuesday that the story Jennifer Soto -- the mother of 13-year-old Madeline Soto -- gave to law enforcement does not line up with what investigators know.
Madeline Soto: Search for missing girl enters 5th day in Orange County
Madeline Soto: Missing Kissimmee girl's body found in rural Osceola County The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Friday evening that Madeline Soto’s body has been found. Investigators said Osceola County deputies found the missing 13-year-old girl’s body at about 4:30 p.m. in a wooded area along Hickory Tree Road. (WFTV/WFTV)
Stephan Sterns & Madeline Soto Detectives believe Stephan Sterns killed 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Monday morning at a Kissimmee apartment complex. (WFTV)
Search for Madeline Soto Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon. (WFTV)
Search for Madeline Soto Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon. (WFTV)
Search for Madeline Soto Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon. (WFTV)
Video Sources: Madeline Soto’s body discovered in rural Osceola County Sources say that Maddie’s body was found in rural St. Cloud near Hickory Tree Road. (Chantelle Navarro /Chantelle Navarro)
Law enforcement join the search for Madeline Soto Police and deputies canvassed the area of Osceola County for 13-year-old Madeline Soto. (Nick Papantonis/Nick Papantonis)
Kissimmee Police Department will take over Madeline Soto investigation The Kissimmee Police Department will handle the search for Madeline Soto, said Chief Betty Holland. (Nick Papantonis/Nick Papantonis)
Orange County Sheriff John Mina gives update on Madeline Soto The sheriff said the efforts will now shift to recovering her body. (Orange County Sheriff's Office /Orange County Sheriff's Office)
Orange County Sheriff's Office gave an update for Madeline Soto Sheriff John Mina said he is confident that she is dead, and recovery efforts will continue. (Nick Papantonis/Nick Papantonis)
Suspect in girl’s disappearance taken to Osceola County Jail
Madeline Soto: Community to hold prayer vigil tonight Members of the community will gather to pray for 13-year-old Madeline Soto. (Unity & Fire Church International/Unity & Fire Church International)
Stephan Sterns & Madeline Soto Deputies in Orange County said 13-year-old Madeline Soto has been missing since Monday morning. And now, her mother’s boyfriend is in jail on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material. Stephan Sterns was supposed to go before an Orange County judge Thursday morning but refused to be in court. (OCSO)
Search continues for missing girl, Madeline Soto, as her mother’s boyfriend refuses to face judge
Law enforcement join the search for Madeline Soto More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation. (Orange County Sheriff's Office /Orange County Sheriff's Office)
Law enforcement join the search for Madeline Soto More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation. (Orange County Sheriff's Office /Orange County Sheriff's Office)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Large search party gathers Wednesday to look for missing 13-year-old girl in Orange County
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Orange County deputies search for missing 13-year-old girl Madeline Soto (Jennifer Soto /Jennifer Soto)
Madeline Soto The Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Friday confirmed that the body of Madeline Soto, 13, has been located. (Orange County Sheriff's Office/Orange County Sheriff's Office)
She said that the last conversation she had with her daughter happened the night before her disappearance.
But a report Channel 9 obtained Tuesday shows that Soto told deputies that she saw her daughter the morning of the girl’s disappearance.
No one has been charged in Madeline Soto’s death. But investigators are looking into who knew what, when. That means they are reviewing initial interviews of the couple and ones conducted later on.
Sources told Channel 9′s Shannon Butler that the statements about the timeline of Madeline Soto’s disappearance have not always been consistent.
Osceola County Sheriff Lopez apologizes after social media post shows possible body of Madeline Soto The Osceola County Sheriff is responding to outrage after he shared a picture of what is believed to be 13-year-old Madeline Soto’s lifeless body on social medi (Nikki DeMarco, WFTV.com/WFTV)
Jennifer Soto told Channel 9 last week that the last conversation she had with her daughter was about her 13th birthday party the night before her disappearance.
“I told her ‘good night,’ and yeah, that was it,” she said.
But according to documents, Sunday night was not the last time Jennifer Soto saw her daughter.
Newly obtained documents show that the girl’s mother told deputies Feb. 26 that she saw her daughter getting dressed for school at 8 a.m. Monday, and Sterns then took her to school.
What's next in Madeline Soto case; Osceola County sheriff explains accidental photo post
But since that initial report was taken, Channel 9 learned from Orange County Sheriff John Mina that Madeline Soto was likely dead earlier than that.
“Our detectives have determined that Madeline was never dropped off on the morning of Feb. 26 near her school,” Mina said during a news conference. “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.”
Channel 9 has reviewed statements from Sterns and Jennifer Soto to try to piece together what happened in the final hours of Madeline Soto’s life.
“We dropped her off at school, close to school,” Jennifer Soto told Channel 9. “She wanted to walk the rest of the way.”
Jennifer Soto, Stephan Sterns speak to Channel 9 about Madeline Soto's disappearance Jennifer Soto and Stephan Sterns spoke to Channel 9 on Tuesday about Madeline Soto's disappearance. (WFTV)
But in that same interview, she said this:
“I wasn’t the one who took her to school in the morning. That was my partner.”
Detectives believe that Madeline Soto was likely dead early Monday, because surveillance video recorded at the Kissimmee apartment complex where the family lived shows Sterns dumping her belongings in a dumpster at 7:35 a.m.
At 8:19 a.m., video shows the girl in Sterns’ vehicle, and she was believed to already be dead in that video, Mina said.
The Kissimmee Police Department has taken over the investigation into the girl’s death since Mina’s news conference.
Sources tell Channel 9 that Jennifer Soto has been interviewed multiple times by detectives from two agencies and that they are looking closely at all the statements she has made.
Former chief judge explains next step in Madeline Soto case as evidence builds against prime suspect It’s been several days since Stephan Sterns was transferred to Osceola County Jail over the weekend. (WFTV)
But Kissimmee police will not officially comment.
An initial report also shows that Sterns told investigators that after Madeline Soto got out of the car, she stopped to look in her backpack before he drove away. That backpack was discovered in a dumpster after her death.
Sterns said he went home for about an hour after going to a vape store and then ran errands and was home until 2:30 that day, the report said.
Detectives said a tip showed him changing a flat tire not far from where the girl’s body was found that afternoon.
Before Sterns’ arrest, he told Channel 9 that he dropped off Madeline Soto at school the morning of her disappearance.
“She was asleep for most of the way,” he said. “I told her ‘have a good day at school’ when she got out -- ‘I love her.’ She said, ‘Thanks, I love you, too.’ And that was it.”
Law enforcement officers believe Sterns never drove Madeline Soto to school and that she was already dead that morning.
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Madeline Soto: Missing Kissimmee girl's body found in rural Osceola County The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Friday evening that Madeline Soto’s body has been found. (WFTV)