The cause of death of Florida teenager Madeline Soto was announced months after her mother's boyfriend allegedly killed the 13-year-old and dumped her body in a remote wooded area.
Documents obtained by WKMG indicate that Madeline's death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.
The 13-year-old was first reported missing on February 26 after staff at her middle school in Orlando noticed that she had not shown up for class that day.
According to police, her body was found four days later in a forest in Osceola County. She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn before she disappeared.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department said Madeline was likely already dead before the search for the missing teenager began.
Stephan Sterns, who was dating Madeline's mother Jenn Soto at the time, was charged with Madeline's murder.
It was confirmed that 37-year-old Sterns was the last person to see the teenager before her disappearance.
“I dropped her off [at school] “I was early, I could have waited longer. She looked OK, she was going to school,” Sterns told a local news station with tears in his eyes on February 27 before he was arrested.
He was arrested the following day and initially charged with sexual abuse and possession of child sexual abuse material. His phone also contained images and videos allegedly showing him sexually abusing a young girl.
Sterns was later charged with premeditated murder.
The suspected murderer was already of interest in the case when Madeline's body was found.
Although Sterns reset his phone to factory settings before his arrest, investigators said they were able to find child pornography and evidence that Sterns had sexually abused the teenager.
According to an affidavit released in early March, Sterns allegedly began sexually abusing Madeline in 2022, when she was only 11 years old.
According to recently released investigative reports obtained by WKMG, Sterns also slept with Madeline in his room at the family home in Kissimmee the night before her death.
After the discovery of Madeline's body, authorities determined that footage from Monday morning shows Sterns driving his 2010 Lincoln MK with the teenager's body allegedly still in the car.
He was then observed throwing several items into a trash can, where police later found her backpack and school laptop.
According to WKMG, investigators also discovered that Sterns allegedly drove to North Port, Florida, the day after Madeline disappeared.
Sterns' parents reportedly live in the area and he has been known to stay at their home when he is not at the Sotos' residence.
Investigators believe that Sterns' trip to North Port was an attempt to destroy evidence of the alleged sexual abuse of the teenagers.
According to WKMG, Sterns is also charged with 40 counts of unauthorized possession of materials depicting sexual acts by a child (ten or more images), five counts of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 12 and 18, seven counts of lewd or lascivious molestation, and eight counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 12.
He is due back in court for a status hearing on October 14.
It is unclear whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty in this case.
