Madeline Soto’s cause of death revealed months after her mother’s boyfriend allegedly killed 13-year-old: report

The cause of death of Florida teenager Madeline Soto has been revealed months after her mother’s boyfriend allegedly killed and dumped the 13-year-old’s body in a secluded wooded area.

Madeline’s death was ruled a homicide by strangulation, according to documents obtained by WKMG.

The 13-year-old was first reported missing on February 26 after staff at her Orlando middle school realized she had never arrived for class that day.

Four days later, her body was found in the woods of Osceola County wearing clothes similar to those she had been wearing before she disappeared, police said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has revealed that Madeline was likely already dead before the search for the missing teenager began.

Stephan Sterns, who was dating Madeline’s mother, Jenn Soto, at the time, was charged with murder in Madeline’s death.

Sterns, 37, was confirmed to be the last person to see the teenager before she disappeared.

“I dropped her off (at school) earlier than expected, I could have waited longer. She seemed fine, she was walking to school,” a teary-eyed Sterns told a local news station on Feb. 27 before he was arrested.

He was arrested the next day and initially charged with sexual assault and possession of child sexual abuse material, including images and videos on his phone that allegedly showed him sexually abusing a young girl.

Sterns was later charged with first-degree murder.

The suspected killer was already a person of interest in the case when Madeline’s body was found.

Although Sterns reset his phone before his arrest, detectives said they were able to find child pornography and evidence that Sterns had sexually abused the teen.

The discovery revealed that Sterns allegedly began sexually abusing Madeline in 2022 when she was just 11 years old, an arrest affidavit released in early March revealed.

Sterns also allegedly slept with Madeline in her bedroom at the family’s Kissimmee home the night before her death, according to newly released investigative reports obtained by WKMG.

Following the discovery of Madeline’s body, authorities noted that footage from Monday morning showed Sterns driving his 2010 Lincoln MK with the teen’s lifeless body allegedly still in the car.

He was then seen throwing several items into a trash can, where police later recovered his backpack and school-issued laptop.

Investigators also discovered that Sterns traveled to North Port, Florida, the day after Madeline disappeared, according to WKMG.

Sterns’ parents are believed to live in the area, and he is known to stay at their home when he is not at the Soto residence.

Detectives believe his trip to North Port was an attempt by Sterns to erase evidence of his alleged sexual abuse of the teenager.

Sterns is also charged with 40 counts of unlawful possession of material depicting ten or more images of a sexual performance by a child, five counts of sexual assault of a child 12 to 18, seven counts of lewd or lascivious sexual assault and eight counts of sexual assault of a child under 12, according to WKMG.

He is due back in court on October 14 for a hearing on the status of his case.

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case.