During a Monday morning court appearance, the 15-year-old accused of killing 8-year-old Maddy Middleton, was arraigned on several charges against him.
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Adrian Jerry “AJ” Gonzalez entered his plea stemming from the death of Maddy Middleton in the courtroom of Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timony Volkmann while sitting quietly in a green shirt and khaki trousers issued to minors in the middle of two attorneys.
The July 27 discovery of Madyson “Maddy” Middleton’s body in a recycling bin in the complex where she lived with her mother shocked the town of Santa Cruz and the country at large, and Gonzales’ trial will no doubt be heavily covered in the media in months to come.
Maddy was last seen about 5:05 p.m. July 26 on surveillance video, showing her riding her scooter in the sprawling Tannery Arts Center.
People in the community have been showing up at the courthouse steps to show their support.
Fighting back tears under black sunglasses and a hat, he said, “Justice will happen regardless of what I think”. She’d want me not to have hatred and anger. “You just don’t want this to happen again”. Middleton and Laura Jordan, Maddy’s parents, were divorced but Middleton typically saw his daughter once or twice a week, he said. Gonzalez has been charged as an adult in the case, prosecutors said.
Public defender Leila Sayar told reporters that she would have preferred a fitness hearing to determine whether Gonzalez would be tried as an adult, according to the paper. Gonzalez was ordered to re-appear in court on October . 29. She said, “I want to express my deepest condolences to Maddy’s parents and family”.
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Investigators quickly detained Gonzalez, who lives in a unit above the garage, police said.
