KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The primary suspect in the murder case of Madaline Soto is expected to appear before a judge once again on Wednesday.
Stephen Sterns appeared before a judge wearing his orange jumpsuit at the Osceola County Courthouse. This time, his defense team was trying to postpone a suppression hearing on his sexual abuse case.
“This information has come to life recently and we are still in the process of figuring it out to see if this is something that would be available in this case,” said Melissa Vickers, Public Defender for Sterns. “The defense believes that is not an unreasonable request on the court.”
Court documents obtained by Channel 9 indicate that the defense team asserted having evidence that could potentially influence the trajectory of the case; however, the specific nature of this evidence has not been disclosed. In the courtroom, the prosecutors responded, implicitly suggesting that this assertion was merely a strategy to secure additional time.
“The motion simply states that this may affect the presentation of evidence,” the prosecutor said. “The state has subpoenaed witnesses; we have a significant amount of hearing time scheduled for tomorrow [Wednesday] afternoon.”
Stephan Sterns faces 60 counts related to his sexual abuse case.
On top of that, he has also been charged with first-degree murder for the killing of 13-year-old Madeline Soto back in 2024. After hearing from both defense and prosecution, the judge decided to stick to the plan.
“While the defense argues it will be prejudicial there’s been nothing advanced to the court to support that argument,” judge Keith Carsten said. “The defense has motion to continue the motion to suppress tomorrow scheduled before 2 PM is denied.”
This is Sterns’ defense team’s second move in approximately a month. In March, his attorneys petitioned the judge to keep the media and the public out of the courtroom during his trial.
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