Stephen Sterns, the alleged Florida child killer accused of murdering 13-year-old Madeline Soto, reportedly told his parents in a phone call months later that her death was “all an accident.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police found Madeline’s body on March 1, 2024, in a wooded area in Osceola County.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, her body was discovered off Hickory Tree Road around 4:30 p.m., following a tip received by the police after a press conference earlier that Friday.
Initially arrested on child pornography charges when images were found on his cell phone, Sterns was later charged with murder and other related offenses.
“Understand that anything I did was not done while being in my rational mind. I had snapped at that point. I just… I wish I had done the right thing to begin with. You know, I wish I had run downstairs and shaken her awake and called 911 and all that,” Sterns said told his mother during a jail call, according to FOX 35.
“I wish you had, too. Maybe she could have been saved. But I, you know,” Sterns’ mother, Debra Sterns, replied.
In another call, Debra Sterns commented on the tense relationship between Stephen and Madeline’s mother, Jennifer Soto.
“There’s jealousy on the other side too. I mean if she told you, ‘I hope you don’t leave me for my daughter,’ … that tells me that she was thinking about that for a while.”
The comment came after police reports indicated that Sterns allegedly slept in the same room as Madeline, reportedly at her mother’s request.
“She used to joke about it. You know, call it an Electra complex. Used to joke and say, you know, ‘You better not leave me for my daughter when she’s older.’ Things like that,” Sterns responded.
In a conversation with his father, Sterns painted a vague picture of what happened the night Madeline died, indicating that she had already died by the time he found her in the home he shared with Madeline and Jennifer Soto.
Sterns called Madeline’s death “all an accident” but couldn’t explain what happened to her.
Sterns’ father: “Again, I know you can’t talk about this, but it almost sounds like you didn’t know she had, something had happened to her?” his father said.
Sterns: “Well, I discovered her in the state that she was in after everything was said and done. So I mean, obviously, I can’t get into details, but I was not aware that she had passed on. As you know, I’m up and down throughout the night, and I was not in the room the whole time.”
Sterns’ father: “Was there anybody else at the town home that was not a regular person?”
Sterns: “No, which is why I keep saying that I’m not sure that there’s any one person honestly to blame. But they’re certainly trying to blame me.”
Sterns’ parents repeatedly questioned whether someone else was involved, even after he learned prosecutors would seek the death penalty. He told them he had accepted his fate, calling it the easier option.
“Are you accepting this? Are you going to be the fall guy for this? Is that the deal?” his father asked.
Sterns replied that his only alternatives were execution or a lifetime in a place where no one would care about him.
“I’m pretty positive that this was all an accident. I’m not sure that anyone person, maybe no one’s to blame or everyone’s to blame a little bit,” Sterns told his father.
Sterns remains the sole suspect in the case. He’s also accused of sexually abusing Madeline for years before her death.
He remains behind bars without bond, with a trial date scheduled to start in May.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Madeline Soto/Handout]
