Madeline Soto's cause of death only known months after her body was found

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Florida. – Months after the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto was discovered in Osceola County, new investigative documents have revealed the cause of death.

According to the documents, Soto's death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.

Soto was first reported missing in late February and her body was discovered about four days later in a wooded area off Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County. Investigators said they were “convinced” Soto was already dead when they began searching.

While Soto's mother and Stephan Sterns – the mother's boyfriend – initially claimed that Sterns had dropped Soto off at school that morning, investigators revealed that their stories did not entirely match.

[TIMELINE: Here’s where things stand in the Madeline Soto case so far]

In fact, on the morning of Soto's disappearance, Sterns was seen on security cameras throwing items into a dumpster at a Kissimmee apartment complex. Soto's backpack and school laptop were later found in the same dumpster.

Soto's body was also discovered in Stern's car that same day as he was driving around, but authorities said she was likely no longer alive at the time.

Even though Sterns had reset his phone to factory settings, investigators said they were able to find child pornography and evidence that Sterns had sexually abused Soto as early as 2022.

Sterns was arrested and is now facing the following charges:

• premeditated murder

• 40 counts of illegal possession of materials depicting sexual acts by a child Ten or more images

• 5 cases of sexual abuse of a child between 12 and 18 years of age (family/custody law)

• 7 cases of lewd or lascivious harassment

• 8 cases of sexual abuse of a child under 12 years of age

The newly released investigative reports also revealed that Sterns and Soto slept together in Stern's room at the family's Kissimmee home the night before her death.

Additional details from Kissimmee police show Sterns had driven to North Port the day after Soto's disappearance. His parents live in the area, and he was known to stay there when he wasn't with Soto's mother in Kissimmee, police said.

Investigators believe that Sterns' trip to North Port was an attempt to destroy evidence of the sexual abuse he committed.

A hearing on the status of Stern's case is scheduled for October 14.

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