Buddy Backs with Joseph Scott Morgan. When I was thirteen years old, I played baseball. And the reason I bring that up is that I always thought that I would never be able to. But something clicks when you hit that age twelve or thirteen. I was never a very good baseball player prior to that, I was not naturally gifted at it. But when you hit twelve or thirteen, like so many other things at that time in life, there's something that arises within you as a child where you begin to kind of see your way just a little bit. Certainly not all the way. I've had middle schoolers in my house, trust me, they haven't seen their way clear in all things. But there's something that happens at that magical age where your future begins to brighten a little bit. You kind of go from being a child into that teen world and you start to on those wobbly legs, get your footing. But you know, for many kids, unfortunately, like the one we're going to speak of today, the future doesn't brighten. It gets darker and darker until there's no light at all. Today we're going to talk about the homicide of Matt So I'm Joseph Scott Morgan and this is body bags, Dave and weary brother. I'm weary and I'm tired of covering these cases. It seems like they just will not stop. They are and you know, i'd like to say that it you know, and of course Harmony is a lot younger, but it seems like every time we turn around, there is another one of these cases in the news where children have been failed. And it's like it's a broken record. It's like we can just insert, you know, that that little bit of sound into these episodes that we do. The children have been failed. The children have been failed over and over and over and over and over again.

Buddy Backs with Joseph Scott Morgan. When I was thirteen years old, I played baseball. And the reason I bring that up is that I always thought that I would never be able to. But something clicks when you hit that age twelve or thirteen. I was never a very good baseball player prior to that, I was not naturally gifted at it. But when you hit twelve or thirteen, like so many other things at that time in life, there's something that arises within you as a child where you begin to kind of see your way just a little bit. Certainly not all the way. I've had middle schoolers in my house, trust me, they haven't seen their way clear in all things. But there's something that happens at that magical age where your future begins to brighten a little bit. You kind of go from being a child into that teen world and you start to on those wobbly legs, get your footing. But you know, for many kids, unfortunately, like the one we're going to speak of today, the future doesn't brighten. It gets darker and darker until there's no light at all. Today we're going to talk about the homicide of Matt So I'm Joseph Scott Morgan and this is body bags, Dave and weary brother. I'm weary and I'm tired of covering these cases. It seems like they just will not stop. They are and you know, i'd like to say that it you know, and of course Harmony is a lot younger, but it seems like every time we turn around, there is another one of these cases in the news where children have been failed. And it's like it's a broken record. It's like we can just insert, you know, that that little bit of sound into these episodes that we do. The children have been failed. The children have been failed over and over and over and over and over again.

Coming on the heels of Audrey Cunningham, this story made both the you and I sick to our stomach because we had just put that horrid story. At least we had a conclusion, we had somebody in jail, and it was again, I know we're not supposed to do this, Joe, but as a parent, as a father, if something happens to my child under my watch, it's my responsibility. It's our job as parents to protect our children from the monsters and the bad people. And when we introduce the monsters and bad people into their life, then it's on us.

Coming on the heels of Audrey Cunningham, this story made both the you and I sick to our stomach because we had just put that horrid story. At least we had a conclusion, we had somebody in jail, and it was again, I know we're not supposed to do this, Joe, but as a parent, as a father, if something happens to my child under my watch, it's my responsibility. It's our job as parents to protect our children from the monsters and the bad people. And when we introduce the monsters and bad people into their life, then it's on us.

In Madeleine's case, she's found out in this horrible abandoned area where she's recovered by law enforcement and the investigators out there after having searched for her.

In Madeleine's case, she's found out in this horrible abandoned area where she's recovered by law enforcement and the investigators out there after having searched for her.

At a same time, the story of Madeleinesoto began as a thirteen year old girl is missing. And because that's how I end up coming into these stories with Nancy Grace and some of the other stuff that we do, you dig it from the very beginning. She's missing, and here was the drill. She was being taken to school. She's thirteen by her mother's longtime boyfriend, not some short time guy she just met, but a long time influence in their home, and he took her to school. Now, the first thing we were told is that maybe at that age, Madeline said she was embarrassed of his car and didn't want him to drop her off at school, so he dropped her off a couple of blocks from the school so nobody would see her, so she wouldn't be embarrassed. Now that story made sense in a very small way, because I've had a thirteen year old daughter that was embarrassed. If I breathed and so I understand that. But as we started following it, there was another thing that came up, and that was on her cell phone. There was a note that she wrote to a friend that when she turned thirteen, she was going to move out and live in the woods. So police looked at that and said, hey, we got to go check the woods. She might have done it. She just turned thirteen. But in my mind, when I saw that, Joe as somebody who reads these stories and follows them up and has to research them, I thought she was saying, there's a monster in my house, in my life, I got to get away from.

At a same time, the story of Madeleinesoto began as a thirteen year old girl is missing. And because that's how I end up coming into these stories with Nancy Grace and some of the other stuff that we do, you dig it from the very beginning. She's missing, and here was the drill. She was being taken to school. She's thirteen by her mother's longtime boyfriend, not some short time guy she just met, but a long time influence in their home, and he took her to school. Now, the first thing we were told is that maybe at that age, Madeline said she was embarrassed of his car and didn't want him to drop her off at school, so he dropped her off a couple of blocks from the school so nobody would see her, so she wouldn't be embarrassed. Now that story made sense in a very small way, because I've had a thirteen year old daughter that was embarrassed. If I breathed and so I understand that. But as we started following it, there was another thing that came up, and that was on her cell phone. There was a note that she wrote to a friend that when she turned thirteen, she was going to move out and live in the woods. So police looked at that and said, hey, we got to go check the woods. She might have done it. She just turned thirteen. But in my mind, when I saw that, Joe as somebody who reads these stories and follows them up and has to research them, I thought she was saying, there's a monster in my house, in my life, I got to get away from.

Yeah, what's so what would compel a thirteen year old to want to put that, to leave the comfort of her home to go live in the woods in.

Yeah, what's so what would compel a thirteen year old to want to put that, to leave the comfort of her home to go live in the woods in.

Florida Orlando where it's humid?

Florida Orlando where it's humid?

Yeah, I mean, yeah, what's going to make you leave the comfort of your you know, environmentally controlled air conditioning and soft bed with a pillow and food to eat. And also the other thing you have to consider. I think as an investigator, you start to talk about kids, and you know, I was reflecting back, you know, the changes that kids go through it at this age, in this age. For some reason, the twelve and thirteen year old age. You've got this introduction in hormones that are raging throughout the body. I know that's road to say that, but it's the truth, you know. And you'll have kids that will just suddenly for no reason. I know, parents in the sound of my voice can identify with this. You'll have a child that will just start raging in front of you and there's no explanation. You know, it just comes out of nowhere. And there are a lot of kids. You know, you got the old image of the you know, the old hobo walking down the road with a stick on his shoulder. You know, he's got his you know, his belongings tied up and the handkerchief hanging off of his back. And you're thinking, you know, kids are going to run away, and kids do run away. That's been that's been an issue for years and years, you know, milk cartons and all these sorts of things. But you know, when you're getting out to the heart of it as an investigator and you begin to kind of peel peel these layers back, you think, okay, now, was there something some kind of stimulus if you will, if you look at it, you know, from the perspective of of you know, a scientific experiment that was introduced into the equation that's going to compel this child to leave that environment. Why why would she? You know, would she do that?

Yeah, I mean, yeah, what's going to make you leave the comfort of your you know, environmentally controlled air conditioning and soft bed with a pillow and food to eat. And also the other thing you have to consider. I think as an investigator, you start to talk about kids, and you know, I was reflecting back, you know, the changes that kids go through it at this age, in this age. For some reason, the twelve and thirteen year old age. You've got this introduction in hormones that are raging throughout the body. I know that's road to say that, but it's the truth, you know. And you'll have kids that will just suddenly for no reason. I know, parents in the sound of my voice can identify with this. You'll have a child that will just start raging in front of you and there's no explanation. You know, it just comes out of nowhere. And there are a lot of kids. You know, you got the old image of the you know, the old hobo walking down the road with a stick on his shoulder. You know, he's got his you know, his belongings tied up and the handkerchief hanging off of his back. And you're thinking, you know, kids are going to run away, and kids do run away. That's been that's been an issue for years and years, you know, milk cartons and all these sorts of things. But you know, when you're getting out to the heart of it as an investigator and you begin to kind of peel peel these layers back, you think, okay, now, was there something some kind of stimulus if you will, if you look at it, you know, from the perspective of of you know, a scientific experiment that was introduced into the equation that's going to compel this child to leave that environment. Why why would she? You know, would she do that?

I don't think they did that. Okay, you and I both know that they're in an investigation. There's not just a parallel investigation that the police force runs. They're also running game on the media. They give the media the story they need to cover so they get the information out, especially if you're actually looking for a thirteen year old girl. And then the parallel investigation of here's what the evidence looks like. It looks like maybe she met somebody at this church where he'd where her mom's boyfriend dropped her off. But the reality is we need to take a really good look at mom's boyfriend because he's probably the most likely story here. So the police are doing two things and telling us a third. So, okay, they have the story that she wrote something about wanting to live in the woods when she turned thirteen, Well, why thirteen If you're going to live in the woods, what's the difference between twelve and thirteen? That's for starters. But second of all, the story was that she was embarrassed by the car, so he dropped her off to save her the embarrassment. And we the media, we were told that there was video showing her at this church right there on the main road, and that it appeared she was waiting for somebody. So that led us to believe that maybe she had been talked to online, had communicated with somebody who made arrangements to meet her at this location at this time, and that she had been picked up and she was gone. And that has happened so many times, and we've done plenty of stories on those that don't turn out good. And so there was that story, and then there was the sheriff. The sheriff was very public. He called press conferences. He said, this is what we're doing, this is what we're looking for. This is what we have found, very direct, very fast. Something you and I have brought up over the last several shows, Joe, the number of video cameras that exist in surveillance. People have them at home now with our doorbell cameras. Many building, schools, churches have digital coverage of surveillance cameras because they are inexpensive, so they have access to all these cameras that can follow movement and so police having that on top of having cell phones. And by the way, one of the things things police caught onto very early on was that Madeline didn't take her cell phone with her to school. Now, if she was going to school that day and she her plan was to either meet up with somebody else or to go off on the wood, whatever it was, her communication with the world started and ended with her phone and she left that at home. So there were a number of things going here that had the police really on target with what they were doing. They were able to track down the uh boyfriend's cell phone and while they were, you know, they have to do all sorts of different legal thing wrangling. They can't just grab your phone. Hey, let me look at your phone. They can't do that. And if you're unwilling, you know, they'll ask you for it. Hey, Dave, look, you're not a suspect or anything. Well, they know they won't say that. They never say you're not a suspect. They say no, they'll never tell you that. They tell this, Dave, look, we really want you to help find your you know, your daughter, your girlfriend's daugh or whatever.

I don't think they did that. Okay, you and I both know that they're in an investigation. There's not just a parallel investigation that the police force runs. They're also running game on the media. They give the media the story they need to cover so they get the information out, especially if you're actually looking for a thirteen year old girl. And then the parallel investigation of here's what the evidence looks like. It looks like maybe she met somebody at this church where he'd where her mom's boyfriend dropped her off. But the reality is we need to take a really good look at mom's boyfriend because he's probably the most likely story here. So the police are doing two things and telling us a third. So, okay, they have the story that she wrote something about wanting to live in the woods when she turned thirteen, Well, why thirteen If you're going to live in the woods, what's the difference between twelve and thirteen? That's for starters. But second of all, the story was that she was embarrassed by the car, so he dropped her off to save her the embarrassment. And we the media, we were told that there was video showing her at this church right there on the main road, and that it appeared she was waiting for somebody. So that led us to believe that maybe she had been talked to online, had communicated with somebody who made arrangements to meet her at this location at this time, and that she had been picked up and she was gone. And that has happened so many times, and we've done plenty of stories on those that don't turn out good. And so there was that story, and then there was the sheriff. The sheriff was very public. He called press conferences. He said, this is what we're doing, this is what we're looking for. This is what we have found, very direct, very fast. Something you and I have brought up over the last several shows, Joe, the number of video cameras that exist in surveillance. People have them at home now with our doorbell cameras. Many building, schools, churches have digital coverage of surveillance cameras because they are inexpensive, so they have access to all these cameras that can follow movement and so police having that on top of having cell phones. And by the way, one of the things things police caught onto very early on was that Madeline didn't take her cell phone with her to school. Now, if she was going to school that day and she her plan was to either meet up with somebody else or to go off on the wood, whatever it was, her communication with the world started and ended with her phone and she left that at home. So there were a number of things going here that had the police really on target with what they were doing. They were able to track down the uh boyfriend's cell phone and while they were, you know, they have to do all sorts of different legal thing wrangling. They can't just grab your phone. Hey, let me look at your phone. They can't do that. And if you're unwilling, you know, they'll ask you for it. Hey, Dave, look, you're not a suspect or anything. Well, they know they won't say that. They never say you're not a suspect. They say no, they'll never tell you that. They tell this, Dave, look, we really want you to help find your you know, your daughter, your girlfriend's daugh or whatever.

You try to appeal to your humanity.

You try to appeal to your humanity.

Look, you're man, we know you're not We know you're not involved. Can I take a look at your phone?

Look, you're man, we know you're not We know you're not involved. Can I take a look at your phone?

Yeah?

Yeah?

No, you can't take a look at my phone. I don't know if you're I don't know what kind of person you are. No, you can't look at my phone. Okay, then we'll get a search for it. And when they get then they're going to get a search warrant for that, and then they're going to find out what's on your phone. And that's what actually tripped up Steven Stearns. That's where the truth of the investigation came out because the police put him under arrest. We got stuff on his phone. They didn't give us a lot of very specific stuff, if you remember Joe, they're very vague, but it was enough for us to believe there was some type of child pornography found on this man's phone that led them to believe he was not just involved, he was the person behind the disappearance of Madalinsoto. And when the police announced while we're still looking for her, hoping he had stashed her somewhere, that she was hidden, that she was I mean, hoping all these horrible things would be true, because all those horrible things were better than the fact that she would be dead. And the police came out three days in and said, we believe she's dead. They never do that. Police never do that, Joe. Have you ever seen police come out during a search when we're looking in the woods, we're looking off the road with dogs, we're looking in that I wrote that down on our questionnaire for you. Have you ever seen a sheriff come out and say, we believe we're looking for a body she's dead.

No, you can't take a look at my phone. I don't know if you're I don't know what kind of person you are. No, you can't look at my phone. Okay, then we'll get a search for it. And when they get then they're going to get a search warrant for that, and then they're going to find out what's on your phone. And that's what actually tripped up Steven Stearns. That's where the truth of the investigation came out because the police put him under arrest. We got stuff on his phone. They didn't give us a lot of very specific stuff, if you remember Joe, they're very vague, but it was enough for us to believe there was some type of child pornography found on this man's phone that led them to believe he was not just involved, he was the person behind the disappearance of Madalinsoto. And when the police announced while we're still looking for her, hoping he had stashed her somewhere, that she was hidden, that she was I mean, hoping all these horrible things would be true, because all those horrible things were better than the fact that she would be dead. And the police came out three days in and said, we believe she's dead. They never do that. Police never do that, Joe. Have you ever seen police come out during a search when we're looking in the woods, we're looking off the road with dogs, we're looking in that I wrote that down on our questionnaire for you. Have you ever seen a sheriff come out and say, we believe we're looking for a body she's dead.

Yeah. The one thing that investigators can impart to family and friends and those that are vested in the life of a child like Madeline is hope. But as we can tell, it turned out early on that i'll hope in Madeleine's case was lost. You think about what must it be like when you're looking for a child and you're an investigator and you do have hope at that moment in time, and suddenly suddenly there is that instance where something that you're holding in your hand, as small as a smartphone, for instance, opens up a world to arguably some of the most evil that could be perpetrated upon a child. It's no wonder that hope is lost at that moment time, because suddenly you have a key that unlocks this door. When you begin thinking about what happened to her, I think that police, when they saw all of this data, Dave, you can see how the police at that moment time began as zero in on Stearns.

Yeah. The one thing that investigators can impart to family and friends and those that are vested in the life of a child like Madeline is hope. But as we can tell, it turned out early on that i'll hope in Madeleine's case was lost. You think about what must it be like when you're looking for a child and you're an investigator and you do have hope at that moment in time, and suddenly suddenly there is that instance where something that you're holding in your hand, as small as a smartphone, for instance, opens up a world to arguably some of the most evil that could be perpetrated upon a child. It's no wonder that hope is lost at that moment time, because suddenly you have a key that unlocks this door. When you begin thinking about what happened to her, I think that police, when they saw all of this data, Dave, you can see how the police at that moment time began as zero in on Stearns.

At this point we were four days into the investigation of looking for three days actually when the sheriff sheriff said we do not believe she's alive. It shocked me, as somebody who covers these it shocked me when he said it. But then I thought he'd already told her mom. He'd already talked to the family and said and gave them the reason why now we didn't know it at that moment. What the family knew, the family had already been told the evidence they had, and the evidence that they had against mister Stephen Sterns, the man who had been living in that home together with as stepdad, even though he was mom's boyfriend, he had been there for a number of years and had been a father figure for Madeline Soto. And what the police told them was, well, first things, first, we saw him saw Steven Stearns on video at about seven thirty in the morning, the day he was supposed to take Madeline to school, we saw him putting her backpack and her school issued laptop into a dumpster in the back of your apartment complex.

At this point we were four days into the investigation of looking for three days actually when the sheriff sheriff said we do not believe she's alive. It shocked me, as somebody who covers these it shocked me when he said it. But then I thought he'd already told her mom. He'd already talked to the family and said and gave them the reason why now we didn't know it at that moment. What the family knew, the family had already been told the evidence they had, and the evidence that they had against mister Stephen Sterns, the man who had been living in that home together with as stepdad, even though he was mom's boyfriend, he had been there for a number of years and had been a father figure for Madeline Soto. And what the police told them was, well, first things, first, we saw him saw Steven Stearns on video at about seven thirty in the morning, the day he was supposed to take Madeline to school, we saw him putting her backpack and her school issued laptop into a dumpster in the back of your apartment complex.

Yeah, that amazes me that people that gauge in this this kind of activity. As dark as this is, and trust me, this is very dark. It's not so much that what was contained in her backpack was dark or what was on her It's probably a chrome book. I think that a lot of these schools are iss chrome books. It's not that that stuff's dark, it's just that they know what else they have. I think, what's going to tie them back to the location of a missing child, or in a child that is a homicide victim. They would be so bold as to try to distance themselves from any kind of evidence of her existence, as if she's you know, vanished off of the face of the earth. That they have to have an awareness, Dave that CCTV is round, But yet they will go to go to a place like a dumpster and toss this stuff in. And you know, and the thing about the thing about dumpsters, you know, when we begin to search them, and I've had to go, I've had to climb inside of dumpsters for years and years and dig through look for items. I've had to look for elements of the body, body parts, clothing, all kinds of stuff. And you know, someday I plan on doing a show on nothing but landfills and searching for bodies and those kinds of locations. But you know, we have a method to do this, and it's painstaking work. But you know, when you have when you have CCTV that gives you an idea of where you know where something might be. It kind of narrows it down for you. You know, something that might that might have connection. And the quality of the video has to be really good because they were specifically able to identify this book back and then you know, once they get their hands on it, they can tie it back to her directly. And you got this guy that's that's placing the stuff in here without a care in the world, right at least seemingly.

Yeah, that amazes me that people that gauge in this this kind of activity. As dark as this is, and trust me, this is very dark. It's not so much that what was contained in her backpack was dark or what was on her It's probably a chrome book. I think that a lot of these schools are iss chrome books. It's not that that stuff's dark, it's just that they know what else they have. I think, what's going to tie them back to the location of a missing child, or in a child that is a homicide victim. They would be so bold as to try to distance themselves from any kind of evidence of her existence, as if she's you know, vanished off of the face of the earth. That they have to have an awareness, Dave that CCTV is round, But yet they will go to go to a place like a dumpster and toss this stuff in. And you know, and the thing about the thing about dumpsters, you know, when we begin to search them, and I've had to go, I've had to climb inside of dumpsters for years and years and dig through look for items. I've had to look for elements of the body, body parts, clothing, all kinds of stuff. And you know, someday I plan on doing a show on nothing but landfills and searching for bodies and those kinds of locations. But you know, we have a method to do this, and it's painstaking work. But you know, when you have when you have CCTV that gives you an idea of where you know where something might be. It kind of narrows it down for you. You know, something that might that might have connection. And the quality of the video has to be really good because they were specifically able to identify this book back and then you know, once they get their hands on it, they can tie it back to her directly. And you got this guy that's that's placing the stuff in here without a care in the world, right at least seemingly.

And this is a time well before he was supposed to take her to school.

And this is a time well before he was supposed to take her to school.

Yeah, yeah, that's yeah. And so that again goes back to a post mortem toon line because.

Yeah, yeah, that's yeah. And so that again goes back to a post mortem toon line because.

Well, let me ask you, because Joe, you know, we had we live in an area Joe and I both live in the same area. I don't know if y'all know that, but we did. Yeah, even though we're both from very different parts of the country and we work on national television and radio broadcast networks, but we lived within fifteen minutes of each other.

Well, let me ask you, because Joe, you know, we had we live in an area Joe and I both live in the same area. I don't know if y'all know that, but we did. Yeah, even though we're both from very different parts of the country and we work on national television and radio broadcast networks, but we lived within fifteen minutes of each other.

We never knew.

We never knew.

It was never funny, but in our area, children tend to go to school their uh elementary and junior high schools take in about seven thirty eight o'clock in the morning. Well, at the school that Madeleine Soto went to, her school day did not begin until nine thirty, and so police already had a few things in their back pocket that we were unaware of. I look at it from my standpoint, I was thinking about when my children would go to school, and well, eight thirty in the morning, okay, where was he? He was dropping her off near the school at eight thirty, according to Stephen Stearns. But police were like, why were you dropping her on there? An hour before her school day was going to begin. So police knew certain things they were not putting out to the public. And that's where this came in. Two hours before he's begin to take her to school, he's getting rid of her school issued laptop and her backpack. The backpack that we do know was described because we had it as part of our descriptors of things she had with her.

It was never funny, but in our area, children tend to go to school their uh elementary and junior high schools take in about seven thirty eight o'clock in the morning. Well, at the school that Madeleine Soto went to, her school day did not begin until nine thirty, and so police already had a few things in their back pocket that we were unaware of. I look at it from my standpoint, I was thinking about when my children would go to school, and well, eight thirty in the morning, okay, where was he? He was dropping her off near the school at eight thirty, according to Stephen Stearns. But police were like, why were you dropping her on there? An hour before her school day was going to begin. So police knew certain things they were not putting out to the public. And that's where this came in. Two hours before he's begin to take her to school, he's getting rid of her school issued laptop and her backpack. The backpack that we do know was described because we had it as part of our descriptors of things she had with her.

Yeah, exactly, because you know, they're listen, the police are not going they're going to exhaust every avenue, you know, if they're if they're invested in this case, and in most cases involving kids that are missing, they're going to pull every bit of footage that they possibly can in order to try to track these kids down. Any child are, you know, even an elderly person that's at risk, They're going to try to do everything that they possibly can to, you know, kind of tighten down the focus so that they can begin to understand it. That's why I'm so shocked by the fact that not that, and I'm glad that he didn't take more care, but he didn't. It's like he had very little self awareness. And I think that you can see that thread running through all of this behavior, very little self awareness until it gets to this critical moment and then where her life ends.

Yeah, exactly, because you know, they're listen, the police are not going they're going to exhaust every avenue, you know, if they're if they're invested in this case, and in most cases involving kids that are missing, they're going to pull every bit of footage that they possibly can in order to try to track these kids down. Any child are, you know, even an elderly person that's at risk, They're going to try to do everything that they possibly can to, you know, kind of tighten down the focus so that they can begin to understand it. That's why I'm so shocked by the fact that not that, and I'm glad that he didn't take more care, but he didn't. It's like he had very little self awareness. And I think that you can see that thread running through all of this behavior, very little self awareness until it gets to this critical moment and then where her life ends.

Joe, the part that got me in all of his friends is that, according to the affidavit that we've now seen that's thirty six pages long, they actually have Stearns allegedly on video driving the car and they can see Madeline's body in the vehicle and she was already dead.

Joe, the part that got me in all of his friends is that, according to the affidavit that we've now seen that's thirty six pages long, they actually have Stearns allegedly on video driving the car and they can see Madeline's body in the vehicle and she was already dead.

Yeah, yeah, so he's yeah, go ahead, no sorry, I'll can say.

Yeah, yeah, so he's yeah, go ahead, no sorry, I'll can say.

Is that So here you've got a guy that is on video throwing away her backpack and her laptop and then he's driving with her dead body in the car. Yeah, and they can see it from these surveillance cameras. You said he had no awareness. That points to zero awareness of what was he thinking? Was he in some kind Could he use that as a defense, Joe, You've seen this everywhere. But would he be able to say that he was so out of himself, he was so crazed by whatever had taken him over in that moment that he wasn't thinking smart enough to even cover that track.

Is that So here you've got a guy that is on video throwing away her backpack and her laptop and then he's driving with her dead body in the car. Yeah, and they can see it from these surveillance cameras. You said he had no awareness. That points to zero awareness of what was he thinking? Was he in some kind Could he use that as a defense, Joe, You've seen this everywhere. But would he be able to say that he was so out of himself, he was so crazed by whatever had taken him over in that moment that he wasn't thinking smart enough to even cover that track.

Well, let's don't give him that idea for the defense because they'll probably snap it up. And here's what I've always thought about these cases that are over the top like this that I work on, or not work on, but cover in the media. It's almost as if the more grotesque and the more absurd things are, as you know, they reach such a level of horror that is used by the defense many times to attempt to demonstrate that the person is in some way incapacitated mentally, you know, they're not capable of making good decisions, Whereas I think that maybe years and years ago they would have said this is evidence of evil, right, and so it's not necessarily like that anymore. You've got a man. And again we have to go back to the timeline, and I'm hoping that we're going to learn more putting a finer point on the post mortem interval relative to her remains. When that finally does come about, when you're looking at her and you're thinking, well, first off, he's got her riding about in the car with him. The police at least have alluded to the fact that they could tell that she was deceased. Now what does that mean. That means that she's obviously goes without saying she's not moving, But was she postured in some particular way where it looks like she's unconscious, she might be leaning on the door, she's slumped over, or was it something else. Did they have such a high elevation of the camera where they could see down into the interior of the vehicle and appreciate some kind of other odd posturing within the vehicle, and I'd like to know, and hopefully this is going to come out as well as what the status of her clothing was. And I think that that plays a very key role here, Dave, because as we know, and as we're about to reveal, what does child endured, what she went through from the perspective of this individual being in her life are things that even I on this show will not even begin to describe. I hesitate to use the word relief. I think there's an abiding sadness with it. Though. If you're on a search team and you're trying to find a child and you're hoping against hope that they might be alive, I don't know that you feel relief when you come across the broken body of a small child. You know that that sort of thing haunts haunts those of us in investigations. It does for years and years. I can still see the faces of children from forty years ago, David. You know, they never they never leave you at all. And I can promise you that these heroes that were out there doing this search are going to be haunted by what they saw and what was rawt at the hands of this monster.

Well, let's don't give him that idea for the defense because they'll probably snap it up. And here's what I've always thought about these cases that are over the top like this that I work on, or not work on, but cover in the media. It's almost as if the more grotesque and the more absurd things are, as you know, they reach such a level of horror that is used by the defense many times to attempt to demonstrate that the person is in some way incapacitated mentally, you know, they're not capable of making good decisions, Whereas I think that maybe years and years ago they would have said this is evidence of evil, right, and so it's not necessarily like that anymore. You've got a man. And again we have to go back to the timeline, and I'm hoping that we're going to learn more putting a finer point on the post mortem interval relative to her remains. When that finally does come about, when you're looking at her and you're thinking, well, first off, he's got her riding about in the car with him. The police at least have alluded to the fact that they could tell that she was deceased. Now what does that mean. That means that she's obviously goes without saying she's not moving, But was she postured in some particular way where it looks like she's unconscious, she might be leaning on the door, she's slumped over, or was it something else. Did they have such a high elevation of the camera where they could see down into the interior of the vehicle and appreciate some kind of other odd posturing within the vehicle, and I'd like to know, and hopefully this is going to come out as well as what the status of her clothing was. And I think that that plays a very key role here, Dave, because as we know, and as we're about to reveal, what does child endured, what she went through from the perspective of this individual being in her life are things that even I on this show will not even begin to describe. I hesitate to use the word relief. I think there's an abiding sadness with it. Though. If you're on a search team and you're trying to find a child and you're hoping against hope that they might be alive, I don't know that you feel relief when you come across the broken body of a small child. You know that that sort of thing haunts haunts those of us in investigations. It does for years and years. I can still see the faces of children from forty years ago, David. You know, they never they never leave you at all. And I can promise you that these heroes that were out there doing this search are going to be haunted by what they saw and what was rawt at the hands of this monster.

And that's where maybe because I don't know, I only know what I'm told. Rarely do I even see pictures unless I have to. It's a choice for me, thankfully that I don't have to dig in that far. I'm not one of those people that out there doing that, but my heart breaks every time I do, because my mindset when somebody is missing, which is why I was so shocked that the police came out and said, we know she's dead. We believe she's dead, because I always think of jc Dugard. I think of her, in particular, being gone, taken right in front of her stepfather, snatched right off the street, and being gone for eighteen years and turning back up. And I think about that every time some child goes missing. Well, there's always a chance, you know, there's always a chance. And then my heart breaks when we got it, you know, you find out, Okay, now we've got another boyfriend. He has usually they have a criminal record, but now we find out that his phone is eat up with horrible things.

And that's where maybe because I don't know, I only know what I'm told. Rarely do I even see pictures unless I have to. It's a choice for me, thankfully that I don't have to dig in that far. I'm not one of those people that out there doing that, but my heart breaks every time I do, because my mindset when somebody is missing, which is why I was so shocked that the police came out and said, we know she's dead. We believe she's dead, because I always think of jc Dugard. I think of her, in particular, being gone, taken right in front of her stepfather, snatched right off the street, and being gone for eighteen years and turning back up. And I think about that every time some child goes missing. Well, there's always a chance, you know, there's always a chance. And then my heart breaks when we got it, you know, you find out, Okay, now we've got another boyfriend. He has usually they have a criminal record, but now we find out that his phone is eat up with horrible things.

We know that.

We know that.

The minute they gave him a chance to speak, he lawyered up. He said, lawyer, won't you just talk to us? Look You've got to have some relationship with this girl. You know, you were in her life since she was eight years old. Please help us, help us lawyer, help us find lawyer. And so when they did find her, Joe, what did what did police discover when they found the body of Madeline Soto?

The minute they gave him a chance to speak, he lawyered up. He said, lawyer, won't you just talk to us? Look You've got to have some relationship with this girl. You know, you were in her life since she was eight years old. Please help us, help us lawyer, help us find lawyer. And so when they did find her, Joe, what did what did police discover when they found the body of Madeline Soto?

Well, we we don't really know what they found at this point in time because they're not releasing a lot of information. We do know that she was recovered in a wooded area. And look, and I understand, I think that a lot of us that that are familiar with this case and that have been hoping against hope that she would resurface alive. We were hoping, we're hoping to understand, you know, precisely what did happen to her. But you know, we we don't have that data as yet. We do not have a cause of death in Madeline's case. I'm still trying to understand why that has not been released to this point. But can I just tell you what we do have, Dave, we and let me let me just kind of throw a date out to you, Okay, a date range, And I want everybody to listen to this. We have date ranges on Stern's phone that begin you ready, June nineteenth, twenty nineteen, and it ends February twenty sixth, twenty twenty four. You know what's contained in that day Graphic images, graphic images going back all these years. Now, let's do let's do a little arithmetic here. Madeline is thirteen, right, and so let's do the calculation on that. It's twenty twenty four right now. And let's just say we'll ballpark it and say that Madeline was born in what year two thousand?

Well, we we don't really know what they found at this point in time because they're not releasing a lot of information. We do know that she was recovered in a wooded area. And look, and I understand, I think that a lot of us that that are familiar with this case and that have been hoping against hope that she would resurface alive. We were hoping, we're hoping to understand, you know, precisely what did happen to her. But you know, we we don't have that data as yet. We do not have a cause of death in Madeline's case. I'm still trying to understand why that has not been released to this point. But can I just tell you what we do have, Dave, we and let me let me just kind of throw a date out to you, Okay, a date range, And I want everybody to listen to this. We have date ranges on Stern's phone that begin you ready, June nineteenth, twenty nineteen, and it ends February twenty sixth, twenty twenty four. You know what's contained in that day Graphic images, graphic images going back all these years. Now, let's do let's do a little arithmetic here. Madeline is thirteen, right, and so let's do the calculation on that. It's twenty twenty four right now. And let's just say we'll ballpark it and say that Madeline was born in what year two thousand?

If she had just turned thirteen when you were missing.

If she had just turned thirteen when you were missing.

Yeah, yeah, so eleven twenty eleven, Dave, So twenty years old, twenty nineteen. Day, this child, this precious angel, since twenty nineteen, when she was eight years old, Dave, she all of her teeth have not come in yet, Mark that. Just think about that. She's still experiencing growing pains throughout her body. Mom's having to buy new clothes because she's growing. We know what that's like if you're a parent. Bedtime, bedtime's supposed to be at eight or nine. Got to get to bed, honey, It's time to go to bed. The child cannot yet fully take care of themselves. Eight years old, eight years old, and there are images on this person's phone going back all those years now for us, you know, as old people in the audience, I count myself as old. Twenty nineteen doesn't seem that long ago. But when you're living in a hell like this, and trust me it was, it probably seemed like an eternity for her. Back to your earlier comment, Dave, the comment that she had actually made. I think she would have rather have lived in the woods, in the heat, in the humidity, covered with bugs than live this existence. And she even had that awareness, you know, going back. You know, all this time, she knew that it was bad, even at her young age, that she knew that there had to be something that was not abnormal like this, that it would be more normal and more secure for her to live a way from her home than to endwell this structure with this person because of everything that he had done to her.

Yeah, yeah, so eleven twenty eleven, Dave, So twenty years old, twenty nineteen. Day, this child, this precious angel, since twenty nineteen, when she was eight years old, Dave, she all of her teeth have not come in yet, Mark that. Just think about that. She's still experiencing growing pains throughout her body. Mom's having to buy new clothes because she's growing. We know what that's like if you're a parent. Bedtime, bedtime's supposed to be at eight or nine. Got to get to bed, honey, It's time to go to bed. The child cannot yet fully take care of themselves. Eight years old, eight years old, and there are images on this person's phone going back all those years now for us, you know, as old people in the audience, I count myself as old. Twenty nineteen doesn't seem that long ago. But when you're living in a hell like this, and trust me it was, it probably seemed like an eternity for her. Back to your earlier comment, Dave, the comment that she had actually made. I think she would have rather have lived in the woods, in the heat, in the humidity, covered with bugs than live this existence. And she even had that awareness, you know, going back. You know, all this time, she knew that it was bad, even at her young age, that she knew that there had to be something that was not abnormal like this, that it would be more normal and more secure for her to live a way from her home than to endwell this structure with this person because of everything that he had done to her.

Day Now, Joe, when you and I look at this, we're coming from the standpoint of, how is it possible that you could have somebody in your world that is living with you, is around you and yours every minute of the day, and you don't know anything's going on. How is that possible? Now, I'm not blaming the mother. I'm questioning the mother, that's all. And I don't think that's an I don't think that's a bad thing to do, because this thirteen year old girl is dead. Joe, I didn't do it. You didn't do it. Somebody who knew that girl since before all of her teeth came out. As you mentioned, I have a grandson that's eight, Joe, and I know the children he's around. I know because of the friends you know I and it breaks my heart to think that nobody was watching out for her from that age until she's thirteen, where she's writing, I'd rather be in the woods. I'm not here. I'm just saying, do you have somebody in your life that is around your child that you don't that's been around them for years and you don't know this?

Day Now, Joe, when you and I look at this, we're coming from the standpoint of, how is it possible that you could have somebody in your world that is living with you, is around you and yours every minute of the day, and you don't know anything's going on. How is that possible? Now, I'm not blaming the mother. I'm questioning the mother, that's all. And I don't think that's an I don't think that's a bad thing to do, because this thirteen year old girl is dead. Joe, I didn't do it. You didn't do it. Somebody who knew that girl since before all of her teeth came out. As you mentioned, I have a grandson that's eight, Joe, and I know the children he's around. I know because of the friends you know I and it breaks my heart to think that nobody was watching out for her from that age until she's thirteen, where she's writing, I'd rather be in the woods. I'm not here. I'm just saying, do you have somebody in your life that is around your child that you don't that's been around them for years and you don't know this?

How do you? Well?

How do you? Well?

Before I lose my crap here, this guy had so many pieces of inappropriate child pornography on his cell phone that I have to wonder, Joe Scott Morgan, how is it possible somebody can have that on their phone and you wouldn't know that doesn't I mean, how do they What are they doing in their world that they can have Are they that crazy? They can have this whole thing going on over here in the eye it from you. You don't see it?

Before I lose my crap here, this guy had so many pieces of inappropriate child pornography on his cell phone that I have to wonder, Joe Scott Morgan, how is it possible somebody can have that on their phone and you wouldn't know that doesn't I mean, how do they What are they doing in their world that they can have Are they that crazy? They can have this whole thing going on over here in the eye it from you. You don't see it?

Yeah, I don't. I don't understand that either, that you could be so numb and lack such self awareness that you don't know that this is that this is going on. And there have been when it comes to Stephen Stearns, there have been sixty new charges now to this point at the time of of this recording.

Yeah, I don't. I don't understand that either, that you could be so numb and lack such self awareness that you don't know that this is that this is going on. And there have been when it comes to Stephen Stearns, there have been sixty new charges now to this point at the time of of this recording.

I got to ask you about these, Joe, because of the number, because I don't understand the charges. I mean, I understand them, but I don't know what they actually mean, and I know you do. So let me start off with one thing, and it goes back to when police saw what they said was Madeline in the car with Stephen Stearns. I want to get this timeline square away, so you know where she was when they found her. You mentioned that we don't know that much about it. Well, we do know that the morning that they saw Stephen Sterns getting rid of her backpack and her laptop in the dumpster behind their apartment complex, that he came back to the apartment complex and was leaving again around eight nineteen that morning he was. That's where they saw Madeline in the car, in the vehicle with Stearns, and they believe she was already dead at that point. Now near where her body was found. It was out in this area off of Old Hickory Tree Road, in a very rural part of Astola Oceola, Ostiola County. Now, she was found in this area where Stephen Stearns was seen for about an hour and a half changing the tire on a vehicle. So what they're trying to and she was found in the clothing she was described as wearing that morning, we do know that much. So they saw her what they believed to be dead in the back of the in the car, I don't know if it was back or front, but in the car with him at eight nineteen that morning and then out in this rural area. He was based on his cell phone and other information eyewitness accounts of the car being there for an hour and a half, and she was found near that area where he was allegedly changing the tire on the car. We don't know what. We don't know everything that he did to her in life. We don't know everything he did to her in death. But that does kind of set the stage for you of what he did to get rid of her body. He wasn't thinking things through when he threw the bag in the back and the dumpster.

I got to ask you about these, Joe, because of the number, because I don't understand the charges. I mean, I understand them, but I don't know what they actually mean, and I know you do. So let me start off with one thing, and it goes back to when police saw what they said was Madeline in the car with Stephen Stearns. I want to get this timeline square away, so you know where she was when they found her. You mentioned that we don't know that much about it. Well, we do know that the morning that they saw Stephen Sterns getting rid of her backpack and her laptop in the dumpster behind their apartment complex, that he came back to the apartment complex and was leaving again around eight nineteen that morning he was. That's where they saw Madeline in the car, in the vehicle with Stearns, and they believe she was already dead at that point. Now near where her body was found. It was out in this area off of Old Hickory Tree Road, in a very rural part of Astola Oceola, Ostiola County. Now, she was found in this area where Stephen Stearns was seen for about an hour and a half changing the tire on a vehicle. So what they're trying to and she was found in the clothing she was described as wearing that morning, we do know that much. So they saw her what they believed to be dead in the back of the in the car, I don't know if it was back or front, but in the car with him at eight nineteen that morning and then out in this rural area. He was based on his cell phone and other information eyewitness accounts of the car being there for an hour and a half, and she was found near that area where he was allegedly changing the tire on the car. We don't know what. We don't know everything that he did to her in life. We don't know everything he did to her in death. But that does kind of set the stage for you of what he did to get rid of her body. He wasn't thinking things through when he threw the bag in the back and the dumpster.

No, he wasn't. And I wonder, I wonder relative to the changing of the tire if that was if that was planned, you know, to give.

No, he wasn't. And I wonder, I wonder relative to the changing of the tire if that was if that was planned, you know, to give.

Was that a stage saying.

Was that a stage saying.

Yeah, so that you can kind of alibi yourself relative to that you're moving about. People see you take a tire out, they might mistake that if you're removing the remains of a thirteen year old child and you're walking them off the road. But yet you come back and you're, you know, you're still feigning changing your tire. I don't know, maybe his tire was flat, but we do know that her remains were found, you know, close out there. I think one of the sidebars on this whole thing that was unfortunate was that the sheriff had actually sent out on social media an image that was apparently intended to be something that had something to do with the retire community in that in in his jurisdiction, but unfortunately it was actually an image of Madeline's body at the scene. And I know that there's tremendous regret over that. And again, you know, with phones, you never know you know what you're going to be sending out or what you know, what folks are going to be exposed to.

Yeah, so that you can kind of alibi yourself relative to that you're moving about. People see you take a tire out, they might mistake that if you're removing the remains of a thirteen year old child and you're walking them off the road. But yet you come back and you're, you know, you're still feigning changing your tire. I don't know, maybe his tire was flat, but we do know that her remains were found, you know, close out there. I think one of the sidebars on this whole thing that was unfortunate was that the sheriff had actually sent out on social media an image that was apparently intended to be something that had something to do with the retire community in that in in his jurisdiction, but unfortunately it was actually an image of Madeline's body at the scene. And I know that there's tremendous regret over that. And again, you know, with phones, you never know you know what you're going to be sending out or what you know, what folks are going to be exposed to.

Said a great day with smiley emoji.

Said a great day with smiley emoji.

Yeah, and you know, and that's that's certainly a tragedy.

Yeah, and you know, and that's that's certainly a tragedy.

And no it's not.

And no it's not.

I mean I don't think that that's the case. But unfortunately, this child who has just you know, I mean, look, it's it is, it's just kind of the exclamation point on all of this. And and I think that from the perspective of she this child is going to be when this does go to trial, that jury that's impaneled in this case, uh, they're going to be exposed to all of this, these horrible images that are there. And you know there's sixty charges right, have been filing.

I mean I don't think that that's the case. But unfortunately, this child who has just you know, I mean, look, it's it is, it's just kind of the exclamation point on all of this. And and I think that from the perspective of she this child is going to be when this does go to trial, that jury that's impaneled in this case, uh, they're going to be exposed to all of this, these horrible images that are there. And you know there's sixty charges right, have been filing.

What does it mean when of those sixty charges there's eight counts of sexual battery of a child in her twelve What does that tell you, Joe.

What does it mean when of those sixty charges there's eight counts of sexual battery of a child in her twelve What does that tell you, Joe.

Well, it tells me that you know, she's she's thirteen, right, I mean, yeah, we did the calculus on that that they had that this was going. Yeah, you know, when we go back to that date that solid date that benchmark and TOM that they discovered on him. There's some kind of tom stamping there that goes all the way back to twenty nineteen, Dave that this abuse has been happening. They can document this, and this is key here. They can document this all through this time. And one more thing I think that I'd like to address here that and I don't want to go too far field into forensic psychology where people you know, like you know, my friends like Karen Stark, you know, kind of they they're in that world of forensic psychology. But I do know this, with sexual predators and child sexual predators, they will actually they have time brackets that they work in our age brackets. Age brackets is the appropriate term where when a child ages out, they have no more utility for the abuser, they begin to look for somebody else that fits within that bracket. And this has been demonstrated several times over through in cases all over the country over the years. And the tragedy of this she's you know, we're saying that she's fully clothed, she's actually in the clothing of the day. If and when they charge him with homicide in Madeline's murder, I'm wondering if, if there's not necessarily going to be any kind of disruption or clothing, if he made this this decision at this moment time allegedly to take her life, if it was just like okay, he purposed that morning to end her life and place her body out there she had just aged out. Or is it going to be where we see some kind of trauma on her where he's beaten her to the point because she threatened. Perhaps she said I'm not going to live like this. Remember what she said? And I think that this is very important what you alluded to early on. She said she didn't want to She didn't want to in twell this world anymore. She wanted to live out in the woods. Well, maybe she had expressed that to him at that point in time. And look, he's got everything to lose here, because he's going to go in for as old timers, you say you're going in all day, pal, you know you're going in forever and ever. Amen, you're not going to see the light of day again.

Well, it tells me that you know, she's she's thirteen, right, I mean, yeah, we did the calculus on that that they had that this was going. Yeah, you know, when we go back to that date that solid date that benchmark and TOM that they discovered on him. There's some kind of tom stamping there that goes all the way back to twenty nineteen, Dave that this abuse has been happening. They can document this, and this is key here. They can document this all through this time. And one more thing I think that I'd like to address here that and I don't want to go too far field into forensic psychology where people you know, like you know, my friends like Karen Stark, you know, kind of they they're in that world of forensic psychology. But I do know this, with sexual predators and child sexual predators, they will actually they have time brackets that they work in our age brackets. Age brackets is the appropriate term where when a child ages out, they have no more utility for the abuser, they begin to look for somebody else that fits within that bracket. And this has been demonstrated several times over through in cases all over the country over the years. And the tragedy of this she's you know, we're saying that she's fully clothed, she's actually in the clothing of the day. If and when they charge him with homicide in Madeline's murder, I'm wondering if, if there's not necessarily going to be any kind of disruption or clothing, if he made this this decision at this moment time allegedly to take her life, if it was just like okay, he purposed that morning to end her life and place her body out there she had just aged out. Or is it going to be where we see some kind of trauma on her where he's beaten her to the point because she threatened. Perhaps she said I'm not going to live like this. Remember what she said? And I think that this is very important what you alluded to early on. She said she didn't want to She didn't want to in twell this world anymore. She wanted to live out in the woods. Well, maybe she had expressed that to him at that point in time. And look, he's got everything to lose here, because he's going to go in for as old timers, you say you're going in all day, pal, you know you're going in forever and ever. Amen, you're not going to see the light of day again.

There was another thing on here, too, Joe. Okay, we had the eight counts of sexual battery of a child under twelve, Well we have five counts of sexual battery with a child between twelve and eighteen. Would that basically incorporate the time because they have video evidence on his phone?

There was another thing on here, too, Joe. Okay, we had the eight counts of sexual battery of a child under twelve, Well we have five counts of sexual battery with a child between twelve and eighteen. Would that basically incorporate the time because they have video evidence on his phone?

Okay, yeah, and it's not just photographic, it's video evidence. So you've got apparently there's evidence of this going on, and I refuse, I'm not going down this road. I'm not going to get so deep into this, particularly given what we know at this point. If people want to read the affidavit, you know, you can find it. It's there, but it implies and what we're talking about here, and the reason this is important is that there are breaks in time here. It's not breaks, it's more like these benchmarks in time, and that's why this case is so strong. Dave, the electronic evidence, and of course what we're going to find, I think probably physically that she had gone through. There will be evidence of abuse. Oh yeah, this is a young girl, this is a grown man, and there will be evidence of abuse that has gone on forever and ever. And I would imagine that many times with children that have been sexually abused, they will act out in inappropriate manners many times. And when they go back to interview people that were peripheral to her say in school, like teachers, perhaps hopefully a counselor if they took time to spend time with Madeline, maybe she demonstrated something in the classroom or in social situations that seemed odd. And if you have someone that is a forensic psychologist that can go back and look at this and say, they can say, well, she fits a pattern. Here, she fits a pattern, and we can kind of identify this, and that would in fact be addressed in court. I got to tell Stearns is looking at a real uphill battle as they try to move forward with this case. But I do know this right now, somewhere out there there are other children like Madeline. It's incumbent upon us to be aware of that this is going on. It goes on every day, and unfortunately we have a light that has dimmed and it's now been snuffed out. The only thing that we can hope for is that there will be an ultimate price to be paid for these crimes. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan and this is body

Okay, yeah, and it's not just photographic, it's video evidence. So you've got apparently there's evidence of this going on, and I refuse, I'm not going down this road. I'm not going to get so deep into this, particularly given what we know at this point. If people want to read the affidavit, you know, you can find it. It's there, but it implies and what we're talking about here, and the reason this is important is that there are breaks in time here. It's not breaks, it's more like these benchmarks in time, and that's why this case is so strong. Dave, the electronic evidence, and of course what we're going to find, I think probably physically that she had gone through. There will be evidence of abuse. Oh yeah, this is a young girl, this is a grown man, and there will be evidence of abuse that has gone on forever and ever. And I would imagine that many times with children that have been sexually abused, they will act out in inappropriate manners many times. And when they go back to interview people that were peripheral to her say in school, like teachers, perhaps hopefully a counselor if they took time to spend time with Madeline, maybe she demonstrated something in the classroom or in social situations that seemed odd. And if you have someone that is a forensic psychologist that can go back and look at this and say, they can say, well, she fits a pattern. Here, she fits a pattern, and we can kind of identify this, and that would in fact be addressed in court. I got to tell Stearns is looking at a real uphill battle as they try to move forward with this case. But I do know this right now, somewhere out there there are other children like Madeline. It's incumbent upon us to be aware of that this is going on. It goes on every day, and unfortunately we have a light that has dimmed and it's now been snuffed out. The only thing that we can hope for is that there will be an ultimate price to be paid for these crimes. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan and this is body