August 14, 2025 • 57 mins
Timestamp to skip intro: (11:57)
Madeline Soto had just celebrated her 13th birthday in February 2024. She had a small party with her grandmother Yolanda, and a few friends. She had been spending a lot of time with her grandmother. When Madeline had to go back to the home of her mother, Jennifer Soto, she cried.
Madeline and Jennifer were living in a condo with many roommates. One of the people living there was Stephan Sterns. Stephan and Jennifer had a relationship for years, but according to her, as of February 2024, they were no longer intimate.
Despite this, the sleeping arrangements in the home meant that Madeline and Stephan would share a bed. Jennifer had her own separate bedroom. This was explained because apparently the teen needed human contact to sleep and Jennifer needed her own space.
On February 26, 2024, Jennifer went to collect Madeline from school. She allegedly discovered that Madeline had not attended classes that day.
A search began for the teen. Her body was found in a wooded area five days later.
Stephan would end up being charged with Madeline’s murder. He was also charged with multiple counts of heinous crimes relating to children.
In July 2025, Stephan was sentenced to 21 concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for the role he played in Madeline’s abuse and murder.
Read our blog for Madeline here
This episode is sponsored by:
Madeline Soto had just celebrated her 13th birthday in February 2024. She had a small party with her grandmother Yolanda, and a few friends. She had been spending a lot of time with her grandmother. When Madeline had to go back to the home of her mother, Jennifer Soto, she cried.
Madeline and Jennifer were living in a condo with many roommates. One of the people living there was Stephan Sterns. Stephan and Jennifer had a relationship for years, but according to her, as of February 2024, they were no longer intimate.
Despite this, the sleeping arrangements in the home meant that Madeline and Stephan would share a bed. Jennifer had her own separate bedroom. This was explained because apparently the teen needed human contact to sleep and Jennifer needed her own space.
On February 26, 2024, Jennifer went to collect Madeline from school. She allegedly discovered that Madeline had not attended classes that day.
A search began for the teen. Her body was found in a wooded area five days later.
Stephan would end up being charged with Madeline’s murder. He was also charged with multiple counts of heinous crimes relating to children.
In July 2025, Stephan was sentenced to 21 concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for the role he played in Madeline’s abuse and murder.
Read our blog for Madeline here
This episode is sponsored by:
- Quince - Elevate your fall wardrobe essentials with Quince. Go to Quince.com/tcs for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns.
Be sure to follow us on all social media platforms - Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Just search for ‘True Crime Society.’
Join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive content. All content on Patreon is ad-free - patreon.com/truecrimesociety
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.