Stephan Sterns Pleads Guilty! Is Jennifer Soto Next to Face Justice for Maddie Soto's Demise

Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

True Crime Today

True Crime, News Commentary, News

3.3 • 907 Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s episode, we take you inside the Osceola County courtroom where Stephan Sterns—the man who raped and murdered 13-year-old Maddie Soto—pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges. Sterns accepted a life sentence without the possibility of parole in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. But while he faces justice behind bars, one haunting question remains:
Why has Maddie’s mother, Jennifer Soto, never been charged?

We unpack every detail from the plea hearing: the heartbreaking victim impact statements, the devastating timeline, and the judge’s chilling words as Sterns was sentenced. But perhaps the most glaring moment? The silence from Jennifer Soto. No statement. No appearance. No visible grief in the courtroom for the daughter she failed to protect.

This episode goes beyond the courtroom. We break down:

What Jennifer Soto admitted to police.
Why she allowed Sterns to routinely sleep in the same bed as Maddie.
Her infamous comment that the “sex stuff wasn’t evil.”
Why prosecutors didn’t charge her—yet—and whether the plea deal now opens that door.

We also examine the public outcry demanding accountability and the disturbing legal gray zone between neglect and criminality. Is it time for Florida prosecutors to revisit their stance on Soto now that Sterns’ case is closed? Or will she walk away, untouched by the justice system but stained in the court of public opinion?

You won’t want to miss this in-depth breakdown of the courtroom moment that left as many questions as answers—and the mother at the center of it all.

Listen now to "Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske. Here now, Tony Bruske. And Stacey Cole, right there, right there, right there. I got to get my aiming right where I'm pointing my hands.
0:13.5	Can we point out something? Yeah. I can't talk in great detail about it, but normally there is red behind me and there's now white.
0:24.2	And it's not a fake background.
0:25.8	It's real.
0:26.7	For those of you on YouTube, I'm in a different place now.
0:31.7	She's in a padded room.
0:34.3	Wait, that's not very padded.
0:42.1	But I feel like I should be yes yes yes yes your i just haven't been committed yet yeah your residence has changed um well you were on vacation my
0:48.1	life uh went so i i alluded to some of it when Carol and I were doing our stuff,
0:55.7	but I have to be a bit cautious about what I say and don't say.
0:59.3	But I'm just going to put this out there.
1:01.3	It wasn't my fault.
1:02.3	I didn't do anything.
1:03.4	I reacted to something that was done to me, and I went, boom, mama gone.
1:08.8	And luckily, no one's ending up on Dateline.
1:11.7	And that's the...
1:13.5	Or are they?
1:15.6	Not yet.
1:16.2	Yeah.
1:17.1	Hopefully I'm not.
1:18.4	Yeah.
1:18.8	Yeah.
	...

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