The cause of death of 13-year-old Florida girl Madeline Soto has been revealed, months after her mother's boyfriend allegedly killed her and dumped her body in a secluded wooded area.
Madeline's death was ruled a homicide by strangulation, according to documents obtained by police. translation.
The 13-year-old girl was first reported missing on Feb. 26 after staff at her Orlando middle school noticed she hadn't shown up to class that day.
Her body was found four days later in a wooded area in Osceola County wearing clothing similar to the one she had been wearing before her disappearance, police said.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department said Madeline was likely already dead before a search for the missing girl began.
Stephen Stearns, who was in a relationship with Madeline's mother, Jen Soto, at the time, has been charged with murder in her death.
Stearns, 37, was identified as the last person to see the girl before she disappeared.
“I dropped her off [at school] “If she had come earlier, I could have waited longer. She seemed OK, she was walking to school,” a teary-eyed Stearns told a local news station on Feb. 27, before her arrest.
He was arrested the following day and initially charged with sexual assault and possession of child sexual abuse material, which also included images and videos stored on his phone that appeared to show him sexually abusing the girl.
Stearns was later charged with first-degree murder.
By the time Madeleine's body was discovered, the suspect was already a key suspect in the case.
Stearns had factory reset the phone before his arrest, but detectives said they were able to find child pornography and evidence that Stearns had sexually abused the girl.
According to an arrest affidavit released in early March, Stearns allegedly began sexually abusing Madeline in 2022, when she was 11 years old.
Stearns also reportedly slept with Madeline in his room at the family's Kissimmee home the night before she died, according to a newly released investigative report obtained by WKMG.
After Madeline's body was discovered, authorities noted footage Monday morning showing Stearns driving a 2010 Lincoln MK with Madeline's body still inside the vehicle.
He was then seen throwing several items into a trash can, and police later recovered her backpack and school-issued laptop.
Investigators also believe Stearns drove to North Port, Florida, the day after Madeline went missing. translation.
Stearns' parents reportedly live in the area, and he has been known to stay with them when he is not at the Soto residence.
Investigators believe the trip to Northport was an attempt to cover up evidence of Stearns' alleged sexual abuse of the girl.
Stearns also faces 40 counts of unlawful possession of materials depicting a child engaging in sexual conduct (10 or more), five counts of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 12 and 18, seven counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and eight counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 12, according to WKMG.
He is due to appear in court again on Oct. 14 for a status hearing.
It is not clear whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case.
