July 21 (UPI) — Stephan Sterns, the Florida man accused of raping and killing 13-year-old Madeline Soto, pleaded no contest on Monday for last year’s heinous crime.
Previously, Sterns pleaded not guilty to the 2024 death of his ex-girlfriend’s daughter and was in an Osceola County court room for a hearing at around 1:30 p.m. local time.
He was to initially go on trial Tuesday.
The change in his plea means Sterns, 38, could potentially avoid the death penalty but only if a judge accepts the plea deal.
Sterns had pleaded innocent to first-degree murder and the some 60 cases of sex-abuse charges. However, both trials were to be separately held.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to both the murder and sex-abuse charges.
Soto disappeared the day after her 13th birthday.
It was previously believed that Sterns dropped off Soto at Hunter’s Creek Middle School in Orlando around 8:30 a.m. that morning. But the investigation revealed she never arrived, which was backed up by surveillance footage.
At Monday’s hearing, the teen’s grandmother, cousin and aunts spoke to the court.
According to investigators, images depicting him raping the teen were uncovered on his phone and Google Drive.
Her body was found last year in Osceola County at the end of February.
Police officials in Kissimmee believe Sterns killed the girl before discarding her body along a road.
Sterns was named early as “prime suspect” in the murder and later arrested on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse materials.
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