Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - DISGUSTING REVEAL: MOM INSISTS BOYFRIEND 'NOT EVIL,' SEX ABUSES HER DAUGHTER MADDIE SINCE 11, STRANGLES HER DEAD

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

Disturbing information has emerged in the Madeline Soto murder case as police release interviews with her mother, Jennifer Soto, and details of Maddie’s cause of death. During Madeline Soto’s autopsy, the medical examiner, Dr. Stephan Giles, raised concerns about her hyoid bone. Dr. Giles noted that the right portion of the bone was not intact, suggesting possible strangulation. The autopsy confirmed that Madeline Soto died from strangulation, and her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators discovered shocking internet searches on a computer used by Stephan Sterns, including a search for Sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic used for hypnosis, amnesia, analgesia, akinesia, and autonomic blockade during surgical procedures. Another released detail revealed that the socks Maddie was wearing were clean, indicating her feet never touched the ground while wearing them. This is significant, as Maddie’s body was found in a wooded area behind a locked fence. Police believe her body was either dropped over the barbed wire fence or carried through the gate before being moved to the location where she was found. Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Bernarda Villalona  – NY Criminal Defense Attorney & Former Prosecutor, Villalona Law, PLLC.: @BernardaVillalona (FaceBook, Instagram, LinkdIn, TikTok, Threads); X: @VillalonaLaw Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Alli Neal – Co-Founder, Executive Director, Revved Up Kids (fighting to protect kids from sexual abuse and exploitation); Twitter: @RevvedUpKids Dr. Priya Banerjee – Board Certified Forensic Pathologist, Anchor Forensic Pathology Consulting; Twitter: @Autopsy_MD Shannon Butler  - Investigative Reporter at WFTV-9   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Maddie Soto, just 13 years old, COD, cause of death, strangulation, and now in a disgusting reveal, her mother, Maddie Soto's mother, is insisting her boyfriend, Mommy's live-in, who was raping Maddie, sex abusing her since she was 11, that the sex abuse is not evil. Repeat. Maddie Soto's mother, and I found this in a supplemental police report, states that her live-in, mommy's live-in, Stephon Stearns, sex abusing Maddie since age 11 is not evil. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us. I went to pick her up from school today and she never came out. I can't find her. She didn't walk to the office and she wasn't at school when I went to pick her up. She said she never made it. What do you mean I dropped her off? Or, we dropped her off close to school. And she said she didn't make it to first or second period.

I said, please check with the rest of your friends. That's when I knew something was wrong, and I freaked out. We were all going to sleep together in the same bed, but I needed some good sleep. And I had not, I got a new job recently. I haven't been well rested. I needed some sleep. So I asked, hey, can you guys go to the guest bedroom upstairs?

I knew he was going to get her ready. Sorry. Okay. So you needed some good seven o'clock. Yeah. I sent them upstairs and I went to bed. Stephen Stern slept with Madeline Soto and her mother on a regular basis without her mother present, including the night before she was murdered. Jennifer Soto tells Maddie she has a really bad headache and tells Maddie to take Stephen Stearns and go sleep in an upstairs bedroom. Is anybody else's head exploding? I mean, hers has definitely exploded already.

Jackie's gone. She sends her daughter to go sleep with her lover the night before she's dead. I want to look at the timeline here. Shannon Butler joining me again, renowned investigative reporter, WFTV9. Shannon, if you look at the timeline, can we just talk about that one moment? Because I have a theory that Maddie was murdered by Stefan Stern the night before, because we've got him the next morning, 7, 730 AM. He's already throwing out Maddie's backpack and her school laptop. That's early in the morning.

Why would he do that? Just like Scott Peterson trying to sell Lacey's car and get the porn channel. He knew she wasn't coming back. Right. So why is he getting rid of her possessions at 730 a.m.? That means she's already dead at 730 a.m. I mean, I can't stand to look at this guy's face. And again, he's presumed innocent until proven guilty. So can we just talk about the timeline one moment? So while mommy trundles her little girl, now 13, off to bed with her live-in, who tells people he gets erections in bed with Maddie. She's killed in the night and mommy, what, just

slept all the way through it? I mean, analyze the timeline for me, Shannon Butler. I think that's the working theory, even for law enforcement. We know for a fact at 730 that she was infected. That is what the Orange County Sheriff's Office believed, the original investigators on this case. But those hours in the night, that's where all the question is. They believe she was killed, but they don't know exactly what time. And it seems the medical examiner can't figure that out either. But they do know that in those hours before 7.30 and after they went to bed, something happened there. The question is, how did nobody in that house, if you read the documents, you could tell there were several people inside that home.

Very few heard anything or saw anything. The mother never woke up. She didn't see her daughter before she went to school. And because of that, that is why it's so hard to pinpoint an exact time working theater up i think you just stated she didn't see her daughter before she went to school she did not that's not what was told to 9-1-1 she told 9-1-1 she saw her that morning yes and she told the original uh responding deputy that she did see her in the morning get ready for school but what she told us was that she didn't see her that morning she saw her the night

before there are statements all along here that are inconsistent and i know what you think and i know what other people think how do you not know i do know what my daughter wore to school this morning there are a lot of questions about how she didn't know. Investigators have told me that she does take a lot of medication. And there are things that sometimes even she admits she's spacey. And I think that's now why they kind of say she takes a lot of medication. You think I care? Maddie is dead.

She's been raped since at least she was 11 at the least. And the live inin videoed it down the hall from mommy. Now he killed her down the hall from mommy. I don't care what medication mommy is taking. Don't care. And at some point, the inconsistencies coming out of mommy's mouth are overwhelming. Listen. Jennifer Soto is confronted with inconsistencies coming out of mommy's mouth are overwhelming. Listen. Jennifer Soto is confronted with inconsistencies in the version of events she is giving versus what her boyfriend, Stefan Stearns, is saying, telling police she is giving Stearns the benefit of the doubt that he dropped Maddie off at school, like he says, but qualifies the statement by adding Stefan is a master liar

and a master manipulator. Soto says she realizes he's guilty. The detective asks what she thinks he's guilty of. Jennifer Soto says, he's been grooming and abusing my child. We were all going to sleep together in the same bed, but I needed some good sleep. And I had not, I got a new new job recently i haven't been well rested i needed some sleep so i asked hey can you guys go to the guest bedroom upstairs um i knew he was gonna get her ready and sorry okay so um you needed some good seven o'clock yeah Yeah. I sent them upstairs, and I went to bed. 13-year-old Madeline Soto fails to show up at school,

but mom's boyfriend swears he dropped her off. In Florida, a desperate search ensues to find the missing teen. All right. And another thing I just wanted to confirm, because I know last night was a long night. But you said when you woke up around 9, you left your house at 9.30 for your doctor's appointment. Mm-hmm. And Stefan hadn't come home yet. Mm-hmm. And then he called you at 10.

At like 10.15, yeah. 10.15-ish to say, to have the conversation. McDonald's and... Yeah, she didn't want McDonald's, so he came home. I think he had accidentally left his phone at home. Yeah. So he was just letting me know, because I had called him multiple times. He was just returning my call going, I'm so sorry. I left the phone at home.

I went to the vape store. I waited there for a little bit. Nothing. Nobody was there. Did you hear what the mom just said? And yes, I know Stefan Stern is the one charged with murder. But in the last hours, Mommy, Jennifer Soto, actually says,

I feel like I'm eating a dirt sandwich right now. The mother, Jen Soto, actually says, him, Stern's, abusing, sex abusing, raping. Her daughter was not evil. That the murder was evil, but sex abusing her daughter was not evil. Now that's as I and People Magazine

understand the supplemental report. Not evil. When did that hit her? That he was sex abusing her daughter? That's a nice way that's candy coating for raping her. Shannon Butler with me, and I'm going to go to Karen Stark, Allie Neal, and Dr. Priya Banerjee, along with Bernarda Villalona. But Shannon Butler, when was it that Jen Soto stated it wasn't evil that her live-in, Stephon Stern, was sex abusing her daughter? When did that come out of her mouth? Well, during the interviews with the investigators, she appeared to not know that this was going

on inside of her home. It wasn't really until investigators showed her that phone that she said, oh, so there was something happening here. And then all of a sudden she believed that there were things that were happening with Stephen Stearns and it wasn't everything she thought it was but it was very very strange her behavior and the way she believed Madeline was treated was maybe just kind of the way it was

that it was the fact that he killed her that was so disturbing to her I think there was a lot of things here even for us and for investigators that you just cannot figure out. You cannot figure out this mother very well. And I don't. Shannon Butler, I really like you.

I remember sitting right beside you, back on top of you during the top mom trial. Yeah. Good times. But let's just analyze what you just said. Okay. She knew, quote, something was happening. You know, you're an incredible investigative reporter, but it's very difficult for people to actually say the words that this grown man, age 37, was raping him. Right there. Him. Was raping an 11-year-old baby girl down the hall from her own mother. And mommy would send her off to bed to sleep alone with Stefan Stearns. And you said something was happening. What the something is, Shannon,

is child rape. That's the something that was happening. And now the girl is dead. Yes. What she said was that she was uncomfortable with the situation with her, Stefan Stearns, sleeping with her daughter. She said she was uncomfortable, but did it anyway. Even said at one point that she was selfish about it because she wanted a good night's sleep. And that's why she sent her up there the night before or the night when she died. But that this was uncomfortable for her,

but she did it anyway. These are the things that i think that you and the public really have a hard time wrapping your head around as you should you know what shannon it took me believe it or not about seven years into my 10-year stint prosecuting violent crimes and this was after three years as the fed I was looking over a defendant charged with murder in court. The victim's family was behind me crying. And I looked at him and I thought, why? And then it hit me after seven years like a cement block.

Why? Ask why? I don't have to know why. I have to know the truth. I'm going to leave why up to a renowned TV radio trauma expert, psychologist, Karen Stark. If you're looking for her online, it's KarenStark.com. Karen with a C. Karen, temple throbbing. Now, do you remember sitting with me on the set at Court TV and I could actually see my heart in my eyeball?

That's happening right now. Can you be in that much denial? And honestly, I don't care if she was in denial or not. I'm just looking at it from a probative point of view. If she was in that much denial, that's one thing. But how could you be so deep in denial? You don't know what's going on in the bedroom next to you. That's what denial is. It means that she's not letting herself know. Maybe on some levels she knows, but on another level she doesn't. But let's look at this because we have been up against this before. She's kind of selling her daughter to this man so that she could keep this man around. And that's somebody who's completely dependent.

Maybe she had her own sexual abuse in the past. We don't know what the story is. Oh dear Lord in heaven. Do you have a shred, a particle, a scintilla, a microscopic bit of evidence to suggest Jen Soto had any sexual trauma in her history or any trauma period in her history. He just said maybe she was abused as a child. Where'd you get that from? A fairy tale? It's trying to understand, like we said, like what is the, why would a mother? Stick with the facts, ma'am. Stick with the facts that we know. I know you're looking for explanations, which is what you're supposed to do. And I need to hear that. And I need to hear her defense, Bernarda. Bernarda Vill's not a suspect. She's not a POI person of interest. I'm just looking at all the known inconsistencies in her statement with the knowledge of the timeline that Shannon Butler and I've worked out along with LE law enforcement.

This little girl was likely raped and murdered the night before the defendant props up her dead body and buckles it in and drives around with her in the car. Yeah, that happened. So give me the defense, Bernarda, as only you can do. I want to hear Jen Soto's side. So if I were Jennifer Soto's defense attorney, one thing I would do is stop her from talking. Remember, she is not required to give a statement. Yes, it looks bad because she's the mother and she should be open with law enforcement because her daughter was killed and she should want to find answers especially after having seen those photographic images of her husband the person that she loved was taking advantage of a 13 year old daughter but the best defense at this point is for jennifer soto to stop talking, if there are charges, the question would be what exact evidence do they have?

Because here in a case like this, you will want a witness to come and speak and say, look, I saw Jennifer Soto. She was well aware of actually what transpired that night before or that morning. And when she lied and she said that she saw her daughter getting dressed for school she said that because she was a part of the crime again we're assuming because no allegations of such have been made but we have to be p on the offense when you're talking about defending a woman such as jennifer soto it looks bad it's horrible i'm disgusted so many ways. It's heartbreaking because no one fought for Madeline Soto. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We were all going to sleep together in the same bed, but I needed some good sleep and I had not I got a new job recently I

haven't been well rested I needed some sleep so I asked hey can you guys go to the guest bedroom upstairs I knew he was gonna get her ready and sorry okay so Okay, so you needed some good 7 o'clock. Yeah. I sent them upstairs, and I went to bed. All right. And another thing I just wanted to confirm, because I know last night was a long night, but you said when you woke up around 9, you left your house at 9.30 for your doctor's appointment. And Stefan hadn't come home yet.

And then he called you at 10. At like 10.15, yeah. 10.15-ish to have the conversation. McDonald's. Yeah, she didn't want McDonald's. So he came home. I think he had accidentally left his phone at home. Yeah.

So he was just letting me know because I had called him multiple times. He was just returning my call going, I'm so sorry. I left the phone at home. I went to the vape store. I waited there for a little bit. Nothing. Nobody was there. I mean, left the phone at home by accident when he's disposing of the body. Think Brian Koberger, that night of

all nights while he's out stargazing, he leaves his phone at home coincidentally the same time that four University of Idaho students are murdered in their own beds. We're seeing that over and over and over where criminals have the savvy to turn off their phone or leave it at home. But can we just talk one moment about how Maddie's body is found? And I want to circle back to the fact that even though her body's found out in the woods, apparently her body had to be thrown over a chain link and barbed wire fence, just thrown over. She was wearing socks. Remember out in the woods, totally pristine. You know that from one piece of evidence,

you can just learn so much if you just sit down and think. What do those socks tell me? Those socks tell me that Maddie never left the house, that she was wearing those socks in the house when she was killed. Or they would have been dirty because she didn't have any shoes on. Right? Which lets me know where I need to look for the primary crime scene. It's not in a car.

It's not in that field behind a barbed wire fence where her body was found. It's in the home. Now, that I know that by power of deduction, what does that tell me? It tells me that Mommy was in the home when Maddie was murdered. Okay? Listen to this. When Madeline's body was removed from underneath the dry grass and hay, detectives were able to immediately identify her by a mole she has on her cheek. Her body shows signs of decomposition to one side of her face and her hands. Madeline is wearing a green hoodie

with the hoodie covering the top of her head, blue jeans and white socks. The police report notes that Madeline's socks were clean, indicating she did not walk anywhere or the socks would have dirt on the bottom. Someone carried Madeline to the place she was found. Joining me is Allie Neal, the co-founder and executive director of Revved Up Kids. We have been colleagues for a really long time. You can find her at revvedupkids.org. Allie Neal, I know you've been chomping at the bit. We earlier heard somebody say that this was Jennifer Soto's husband. It's not Jennifer Soto's husband. He's a live-in. Okay. They've broken up, gotten back together. He lives in his mom's basement. I don't know that he's a live-in okay they've broken up gotten back together he lives in his mom's basement

i don't know that he has a job not judging but you know ladies if you're going to take a guy in number one make sure he won't harm your children or be a bad influence on them and number two try to find somebody with a job. They don't have to help you. Because, ladies, you're doing that all on your own. But don't let them hurt you. Sleeping in your bed. Eating your food. You're washing his clothes.

Seriously. That's hurting you. This guy is not her husband. Allie Neal, help me out. How many flashing red bells of alarm are there in this case? Oh, at least 35,000. That would be the pornographic images they found on his phone, right? So we've got just red flag after red flag after red flag, probably from the beginning of the relationship. So Maddie was six or seven. They were dating for seven years. He was probably grooming her from the beginning. And who knows if it'll come out that he was actually sexually abusing her sooner than age 11. But regardless, it's hard

for me to believe that Jen didn't know what was going on. Certainly she knew. There's not a normal man in the world that sleeps in a bed with a 13-year-old child. So it's obvious that he was sexually abusing her. But I believe too, and she said it much, Jen said he was a master manipulator and a master liar. And I believe probably a narcissist who for their entire relationship was just making Jen think that she was reading into situations

that just kind of gaslighting her about his relationship with Maddie. And that's what sexual predators do. They are able to manipulate everybody around them into believing that they're amazing and wonderful. And you see it over and over and over again with all of these stories. So it's just, it's heartbreaking that this was allowed to go on. It's heartbreaking the way that it ended. And I think there's a lot more to this story that's going to be coming out, especially as the trial begins in October. Allie Neal, co-founder, executive director of Revved Up Kids.

It's all about protecting children. In your experience, I have. Have you seen a pattern, and I don't have a statistic, this is all anecdotal, of men that seek out single moms in order to get to their children? Absolutely. And we actually train moms and we specifically tell the single moms that. We say, you are an especially high target for a sexual predator who knows that your life is busy, who knows that you have a lot on your plate, who is going to sweep in like your knight in shining armor and help you with the kids. And one of the things we say for them to look for is if you go out on a date with a normal person, they're not going to really be ready to have a relationship with your kids until

they're feeling really serious about you and maybe ready to put a ring on it. If you date somebody and within the first couple of dates, they're eager to know everything about your kids and meet your kids because they just want to sleep with your kid. Well, that comes later. But yeah, they will. They will just, you know, oh, I just love kids. I just love to be around kids. I would love to meet your kids and they'll be enchanting about it. And the kids will love them at the beginning and they will build trust. And that's what they do. And then that causes, you know, I'm so impressed that you actually teach this as part of revved up kids, two single moms. And you just brought up the specter, Allie Neal, that I've got to confront.

He started videoing himself raping and sex abusing Maddie when she's 11. How do I know it didn't start long before that? And then he had the idea to start videoing it. A supplemental report released by the Kissimmee Police Department gives details about how Madeline ended up in a wooded area behind a locked fence. The report states, based upon the clothing descriptions seen on several videos, the body did appear to be that of Madeline. The lock to the farm was still locked and it didn't appear to be tampered with. Stefan would have had to drop Madeline's body over the barbed wire fence or where the gate was, then move her body to the location where she was found. All right, and another thing I just wanted to confirm, you left your house at 930 for your doctor's appointment.

Um, and Stefan hadn't come home yet. And then he called you at 10. At like 1015, yeah. 1015-ish to say, to have the conversation. McDonald's. Yeah, she didn't want McDonald's. So he came home. I think he had accidentally left his phone at home.

Yeah. So he was just letting me know. Because I had called him multiple times. He was just returning my call going, I'm so sorry, I left my phone at home. I went to the vape store. I waited there for a little bit. Nothing, nobody was there.

I needed some sleep. So I asked, hey, can you guys go to the guest bedroom upstairs? I knew he was going to get her ready. Sorry. OK, so I sent them upstairs and I went to bed. During autopsy of Madeline Soto, medical examiner Dr. Stephen Giles expressed concern over Madeline's hyoid bone in her neck. Giles stated the right portion of the bone was not intact, which could possibly be related to her being strangled. The autopsy determined that Madeline Soto died by strangulation. Investigators find shocking searches on the computer used by Stephan Stearns. One of the Google searches is for silaflorine, a volatile anesthetic that provides hypnosis, amnesia,

analgesia, echinacea, and autonomic blockade during surgical and procedural interventions. OK, I'm trying to figure out what all that meant, but luckily I don't need my medical degree

because joining me is a renowned expert, Dr. Priya Banerjee, board certified forensic pathologist and atomic pathologist at Anchor Forensic Pathology Consulting. Dr. Priya, it's wonderful to see you. I wish it were under better circumstances, but I need to understand A, what seviflurane is, but most importantly, the cause of death on this little girl and how does the hyoid bone being moved factor into the determination of cause of death? So sebofluorine is an anesthetic.

So how he even got his hands on it is beyond me. That's going to knock her out. You know, that's not anything anybody should have, any kids should have in their system. It's beyond me. So that is completely abnormal in the toxicology. But what you're getting at, regardless of what's in her system, is that she was overpowered and strangled. The hyoid bone where you pointed and where I'm pointing is high up in the neck. It's a small U-shaped floating bone. I often try to make it analogous to the wishbone in a bird, in a turkey that we've played with.

It's that delicate. It should be fine until someone puts their hands or a ligature, something around the neck, applying pressure on both sides, and then it snaps. It's a very, very fragile bone. Very fragile. You could even call it that. Is it more akin to cartilage or more akin to bone? Well, that's a great question. In younger people like Madeline, it's actually part bone, part cartilage. It's not even fully come together. But if you can see a clear break in it, like my colleague has said that he did and he certified it a strangulation because of that,

that shows how aggressive and up close you have to get to hurt her. This is not something you can do. I got to nail this down because I need more than a displaced hyoid. Because the defense could easily argue, oh, well, that happened the week before when she was doing gymnastics and blah, blah, blah. What else would you expect? Oh, well, that happened the week before when she was doing gymnastics and blah, blah, blah, blah. What else would you expect? Number one, you're saying no, that would not have happened by accident. But number two, what else would you expect to see? What manifestation in her body would you expect to see during autopsy that would prove to me she died of strangulation?

Coming back just to finish on the highway, it moves. So you need pressure on both sides to break it. It doesn't happen in gymnastics. It doesn't happen from a bike fall. I've seen it in high velocity, high speed car crashes. It's violent. But if she was alive, you would see bleeding in the muscles, potential petechial hemorrhages, pinpoint hemorrhages in the eyes, the mouth, potentially on her fair skin. It's not gonna be alone. It's not gonna be the only finding.

It's very telltale. Doesn't have to always happen to be strangled, but it's up close, personal, and violent. I'm just trying to imagine what this child went through and what was happening to her when she was strangled dead. You know, Shannon Butler jumping off what Dr. Priya Banerjee just told us. Shannon Butler joining us from WFTV9. She was found in a wooded area where the property owner had to come out and unlock gates, which tells me that their deduction is correct. Police deduction is correct.

That Maddie basically had to be thrown over a chain link fence and there's some barbed wire involved. They start walking and after a few moments, they notice a pair of blue jeans and ultimately Maddie's body. Where was she found? So this is a ranch in rural Osceola County. That area of Florida has, you know, big cattle ranches, orange groves, things like that. Along that side of road, remember, he got a flat tire. So he had to pull over and change that flat tire right in that area. There was one of those big ranches, but you can't get on the ranch because there was a big fence around it. So the only thing he could do, police say, was to toss her over. And when the detectives got out there, when they were searching, looking in that area, they called the rancher, said, hey, can you let us on the property? He

says, no problem, right down the street, I'll'll be right there and when they came in she was actually the first time they looked they didn't see her because she was kind of behind like bales of hay and so they had to when they got through they walked around and they could see that she was laying there in that wooded area god bless her little soul um listen to this guys stephan stearns was arrested while the search for Madeline was ongoing when Orange County Sheriff's Office found disturbing evidence on Stearns' phone. Stefan Stearns turns his phone over to the police to aid in the search for Madeline and tells them he accidentally did a factory reset on his phone the day Madeline vanished. Investigators recovered several photos and videos showing Stearns sexually battering a child.

Idiot. He thought he could erase nearly 2,000 porn images, many, many of them we believe to be Maddie. Okay, so he's arrested, but I've got to show you this video we found of him in the backseat of the patrol cruiser where he's whining. He's whining. Maddie has been raped, strangled dead and dumped in a rural area. This is after he's been raping her since at least age 11. Thank you very much, Allie Neal, for making me now consider she was raped before she was 11. But listen to this guy whine. He needs a little cheese to go with that whine. Listen. sleeping on bare metal. The first night I was on a concrete floor that rolled toilet paper from a pillow.

Nothing else. I'm begging for a blanket or a pad to sleep on for like two days. I love the guy driving the cruiser. Did you see him? He's going... As he listens to accused child rapist killer Stefan Stearns whine, it was like a degree or two lower than it should have been.

And the deputy goes, wow, I bet he just wants to, Stefan Stearns. And then he goes on, you know, I slept on bare metal the first night and I used a roll of toilet paper for a pillow. Begging for a blanket. I bet Maddie Soto wishes she could have a blanket right now. Look at this guy. I mean, Bernardo Villalona, I know that you're going to object

and say this is irrelevant. You can't bring that footage in of him whining in the backseat of the cruiser has nothing to do. But I guarantee you, I will find a legal and ethical way to bring it in, such as maybe to show his demeanor and his calm at the time that Maddie is being autopsied. Because most normal people, normal, whatever that is, would be upset and crying and saying, you got to find out who killed Maddie. You got to find out who did this to her.

But he's like, you know, it was like a degree lower than it really should have been in the jail last night. Stop me. Stop me if I can't get that in, Bernarda. Yes, Nancy, of course. And the information and evidence is going to be let in because any statement that the defendant makes can be used against him in court. So the prosecution is going to be able to get that in. But of course, the defense is going to object to it and say that it's too prejudicial. It has no relevance to the charges. It doesn't go to prove any of the elements of the

crime. And of course, you have to know that because the state is pursuing the death penalty, that they are going to be objecting to every little thing in this case in order to preserve any appeal that can't take place if there is a conviction in this case all right um and another thing i just wanted to to confirm um because i know last night was a long night um but you said you uh you said when you woke up around nine you left your house at 9 30 for your doctor's appointment and Stefan hadn't come home yet and then he called you at 10

at like 10.15 10.15ish to say to have the conversation about McDonald's yeah she didn't want McDonald's so he came home I think he had accidentally left his phone at home so he was just letting me know

because I had called him multiple times he was just returning my phone I'm so sorry I left his phone at home. Yeah. So he was just letting me know because I had called him multiple times. He was just returning my phone. I'm so sorry. I left the phone at home. I went to the vape store. I waited there for a little bit. Nothing. Nobody was there.

We were all going to sleep together in the same bed, but I needed some good sleep. And I had not... I got a new job recently. I haven't been well-rested. I needed some sleep. So I asked, Hey, can you guys go to the guest bedroom upstairs? Mm-hmm.

I knew he was going to get her ready and... Sorry. Okay. So, um... You needed some good... Seven o'clock. Yeah. Um...

I sent them upstairs. and i went to bed straight out to dr priya banerjee i need your expertise again dr banerjee they did not teach me this in law school tell me about the substance that the live-in stefan stearns was googling what is it and how could that have been used on Maddie and would it have shown up in an autopsy? And if they didn't get it in a regular tox panel, could we exhume her and look for it? Or possibly they still have some of her tissue they could use to search for it in that tissue. This is all great. So, semifluorine is anesthetic. Okay. This is what they can use during surgery. You don't just get it willy nilly. I think they need

to go back to the scene and see, was it used? Did he snuff her out? It's inhaled. You know, it doesn't just get in your body by injection even. So where does he get it and is there a rag or how did he get her to breathe it in? Did he knock her out before strangling her? And that's what I'm really concerned about because when I don't have any that he has scratches, you know his face looks clean. She should have fought back if he's being strangled and we just don't see that. Now the decomposition i'm just wondering if that would have shown up in a regular toxicology panel and if not i'm sure they still have some of

her tissue or blood some sort of bodily fluid left from the autopsy that they could test for this to find out if you use that on her quick Quick question to you, Shannon Butler, joining us, WFTV9. A lot of unusual phone calls are being made by Stefan Stearns behind bars to five different people. One was a hang-up, I believe. One was to his father,

I believe, to other family members. There's a mystery call that he keeps calling this number a lot from behind bars. And also, it's my understanding that the state has just issued a subpoena for updated phone and computer data relating to Jen Soto, mommy. Is it possible she is that fifth person that he is calling from behind bars? It is possible. Actually, I asked that question early this morning of investigators. Who is this call? They said,

we have been subpoenaing those phone records every single month. And so they did not answer what that number was, where those phone calls were coming from but stay tuned expect that information is coming shortly again mommy is not a suspect mommy is not a poi person of interest she is absolutely not suspected of being the one that murdered her daughter we wait as justice unfolds thank you to all of our guests again Again, Jennifer Soto, not a suspect. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.