Adrian Gonzalez was a fifteen year old living in California when he would murder eight year old Maddy Middleton
According to court documents Adrian Gonzalez would lure Maddy Middleton (Madison Middleton) into an empty apartment where he would duct tape the little girls mouth shut before sexually assaulting her. Gonzalez would stab the little girl before dumping her body into a dumpster
Adrian Gonzalez would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to juvenile detention until he turns 25
Adrian Gonzalez would appear before a jury in regards of getting his parole when he was twenty five years old. It was ruled that Gonzalez poses the same amount of danger as he did when he murdered Maddy Middleton
Adrian Gonzalez Case
A convicted child-killer and rapist was denied parole by a jury, according to prosecutors, nearly a decade since his crimes shocked Santa Cruz County and the rest of the country.
The jury found that Adrian Gonzalez — who kidnapped, raped, and murdered 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton in Santa Cruz in July 2015 — would pose a danger if released, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
“The entire community felt the loss of Maddy Middleton in 2015, and the effects of the crime are still felt. Adrian Gonzalez poses as much danger to our community today as he did the day the crime was committed. The verdict of the jury demonstrates that members of this community will not permit him to be released until he no longer poses a danger,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Tara George said.
On July 26, 2015, Madyson was lured into another apartment by Gonzalez, who duct-taped her mouth shut and sexually assaulted her. He then stabbed and strangled her to death before he dumped her body in a dumpster.
Gonzalez, who was 15 years and 8 months old at the time of the crime, was charged two days later as an adult and was set for trial in 2017. However, his case became legally complicated as then-California governor Jerry Brown controversially signed Senate Bill 1391 into law in 2018, which specified that under no circumstances could a 14- or 15-year-old be tried as an adult.
Despite opposition from district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and victims’ rights groups, a Supreme Court ruling later confirmed the legality of Senate Bill 1391 and prevented Gonzalez from being tried as an adult.
Gonzalez entered the Department of Juvenile Justice on May 25, 2021, and stayed there until its closure on June 19, 2023. After its closure, he was sent to a Secure Youth Treatment facility in Sonoma County where he was incarcerated until he turned 25 in 2024.
In July, a probable cause hearing was conducted to determine whether Gonzalez still poses a danger to the community or he should stay in custody for two more years. The judge approved a jury trial, which started on Nov. 7. The trial, which lasted three and a half months, found that Adrian should not be released from custody.
According to prosecutors, a jury trial is needed every two years if Gonzalez continues to pose a danger.
Adrian Gonzalez News
Jurors on Wednesday determined that the man convicted of killing 8-year-old Maddy Middleton in Santa Cruz will not be released from custody.
“My heart goes to Maddy’s mom, Laura. This just took seven months of her life. The last seven months have been dedicated to this hearing and to think she would have to face that again every two years,” said Shawna Spaulding, a Santa Cruz resident who attended the hearing.
What we know:
Jurors had been deliberating since Monday on whether Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, now 25, should be freed after spending 10 years behind bars. Gonzalez admitted to the abduction, torture, rape, and murder of the girl.
Under State Senate Bill 1391, Gonzalez could have been automatically released from custody when he turned 25.
Adrian Gonzalez can also ask to be released on parole every two years.
Due to the violent nature of his crime, prosecutors asked a jury to deny his release because they believed he was still a danger to the community.
“What Mr. Gonzalez needs to do now, is demonstrate over the next two years that he is safe to return to society. He will continue with counseling and treatment. It’ll be up to a jury in two years to see if he can safely be returned,” said Steve Clark, a Legal Analyst and Attorney based in San Jose.
Clark says Gonzalez took the stand during the hearing, describing how he murdered Middleton and believes that left an impression on the jury.
Gazelle Parsons says she lived near the family when the girl was killed and now, she wants SB 1391 changed.
“Well, I think there at least needs to be an exception when a crime is this brutal. When someone is this much of a danger, it can’t just be a blanket statement,” said Parsons.
2015 murder of Maddy Middleton
The backstory:
Adrian Gonzalez killed Maddy on July 26, 2015, at the Tannery Arts Center’s housing complex at 1030 River St. in Santa Cruz, where they both lived with their families, police said at the time.
He lured her into his apartment, according to police. The child had last been seen around 5 p.m. that day riding her Razor scooter outside the complex and was reported missing an hour later.
Santa Cruz police officers, county sheriff’s deputies, FBI personnel, and other agencies searched for Maddy until the night of July 27, when the girl’s body was found in a large recycling bin in a first-floor parking garage at the complex, according to police.
Investigators quickly detained Gonzalez, who lived in a unit above the garage, police said.
He was then arrested in connection with Maddy’s murder and booked into the county juvenile detention center, according to police.
He was 15 at the time of the crime. His case had been in legal limbo because he was 21 at the time of his sentencing.
An autopsy on Maddy showed she died from asphyxiation and stab wounds to her neck, sheriff’s officials said.
Adrian Gonzalez was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
The killer changed his plea to guilty in April 2021 after a California Supreme Court ruling in February decided that minors under the age of 16 cannot be tried as adults.
Maddy Middleton’s killer will remain behind bars | KTVU FOX 2
