Maddy Middleton's Killer Pleads Guilty To All Charges: Report

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A Santa Cruz man has pleaded guilty to the murder, kidnapping and rape of 8-year-old Madyson "Maddy" Middleton in 2015, multiple news outlets are reporting.

Adrian "A.J." Gonzalez pleaded guilty to six felony counts immediately after his case was transferred to juvenile court, the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He was 15 at the time of the murder.

His move to juvenile court came after a February state Supreme Court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1391, a California law that states that anyone younger than 16 cannot go through adult court proceedings, the paper reported.

That means Gonzalez could walk free at age 25, though he faced life in prison if convicted as an adult, as The Good Times reported. He will be sentenced April 27.

Prosecutors say he lured her into the apartment with ice cream, The Good Times reported. He lived in the Tannery Arts Complex, a low-income housing complex designed for artists, with his mother, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported in 2015.

Maddy was last seen around 5 p.m. on the day she went missing, riding her Razor scooter outside around the complex and was reported missing an hour later, police said.

Santa Cruz police officers, county sheriff's deputies, FBI personnel and other agencies searched for Maddy until 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 lives 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.

An autopsy on Maddy showed she died from asphyxiation and stab wounds to her neck, sheriff's officials said.

Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, KRON and The Good Times.

Previous:

• Autopsy Reveals Official Cause of Death For 8-Year-Old 'Maddy' Middleton
• Santa Cruz Warriors Plan Community Event For Little 'Maddy'
• Teen, 15, Charged As Adult For 8-Year-Old Girl's Death In Santa Cruz
• 15-Year-Old Murder Suspect Makes First Court Appearance
• Adrian Gonzalez: Photos, Details On Maddy Middleton's Accused Killer
• Memorial Growing For Madyson 'Maddy' Middleton

— Bay City News contributed to this report