KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The man accused of raping and murdering 13-year-old Madeline Soto asked a judge to delay an upcoming court hearing because his attorneys have recently obtained “confidential information” related to the case, court records show.
Stephan Sterns’ public defender previously asked a judge to bar jurors from seeing evidence collected from Sterns’ cell phone and Google account, claiming investigators unlawfully seized and searched his phone.
Watch what we learned from a hearing Tuesday from Sterns’ public defender.
Prosecutors contend that Sterns gave law enforcement consent to search his phone and that evidence from his Google account, which reportedly includes hundreds of sexually explicit photos of Soto, was properly obtained.
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Circuit Court Judge Keith Carsten has scheduled a suppression hearing for Wednesday.
Sterns sought to delay that court hearing to an unspecified future date.
“Since filing [the suppression motions in February], the Defense has come into possession of confidential information that may impact the presentation of evidence at that hearing,” Sterns’ attorney wrote in a new motion seeking a delay. “The Defense will not have time to develop this evidence before the currently scheduled Motion to Suppress scheduled for hearing on April 23, 2025.”
During a hearing on Tuesday, Sterns’ public defender refused to disclose what the “confidential information” is that they claimed warranted a delay of Wednesday’s hearing. The judge denied the motion and Wednesday’s hearing will happen as scheduled.
Sterns has pleaded not guilty to raping and murdering Soto. He faces the death penalty if convicted of the teen’s homicide.