Stephan Sterns' defense claims it has 'confidential information; wants to delay upcoming court hearing
Maddie Soto case: Judge rejects Stephan Sterns' motion to keep hearings secret
The court hearings for the man accused of killing 13-year-old Maddie Soto will be public. A judge denied Stephen Sterns' motion to make his hearing's private, despite his lawyers wanting the pre-trial hearings closed to the public and media. Sterns is accused of sexually abusing and then killing his stepdaughter last year.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Stephan Sterns, the man accused of sexually assaulting and killing 13-year-old Madeline Soto, is asking a judge to delay his upcoming court hearing due to "confidential information" his attorneys have recently obtained, according to new court records.
The defense claims they will not have time to prepare for an upcoming court appearance, citing the newly-obtained information, a recently-filed motion reads. State prosecutors have objected to the potential delay.
Suppression hearing set for Wednesday
What we know:
The suppression hearing scheduled for Wednesday comes after Sterns' public defender asked a judge to bar jurors from seeing the evidence collected from Sterns' phone and Google account, due to investigators allegedly unlawfully seizing and searching his phone.
However, the prosecution claims that Sterns gave consent and the evidence from both the phone and Google account were properly obtained.
Defense claims to have new "confidential information"
Now Sterns and his attorneys hope to delay the suppression hearing due to this new "confidential information" they have related to the case.
In a new motion seeking a delay, Sterns' attorney wrote:
- "Since filing [the suppression motions in February], the Defense has come into possession of confidential information that may impact the presentation of evidence at that hearing."
- "The Defense will not have time to develop this evidence before the currently scheduled Motion to Suppress scheduled for hearing on April 23, 2025."
- "As such, Defense is requesting to continue these hearings to be reset for a later date."
A hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday to determine if Wednesday's suppression hearing will be delayed.
According to court records, the prosecution objects the delay.
What we don't know:
No details have been provided by Sterns' attorney regarding the "confidential information."
Latest Updates:
- Watch: Stephan Sterns 2-hour interrogation amid Madeline Soto disappearance
- Madeline Soto update: Will the media, public be banned from Stephan Sterns' pretrial court hearings?
- Maddie Soto update: Stephen Sterns jailhouse calls released
- Judge denies Stephan Sterns' motion to ban the press, public from his pre-trial hearings
Who is Stephan Sterns?
Stephan Sterns was the boyfriend of Jennifer Soto, Madeline's mother.
According to court documents and law enforcement, Sterns lived with Jennifer, Madeline, and another roommate on and off. He would sometimes take Madeline Soto to school and would also sometimes sleep in the same bed as Madeline and Jennifer, court records said.
In Feb. 2024, he reportedly took Madeline Soto to school while the girl's mother stayed back at the house. Hours later when Madeline's mom went to pick her up from school, she was told Madeline never made it to school that day.
Booking photo of Stephan Sterns from the Osceola County Jail.
Sterns is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the girl. He is also charged in a separate case with some 60 counts of sexual abuse and possession of child sexual abuse material after thousands of graphic photos, some including Maddie, were found on his cell phone and saved to a Google Drive account, court records said.
He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
His trial on the first-degree murder charge is currently scheduled to begin on Sept. 22, 2025.
Who is Maddie Soto?
Madeline "Maddie" Soto was a 13-year-old girl who was reported missing on Feb. 26, 2024. Maddie had just celebrated her 13th birthday on February 22, days before she was reported missing.
Madeline was a student at Hunter's Creek Middle School in Orlando. Though, she lived with her mom, Sterns, and an adult roommate in Kissimmee.
Her body was found in a grassy area in Osceola County on March 1.
Timeline:
2024:
- Sunday, Feb. 25: Madeline Soto's 13th birthday celebration
- Monday, Feb. 26: Madeline Soto was last seen at 8:30 a.m., didn't make it to school
- Tuesday, Feb. 27: Madeline Soto's missing poster was released, officials begin search
- Tuesday night, Feb. 27: Madeline Soto's mom, Jenn Soto, speaks with FOX 35; would-be suspect appears in background
- Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 28: Orange County Sheriff John Mina hosts press conference about ongoing search
- Wednesday night, Feb. 28: Mom's boyfriend Stephan Sterns arrested on unrelated charges, named ‘prime suspect’ in Madeline Soto case
- Thursday, Feb. 29: Kissimmee Police Department releases Stephan Sterns' arrest affidavit
- Thursday, Feb. 29: Body language expert assesses Stephan Sterns' body language in Zoom interview with Jenn Soto
- Friday morning, March 1: Stephan Sterns dodges questions from FOX 35 while being transferred from Orange County to Osceola County
- Friday afternoon, March 1: Officials say they're ‘confident’ that Madeline Soto is dead
- Friday afternoon, March 1: Multi-agency search for Madeline Soto near area where Stephen Sterns was last seen
- Friday afternoon, March 1: Body found amid search for Madeline Soto
After Maddie's body was found:
- Saturday morning, March 2: Stephan Sterns waives first appearance in court
- Wednesday, March 6: New court documents allege Stephan Sterns may have abused Madeline Soto years before her disappearance, death
- Tuesday, March 12: State Attorney's Office files 60 additional charges against Stephan Sterns
- Thursday, March 21: Kissimmee Police Chief holds press conference with updates about investigation
- Wednesday, April 4: State Attorney Andrew Bain explains why more information has not been released into the Madeline Soto death investigation
- Wednesday, April 4: FOX 35 obtained the 911 calls from the morning 13-year-old Madeline Soto went missing from Orange County
- Saturday, April 15: Maddie Soto’s family and community members gathered at a vigil Saturday to remember the 13-year-old who was found dead days after she was reported missing in February.
- Wednesday, April 24: An Osceola County judge granted a motion to continue the pretrial for Stephan Sterns.
- Wednesday, April 24: A new trial date has been set for Stephan Sterns after an Osceola County judge granted the defense's motion for more time during a pretrial hearing.
- Thursday, April 25: Stephan Sterns has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Florida girl Madeline Soto.
After Stephan Sterns was charged:
- Monday, June 10: The State Attorney's Office intends to seek the death penalty against Stephan Sterns, the man accused of killing his girlfriend's daughter, 13-year-old Madeline "Maddie" Soto, according to court records – should he be convicted.
- Wednesday, July 10: Attorneys for Stephan Sterns, who was charged for the murder of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, have filed motions to continue both trials.
- Thursday, August 22: New police interviews with Stephan Sterns, Jennifer Soto from hours after teen went 'missing'
- Friday, August 23: New documents obtained by FOX 35 this week show that the teen's mother may have known about that alleged abuse.
- Monday, August 26: Madeline Soto's mom admits to knowing Stephan Sterns was 'grooming and abusing' her daughter, documents show.
- Monday, August 26: New documents shed light on how Madeline Soto's body got to the rural location it was eventually found at, and, ultimately, how she died.
- Monday, October 14: Trial date set for Stephan Sterns
- Wednesday, October 23: Kissimmee police revealed new information in the ongoing investigation. Alleged killer Stephan Sterns secretly filmed naked roommate, officials say.
- Friday, October 25: "I didn't start it" Those are the words Stephen Sterns told his parents in a recorded call from jail, audio which was released to FOX 35 Orlando.
2025:
- Thursday, February 6: Stephan Sterns and his attorney file dozens of motions ahead of his murder trial set to begin in September. Asking to strike the death penalty and to have all physical restraint devices removed from Sterns during trial proceedings.
- Wednesday, February 12: Stephan Sterns wants phone evidence tossed ahead of child sex crimes trial.
- Wednesday, February 19: Stephan Sterns asks judge to ban public, press from court hearing.
- Wednesday, February 26: Remembering the 13-year-old one year later; accused killer preps for trial.
- Tuesday, March 4: New details released in the death of Madeline Soto, one year since the initial report
- Wednesday, March 5: Watch: Stephan Sterns 2-hour interrogation amid Madeline Soto disappearance
- Thursday, March 20: Madeline Soto update: Will the media, public be banned from Stephan Sterns' pretrial court hearings?
- Friday, March 21: Maddie Soto update: Stephen Sterns jailhouse calls released
- Thursday, March 27: Judge denies Stephan Sterns' motion to ban the press, public from his pre-trial hearings
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the North Port Police Department, documents from the Orange County Clerk of Courts and Osceola County Clerk of Courts.