Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Maddie Soto Murder: 11 Shocking Moments in Suspect's Jail Calls

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

The man accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Maddie Soto for years and then murdering her and hiding her body on a farm in Osceola County, Florida made several statements about finding her dead in jail calls to her parents. The claims came to light as the calls were turned over to Stephan Sterns' attorneys in discovery and released through public records requests. Sterns has pleaded not guilty. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through Sterns' claims in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you or someone you know have been diagnosed with bladder cancer or other cancers after prolonged exposure of hair color, visit https://forthepeople.com/hair to submit a claim in 8 clicks or less!Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. I didn't discover what had happened until just around dawn. Hmm. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Because I discovered that she was ice cold. That's Stephan Stearns telling his parents in a jailhouse phone call that he found Maddie Soto dead and she was ice cold.

He even joked about the conditions in jail. Well, I'll be sure to include it in my Yelp review. Yeah, yeah. One star, accommodations suck, food terrible. The calls were released as Stearns appeared in court ahead of one of his trials. I look at the biggest revelations from the calls and Stearns telling his parents he could face the death penalty. I'm Anjanette Levy and this is Crime Fix. Before we get started, I want to tell you about something you really don't want to miss.

It's a brand new law and crime podcast hosted by Jesse Weber that just dropped on your feeds exclusively on Wondery Plus. It's called Luigi. It dives deep into a case that's unfolding right before our eyes. This isn't just any legal case. It's sparking a social and cultural reckoning, forcing us all to ask some really tough questions. It will bring you the facts, the twists, and the real-time drama that's shaking up the conversation. Don't miss it. All four episodes are out now only on Wondery Plus. Now back to the Stearns case. Stefan Stearns is making a big claim about how Maddie Soto died. And he made that claim in jail phone calls to his parents. Stearns is not disputing he was with Maddie's dead body.

He can't. Law enforcement has said he's on surveillance video driving around with her body and then placing her in the trunk. Stearns faces the possibility of the death penalty if he's convicted of murdering Maddie Soto at a trial in September. Stearns will also go on trial in May for sex crimes he's accused of committing against Maddie. Stearns has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Prosecutors in Osceola County, Florida, said they found 1,700 images of Stearns sexually abusing Maddie

in his Google Drive. I'll get to the jail calls in a moment. But first, Stearns was back in court last week, where his lawyers argued to close some pretrial hearings where things like motions to suppress would be argued. A lot of these cases that form the basis of allowing for the closure of the courtroom was pre a lot of the forms of media that we have now. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, podcasts, a lot of those mediums didn't exist back in the 70s and the 80s when these cases were decided, allowing for the court to allow restriction and closure. The pervasive nature of the Internet itself and the exposure makes it to where the pretrial publicity, both the emotional aspect of

it. Now, the state argued against closing any pretrial proceedings. They say it's not necessary and would not taint the jury pool. There is massive worldwide coverage of news these days, but it's very spread out and only deep in very certain puddles. A basement in Sheffield, England may have hit the Reddit, may have hit the YouTube, may have hit all those different sources of news, but they have not shown any nexus to the potential jurors in Osceola County, Florida in all the data that they presented to the court. They didn't even show you how many views any of those YouTube videos got, how many upvotes or downvotes any of those Reddit posts got. The unfortunate truth that I have found, because as this court knows,

I ask every potential jury panel, do you even follow the news? Do you get a newspaper? Do you watch the local news? And it's stunningly small how many people actually follow the news. Of course, an attorney for the media argued against closing the proceedings. Unfortunately, our state has seen its fair amount of very highly publicized criminal matters. Some of them are mentioned in our papers. Eileen Wuornos, Ted Bundy, Danny Rowland, Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman, Nicholas Cruz, many of whom, in fact, did seek closure under the Lewis test and tried and failed

because the strict and inescapable necessity of closure pursuant to Lewis and providing strong evidence to overcome and satisfy all those elements is an extremely difficult standard that is very rarely met. So because there has not been evidence to sufficiently justify closure as to all three of those elements, the media interveners ask you to deny the defense motion. This is a Morgan & Morgan legal alert. Emerging reports reveal that hair color products may not come with clear warnings about potential health risks. If you or someone you know frequently handles hair color chemicals and have been diagnosed with bladder cancer or other cancers, Morgan & Morgan is here to fight on your behalf.

Scan the QR code on your screen or go to ForThePeople.com slash hair to start a claim now. Now, I can tell you right now, it's very rare for a judge to close a proceeding. Very, very rare. The judge said he would issue a decision within 10 days. Now to the jail calls between Stearns and his parents that have been turned over to his lawyers in discovery. The calls I'm going to play for you begin in May of last year,

and they were just released through records requests. Some of the calls are mundane. In one from May of last year, he and his parents talk about his commissary. Well, that's a couple more days. Yeah, the other snacks kind of went faster than I expected them to, so I think from now on I'm just going to stick to coffee, hard candies, and saltine crackers. Yeah, well, once you get your books, you'll have something to occupy your time. Yeah, but hard candies, saltines, and coffee, those have seemed to give me the best day for me. Okay, all right.

Chips and things like that, the play codes and all that, it just doesn't last the way you want it to. Yeah, okay. It's hard to have just one per day, you know? In the same call, Stearns expresses the importance of clinging to hope, given the seriousness of the charges he faces. Yeah, just really keep hoping that something's going to break in my favor with this trial. hope, given the seriousness of the charges he faces. I've done nothing. Yeah. I didn't know. I've always given my card to an angel once in a while. Well, you've been there for, what, three months now?

Yeah, at the end of this month, it'll be three months. March, April, but, yeah, three months. Well, like I said, the whole process should take two or three years before it's concluded. And I've already been told that if the prosecution is smart, that they'll drag it out as long as they can. Yeah. So, I don't know what's going to happen. So, just keep hoping to find something. Then Stearns and his parents, Chris and Deborah Stearns, talk about his gentle nature. flopping around yeah you know same person that um cares about people cries at movies

yes i know there was always and then there was skippy yeah jay bird jay bird yep i remember them all burying them was very personal yeah and um all i know second is when when i look at a picture of you and i look into your eyes i don't see a monster there i don't see a bad person there i see my son who i love that never will change well thank you and i know that i'm not a bad person or an evil person or a monster no but you do need to dive into the Bible headfirst and stay in it because you need grace and you need God on your side as a warrior on your side. I keep asking him to help me, help me through this somehow. I know that I'm... And you still don't have a Bible? I have a Bible. I have a King James Version.

So you heard Stephen Stern say he has a, and his mother talks to him about that. Then several days later, on June 1, 2024, Deborah and Chris Stearns tell their son they wish he had called them. I guess if there's one thing that we wish for, it's that you had come to us sooner. That you had come to us and let us know what was going on. Well, unfortunately I was suffering from a bit of cowardice. Yeah, but you, well,

hindsight's always 20-20 and can't do anything about it now, but, you know, this thing, it's a bigger problem because of that. Again, not sure what would be any – I'm sure there would be something different if you had chosen that path because there's obviously nothing we could have done without – there's nothing we could have done. I mean, there is only one choice, but, you know, we could have talked our way through this. I mean, the phone call that you made to me earlier in the afternoon, if you had at least shared that, you know, we could have talked our way through that and figured out a much better solution than whatever you guys came up with because none of that was believable. And, you know, I was thinking earlier today or yesterday that somehow I feel that you were forced into this, and that's just my speculation, that you were compromised and you were forced to participate in this.

And, you know, as soon as you got away from the rest of them, you should have called me and we could have discussed this. And the outcome would have been a lot different than what it is right now. I don't want to get your hopes up, and as I said, don't get carried away with any conspiracy theories, but in a way I was compromised, and, you know, when all that stuff was happening, I was not in my right mind anymore. Yeah, well, I understand that, and that's when you probably should have just called me and said,

hey, I've got a bit of a situation here. And it would have been a rational thing to do. But at that point, I was no longer capable of rational actions or thoughts. The Orange County sheriff said that Stephan Stearns drove around with Maddie's body in his car on the morning of February 26th and then tossed her backpack into a dumpster. Maddie's body was found later that week at a farm in Osceola County. Investigators believe Stearns dumped Maddie's body there that Monday. So is Stearns trying to explain why he did that to his parents, despite claiming he found Maddie deceased in the bedroom? Don't get your hopes up for any conspiracy theories or vast conspiracies. Just in the bedroom. I wish I had done the correct thing to begin with. You know, I wish I had run downstairs and shaken her awake and called 911 and all that. Well, I wish you had, too.

I wish you had, too. Maybe she could have been saved, but, you know. She was beyond that okay you know when someone's that ice cold and just she was in a different part of the house yeah she wasn't with you well she had gone to be with me earlier in the night, but I had left her alone for quite a while while I was sort of just walking around and, you know, haunting around the house like I do. Sometimes I go out for walks at night or I just sit on the couch and just fiddle around on my phone. You know, I don't sleep well at night, especially when I've got to be the couch and just fiddle around on my phone and just, you

know, I don't sleep well at night, especially when I've got to be up early and do something the next day. Yeah. And that was the case. So by the time I realized anything was wrong, it was... She was in a different part of the house when you found that out? She was still upstairs. Oh, she was upstairs. Okay.

Yeah, I left her alone there. Oh, okay. She had gone downstairs for a while, and, um, by the time I realized anything was wrong, it was just far too late. You know, she'd been gone for a while. Hmm. Yeah, okay. Just, you know, just seeing her pale face and blue lips and how ice cold she was and... I was going to say with you...

Yeah, I remember seeing my brother when he had passed away and this is the last thing i remember seeing of him so there you know it's just you can tell yes you can my dad yeah it's just um when they're gone, really, really truly gone, it's just, there's nothing you can do. There's no coming back. Yeah. So Stearns is saying that he discovered Maddie dead. Her lips were blue, and he wasn't in the room with her when she died.

She was past the point of no return. Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, given the craziness of the grandmom and already starting to call her a gordo, she would have been the next one on the list for a gastric bypass. But I just think, you know, maybe God just delivered her out of a place that was going to become really bad for her. I mean, I always knew that life was going to be hard for her her mom certainly didn't do her any favors and since i had no say in the matter of how she was raised or disciplined or anything there was nothing i could do about it sit back and watch the train wreck as it unfolded

yeah and she's going to tell everybody that that there was a little angel and she had no problems with her and you were already telling us that they were buttonheads like two Rocky Mountain Rams. Yeah, they had gotten physical on a couple of occasions. Yeah, I figure they did that again. But okay. You know, I often played mediator between the two of them because I was the only one that could talk either of them down when they started going at it with each other. Yeah, I know.

Where were the roommates when all this was going on? You know, upstairs, you know, doing their own things. Then the topic of the photos of Maddie on his phone comes up. Stearns paints himself as a bit of a victim and says Maddie's mother, Jen, knew that Maddie had feelings for him. You know, Stephan, I can't help but get the feeling that none of this that was on the phone was a surprise to you. She was aware that she had certain feelings towards me. Yeah. Then why would she sit there and let you sleep with you?

She used to joke about it, you know, called an electrocomplex. She used to joke and say, you better not leave me for my daughter when she's older. She was like 10. She'd laugh about it and they used to both ogle over me and comment on me and talk about me together

and giggle and talk about how nice I looked. And it was not an appropriate situation. No, it wasn't. And, you know, I've always had an issue with boundaries. She never respected any boundaries that I tried to set. You know, we've gotten arguments on more than one occasion about the sleeping arrangements, and so I would beg her, you know, please make her go sleep in her own room.

And she said, well, no, it's easier this way for me to wake her up when she's near me. And it's just like we didn't have any privacy. We just didn't have any space for ourselves. And she would suggest, well, maybe you should go sleep in our bed instead. And I was thinking, that's like a twin bed, and I'm, you know, six-plus feet. No, why would I want to do that instead of sleeping in our king-size bed, you know? I should have broken up with her a long time ago and did a distance myself. Oh, hell yeah.

Oh, hell yeah. Sure would have cut it. I thought it was 2020. Yeah, it seems to be my superpower. The next day, Stearns calls back, and he and his dad discuss his future and the reality of his situation. Yeah, no, it's a big mess. And I told him even if I'm not worthy of it now, then I'll work my best to become worthy of it. Yeah. And I hope that you guys will embrace it. Well, the murder charge, yeah, the murder charge aside, I mean, you're pretty much on the other side. Potentially, yeah. Yeah. I don't want to confirm or deny anything one way or the other.

I'm trying to hold on to hope as best as I can and see how the cards fall out here. Stearns and his father then talk about what to do when he gets out of prison one day. Can't dwell on that. We've got to figure out what kind of path we can carve out for you in the future. Maybe God has a plan for you. Maybe. Maybe I won't spend the rest of my natural life in these places, and if so, I need to have some sort of plan together.

Yep. Some sort of resource to fall back on. You're a smart guy. You articulate well. You get passionate about something. You know, maybe God has a plan for you. Maybe. So I get to be free again, you know.

I've been thinking about that, you know. Obviously, job prospects are going to be difficult to come by. I might need some sort of resources to help me get back on my feet immediately until I can work out the income situation. Yeah. Don't know what that would be, but because we may be gone by the time you get out. I know. I don't know. I don't know if there's any way we might be able to set up some sort of trust fund or something.

I don't know. Yes, you heard that right. Stephan Stearns suggests his parents set up a trust fund for him. Then six days later on June 7th, Stearns and his parents find out that the Osceola state attorney has filed a notice to seek the death penalty against Stearns in Maddie's murder. Yes. Okay, so you got the news in that they filed this morning to seek the death penalty? Yeah. How are you guys holding up? Well, we're just waiting for this to play out, so, you know.

Yeah. So, well, Debbie, your mother said that you were officially charged with murder. I didn't know about seeking the death penalty. I didn't hear that. Yeah, well, it was always a possibility. And the level of charge, obviously, you know, if they seek it, there's a good chance that they can get it. So at 10 o'clock this morning, they officially filed for intent to see death.

Well, it won't happen for a long time, according to your attorney, if at all. And from what we heard, your judge does not like the death penalty. He thinks it's too lenient, and he would rather have you in jail for the rest of your freaking life. Oh, wonderful. I hate to say it, but I'd rather have you on death row because you're in more seclusion and you're not really with the bulk of the population of the people. Well, I hate to say it, but I'd rather be on death row, too, because I agree with him. It's a much easier way out.

Yes. I'd rather be on death row too because I agree with him. It's a much easier way out. Yep. I'd rather, you know. And like she said, there will be appeal after appeal after appeal. Yeah, she said it could take up to 25 years before they finally get around to executing me if I'm found guilty. Yeah, and by that time you might welcome it, but we won't be here to see it. By that time, it's about all that God needed me to serve anyway, so.

Yeah. I'll see what the point is. What's the actual deal? You... Back in seclusion. They said they put you Back in seclusion. They said they put you back in seclusion? Well, I've been in seclusion this whole time. Chris and Deborah Stearns had told police that they were taking a lot of heat in Northport, Florida,

where they live, over what their son was accused of doing to Maddie. They'd compared themselves to Brian Laundrie's parents. He's the man who killed Gabby Petito. Stearns continues his talk about prosecutors pursuing the death penalty. Okay. What's up? All right. So, yeah, I got the news earlier and told my attorney that I'd try to call you this evening,

but you guys should hear it from her before you hear it from the news in case I can't get a hold of you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we're expecting a little bit of blowback from that. Yeah, I'm sure there's going to be a little bit of ruckus and some people getting riled up. I'm cooking ravioli today. Sorry, I'm in the middle of cooking here, so I'm going to walk out to the kitchen. No worries. I guess I took the news pretty well, though.

Well, okay, that's good. I'm just remarkably calm about everything. I just had this overwhelming sense of peace and serenity and I don't know, maybe that will change maybe it won't.

I don't know. So, I mean, our understanding and impression is that you didn't do this, so why do you feel at peace and serenity with it?

I don't know. I guess whatever happens, I don't know. I mean, are you going to be accepting it? Are you going to be the fall guy for this? Is that the deal? Well, I think between that and the prospect of spending the rest of my natural life in a very miserable place before I eventually die alone with no one to care about me or give a shit that I've passed on? I don't know. I mean, I think whoever's involved in this needs to have justice served on them. I mean, if you're not part of this, then, you know, let's get that cleared up.

Now you can hear Chris Stearns' surprise. He's thinking, why are you at peace with this if you did nothing wrong? Later in the call, Stearns' father asks him about when Maddie went to his bedroom the night of February 25th. And Stearns' response about Maddie is revealing. Were you awake when she sent her into the room with you? Yeah. And she was fine when she came into your room? What time at night was that? Maybe 11-ish or so.

I'm not sure. Okay. So she was fine. So what happened between 11 and whenever you found her? Well, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, when you say you were out of the room, what length of time were you out of the room? I don't know.

Fifteen minutes? No. I mean, I left the room a couple times. The first time I left to go to the bathroom, and the second time I was out of the room for maybe a couple hours or so, maybe more. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Oh, okay. Well, that was plenty of time for the one-armed man to do it.

Well, you know, I'm not getting into too much detail. She was acting kind of weird before she went to sleep, so I don't know what was going on there. Acting weird, like having difficulty? Just strange behavior, acting loopy. Oh. I'm not sure. She. Yeah. Hmm. Should she have been drunk? I have.

Okay. I can't get into too many details just because I don't want to ruin the case, but I have some suspicions in that regard. Whether it was given to her by anyone or whether she helped herself, there are reasons I believe she may have done that as well. But, but. But I can't. Okay.

Obviously can't get into too much detail. No, I know. In case any, you know, my attorney will, you know, tear my throat out with her bare teeth if I slap my lips too much. Okay. Will you be slapping them to her? I'm giving those to her. One of the social workers whose specialty is dealing with people who are looking at the death penalty.

Stearns claimed Maddie had been acting loopy and that Maddie came to his room. Stearns and Maddie's mother, Jen Soto, had previously told police that Maddie went upstairs with Stearns to bedroom four so she could get some sleep. Stearns also claimed to have left the bedroom. That's something new that we hadn't heard before. Stearns had previously told police he and Maddie got up the next morning and he took her to school and she slept in the car on the way there. So the story has changed since he talked to police back in February of 2024.

On June 16th, Stearns talked again about finding Maddie's body and how that impacted him. Not in my right mind after I found her. I'm so sorry. Yeah. I mean, I understand why, but... Just a complete mental and emotional breakdown, and then the reason that followed was kind of a result of that. Oh. Well. I wish I'd handled that passing a lot better,

but I was not capable of rational thoughts or actions at that point. I literally was not on my right mind. Okay, baby. Well, we know what we think happened, so it doesn't matter. Yeah. We know what we think happened, so it doesn't matter. It's hard to believe we're halfway through June already. Now, since these calls in May and June of 2024, Deborah and Chris Stearns told the Hidden True Crime YouTube channel that they believe only one person was responsible for Maddie's death. It appears that they believe their son is responsible. Investigators

have said that Maddie was strangled to death. Stearns' trial on those sex crimes charges begins in May. The murder trial is scheduled for September. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.