SANTA CRUZ — After a months-long trial to decide if 25-year-old convicted rapist and murderer Adrian “A.J.” Gonzalez should be released from the juvenile justice system or remain incarcerated, the jury reached a verdict Wednesday afternoon.
In the packed courtroom, the family of victim Madyson “Maddy” Middleton and concerned community members cried out in joy as the court clerk read the jury’s decision — that Gonzalez remains a physical threat to the public and will remain in juvenile detention.
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“This was an incredibly difficult case from 2015 and the impact that it has had on the community and we are still feeling the rippling effects of it almost 10 years later,” said prosecuting attorney Tara George after the verdict. “The work and effort that was put in by everyone involved in our community to keep all of us safe was a tireless effort on behalf of our jurors and so we thank them for their service.”
On July 26, 2015, then-15-year-old Gonzalez, kidnapped, raped and murdered his neighbor, 8-year-old Madyson, at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. Gonzalez has remained in the juvenile justice system since his arrest in 2015 and was slated to be released on his 25th birthday in October 2024.
In the months before his scheduled release, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office petitioned Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy, stating if Gonzalez was released, he could be a danger to society. A jury trial to determine whether Gonzalez should be incarcerated for another two years was then launched in November 2024.
The jury decided unanimously after two days of deliberation that Gonzalez remains a physical danger to the public and should remain incarcerated for another two years, per state law.