The accused killer of Florida teen Madeline Soto casually stood by her mother as they reported the girl missing, troubling new body cam footage revealed.
Stephan Michael Sterns, 37, is alleged to have already murdered Madeline and dumped her body in a wooded area by the time the family spoke with police on the evening of Feb. 26.
Sterns – who was dating Madeline’s mother, Jenn Soto, at the time – is seen standing quietly with his arms crossed while the worried mom explained that Madeline was dropped off near school that morning, but never got to class.
When the officer asked what Madeline was wearing, Sterns spoke up and said the middle schooler was in a “green hoodie, white crocs, and either blue or black pants.”
“She just celebrated her 13th birthday,” he added.
On the morning that she was last seen, Madeline asked to be dropped off a couple blocks from school because she was embarrassed by Sterns’ car, Jenn Soto could be heard telling the officer.
“She didn’t want to be dropped off at school. She wanted to be dropped a half block away so she could walk,” the worried mom said.
“She didn’t explain, she’s in a phase,” Sterns added.
“I thought she was looking for headphones before…walking on, but she was just kind of in that direction, looked the same as any other morning,” he claimed about the last time he saw the teen.
Police eventually reviewed local surveillance footage, which confirmed that Madeline never made it to class at Hunter’s Creek Middle School.
Just two days after the initial interview with police, Sterns was arrested on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Sterns, who has pleaded not guilty in hte case, was already a person of interest in the case when Madeline’s body was found in a wooded area in Osceola County on March 1.
She was still dressed in clothes resembling the outfit she was last seen in, authorities said.
After the discovery of the young girl’s remains, police revealed that surveillance footage from the morning of Feb. 26 showed Sterns supposedly driving around with her body in his car.
He was also spotted dumping items in a nearby trash bin, where police later found Madeline’s backpack and school laptop, they added.
An arrest affidavit released in early March revealed that Sterns is believed to have started sexually abusing Madeline in 2022 – when she was only 11 years old.
Sterns was charged with first-degree murder in April, and is expected to stand trial in July.
It is not clear if prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case.
