A man accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old Florida girl has accepted a plea deal that removes the possibility of the death penalty. Stephan Sterns, the former boyfriend of the victim's mother, appeared in a Florida courtroom on Monday where he pleaded no contest to the murder of Madeline Soto and guilty to 60 sexual abuse charges linked to the case.
The plea hearing came just a day before Sterns was due to stand trial on Tuesday for the sex abuse charges. He had previously faced the death penalty in his murder trial, scheduled for September, but prosecutors agreed to remove it as part of the agreement. Sterns had initially pleaded not guilty to raping and murdering Madeline, who was the daughter of his former girlfriend, Jenn Soto.
Madeline was reported missing on February 26, 2024, a day after her 13th birthday, when she failed to arrive at Hunter's Creek Middle School. More than 50 law enforcement officers searched the nearby woods for days before her body was discovered on March 1 near Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County.
During the investigation, police found images on Sterns' phone and Google Drive showing him raping the teenager. Sterns was arrested on February 28, two days after Madeline disappeared, after the discovery of 'disturbing images' on his phone which he had attempted to delete. On March 4, a further arrest warrant was issued, alleging Sterns had been abusing Madeline since 2022, when she was just 11 years old.
