ORLANDO, Fla. — New audio released Wednesday by the Orange County Sheriff's Office delivers a firsthand recounting of the hours before and after 13-year-old Madeline Soto went missing on Feb. 26, and it's done through the words of her own mother.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Orange County Sheriff's Office released audio of an interview with Madeline Soto's mother the day after she went missing in February

  •  At the time of the interview, the 13-year-old was only missing, but her body was found days later in a field in Osceola County

  • Stephan Sterns, the boyfriend of Soto's mother, is facing the death penalty in connection with the case

When she spoke with detectives at 11:32 p.m. on Feb. 27, Jennifer Soto was looking for her daughter, who was only missing at the time after she failed to arrive at school the previous day.

The 13-year-old was, unfortunately, found dead in an Osceola County field days later on March 1.

Jennifer Soto's boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, has been charged not only in Madeline Soto's death, but is also facing dozens of charges alleging he sexually abused the girl starting in at least 2022.

The audio from Jennifer Soto's interview with detectives largely contains information that was already released in police reports that documented the interaction. But the recording is the first time Jennifer Soto's take on the case has been heard — the details of which she recounts to deputies in a seemingly calm and collected manner for more than half an hour.

One of the first things detectives asked Jennifer Soto was whether or not a gun was in the house. While she said there was one in the house, she was not completely sure where it was, saying, "I believe it's upstairs in the bedroom. Bedroom number — it's got a number four on it."

At the begining of the interview, one of the detectives introduces herself as a member of the Sheriff's Office sex crimes unit who was assigned to the case due to Madeline's age and because "we sometimes take over (an) investigation when it comes to missing persons." 

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Sterns, 37, was believed to be the last person to see Madeline alive on Feb. 26, as he was supposed to drop her off at school that morning.

In the Sheriff's Office audio, Jennifer Soto tells detectives that she hadn't physically seen her daughter since around 11 p.m. the night before she went missing. Jennifer Soto told detectives that her daughter had her birthday party earlier that day, but she wasn't able to attend because she was at work.

Jennifer Soto told the detectives that she sent Madeline and Sterns upstairs to sleep in the bedroom marked No. 4 that night. When she was asked if it was normal for the two of them to sleep in the same room, Soto said, "Sometimes. When I really need a good night's sleep, I will send them upstairs."

"Also, a lot of times, we will sleep together in the king sized bed (downstairs), all three of us," she added. "Or sometimes Stephan will go upstairs and (redacted audio) our bed alone. It really depends on what's going on that night with our schedules and what we're doing."

Sterns, who has been held without bond at the Osceola County Jail since Feb. 28, currently faces the following charges:

  • Premeditated murder
  • Eight counts of sexual battery on a child under 12
  • Five counts of sexual battery of a child aged 12-18
  • Seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation
  • 40 counts of unlawful possession of 10 or more images depicting a sexual performance by a child

State Attorney Andrew Bain said in June that his office would be seeking the death penalty in the case. 

Sterns remains the only suspect in Madeline Soto's disappearance and death.