Stephan Sterns, the man who stands accused of the horrific murder of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, has made a bid to remove the death penalty from his potential consequences, facing charges of sexual molestation, strangulation, and the disposing of Soto's body near St. Cloud, as detailed by ClickOrlando.
Soto was reported missing late last February after not arriving at Hunter’s Creek Middle School. Her remains were discovered along Hickory Tree Road on March 1. Sterns, who was the boyfriend of Soto’s mother, initially stated that he had dropped the teenager at school on the morning of her disappearance. Still, investigators instead found evidence that questioned this claim and later found Soto's possessions thrown away in a Kissimmee apartment complex dumpster.
Within the case filings, Sterns' attorneys have lodged several motions that aim to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty in this instance, asserting that pursuing such a sentence would infringe on Sterns' fundamental right to life, a position reported by WESH.
Despite Sterns' alleged attempt to obscure digital evidence by factory resetting his phone, detectives uncovered chilling content, including child pornography, which has been linked to Soto and suggests a history of sexual abuse dating back to 2022. The gravity of the evidence compiled in a six-part series strives to underline the case built against Stern, who maintains a plea of not guilty and is scheduled for trial in September.
