This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske.

Here now, Tony Bruske.

Welcome back. We are breaking down jailhouse calls between Stefan Stearns and his parents.

Stefan charged in the murder of Madeline Soto and child exploitation.

In this next call, we get a deeper sense of the dissonance between Stefan

Stern's emotional state. And the reality of the situation that he's in, he opens by discussing

the autopsy report, a report tied to the death of a child, a child that he's accused of

killing, a child that he sexually abused time after time. That's how the allegations go.

They have the pictures. It's a bit more than an allegation at this point.

With a tone that's clinical, almost casual, a tone that is chilling.

Meanwhile, his parents continue to perform what they may believe in many trauma psychologists

call functional denial.

They're focusing on logistics, mailing documents, finding his watch,

discussing popcorn buckets and purple dragons. It's not a meaningless distraction. It's a

lifeline. It's something they can control in a world that suddenly feels completely out of control.

Listen to how their voices shift when talk turns to interviews, power of attorney, and

Stefan's previous injuries as a desperate attempt to stay grounded.

And beneath it, the unspoken horror of what they're really dealing with.

Hey, can you hear me?

Yes, can you hear me?

Yes, is this a good time?

Yes, I, I, the phone was in the dining room.

...