KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Attorneys for Stephan Sterns seek to postpone a hearing scheduled for Wednesday regarding their client’s sexual abuse case.
Documents obtained by Channel 9 show that the defense team claimed to have new confidential information, which “may impact the presentation of evidence at that hearing.”
The defense team also claims that law enforcement unlawfully collected evidence from Sterns’ phone, a claim that prosecutors have denied, stating that Sterns gave them consent at the time.
Sterns is accused of abusing and killing his ex-girlfriend’s daughter, 13-year-old Madeline Soto. The incident occurred in February 2024.
Sterns spoke exclusively with Channel 9 days before his arrest. At that time, he stated that he had dropped Maddie off at school, and that was the last time he saw her.
“She was walking in that direction, she was looking through her backpack, though she was looking for headphones,” Sterns said. “She went in that direction, looked the same as any other morning.”
However, Channel 9 also obtained Sterns’ phone calls from the jail to his parents. During one of those calls, the suspect told a different story.
“I discovered her. In the in the state that she was in after everything was done,” Sterns said on the phone. “Obviously I can’t get into detail, but no, I was not aware that she had passed. I discovered because she was ice cold.”
This is the second move by Sterns’ defense team in approximately a month.
In March, his attorneys petitioned to keep the media and the public out of the courtroom during his trial. That motion was denied by the judge.
Sterns faces multiple charges, including 40 counts of unlawful possession of materials depicting sexual performance by a child, and first-degree murder.
A hearing to discuss the attorney’s petition is scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Osceola County Courthouse.
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