Quick Take
The jury trial to determine the release of Adrian Gonzalez, Madyson Middleton’s killer, is finally moving forward after a significant delay. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy sent the issue of his release to a jury trial in early August, after a probable-cause hearing that spanned the better part of July.
After a substantial delay, a jury trial that will decide whether Adrian Gonzalez will be released from state custody is beginning to move forward, with prospective jurors reporting to Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Tuesday morning. Gonzalez, now 25, was convicted in 2021 of raping and murdering 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton in 2015, when he was 15.
Prosecutors first aimed to try Gonzalez as an adult, but were prevented from doing so by Senate Bill 1391, a California law that bars the prosecution of people under the age of 16 as adults. The bill faced a number of challenges over the subsequent years, holding up Gonzalez’s case. The California Supreme Court eventually upheld the bill in early 2021, finally allowing the case to progress.
Although Gonzalez was due for release this October as he turned 25, due to aging out of the juvenile justice system, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office challenged his release, which prompted a probable-cause hearing that spanned nearly three weeks this past summer and included four days of testimony from witnesses speaking to Gonzalez’s treatment, mental health assessments and the broader question of whether he is rehabilitated or would pose a danger to the public.
In early August, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy ruled that prosecutors had successfully shown probable cause for a trial to determine whether Gonzalez should continue to be held. She could have ordered his release instead.
The jurors selected for the upcoming trial will hear testimony similar to that offered in the summer’s probable-cause hearing, but this one will last longer. The trial is expected to run until the end of the year, with the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s completely off. If the trial does not wrap up by the end of the year, it would resume Jan. 21.
Local defense attorney Charlie Stevens is representing Gonzalez, taking over for Chief Deputy Public Defender Athena Reis, who declared a conflict of interest in late August. Prior to that, she had argued that it was going to be extremely challenging to find jurors who could remain objective about the high-profile case, and requested that it be moved out of Santa Cruz County. Other longtime defense attorneys shared similar concerns. But Guy sided with the prosecution, led by Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy District Attorney Tara George, in ruling that the case should remain in Santa Cruz County.
On Tuesday, prospective jurors had the chance to declare a hardship — extreme financial burden, medical conditions, student status or other factors that would hamper one’s ability to serve on the jury. They could also fill out a private disclosure request if there were aspects of the case that they prefer to answer questions about outside of the presence of a jury panel, or to let the court know if there was some reason they feel they cannot be fair and impartial.
The attorneys will begin questioning jurors on Monday, Nov. 18.
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