Retired public defender investigator discusses Adrian Gonzalez’s social history in depth as case returns to court

A retired investigator who worked for Biggam, Christensen & Minsloff — the public defense law firm that Santa Cruz County contracted with until 2022 — discussed Adrian Gonzalez’s tumultuous upbringing Tuesday on the first day of trial since Dec. 19, but emphasized that it is not an excuse for the crime he committed.

“Someone’s social history is never meant as some kind of an excuse or to minimize the pain of the Middleton and Jordan families. It’s meant to help us try to gain some understanding of how something like this could happen with a 15-year-old boy,” said Catherine Johnson, the retired investigator. “It’s meant to help us step into Adrian’s shoes in an effort to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”

Gonzalez, who was 15 when he raped and murdered Santa Cruz 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, is in the midst of a trial that will determine whether he should be released from custody or remain incarcerated for another two years. He was first set for release in October as he turned 25 and aged out of the juvenile justice system, but the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office challenged the release, leading to the current trial.

Johnson said she gathered information about Gonzalez’s social history in the immediate aftermath of the crime. The effort: to chart a person’s life from the time they were an infant, and in some cases, before they were even born. For Gonzalez, that included educational records, mental health records, medical records and interviews with friends, family members and others who knew him. 

Johnson soon found out that Gonzalez’s mother, Reggie Factor, struggled heavily with substance abuse issues and Gonzalez’s father, Abraham, abused her: “It wasn’t directed specifically at Adrian, but he was always present and around it when it was going on.”

After Gonzalez’s parents split up, Johnson said that Factor devoted most of her time to looking for a new partner, leaving Gonzalez largely to his own devices. She continued to struggle with drug and alcohol issues, and entered relationships in which her partner was also using. Eventually, Factor married a man Johnson referred to only as Jim, and Factor and Gonzalez moved to Contra Costa County, where Jim lived. When their marriage ran into trouble, Factor sent her son to live in the Philippines with family members he had never met for “six to 10 months” when he was 5 years old. In total, Gonzalez had moved 35 times by the time he was 9 years old.

Factor’s relationship with Jim fell apart, and she entered a new relationship with a man named Joel, who was extremely abusive, according to Johnson. “He drove to Reno [with Reggie] and said he would not take her home until she married him. So she married Joel, and by the time Adrian came back from the Philippines, this new man was living in the household.”

Johnson said Joel was verbally and physically abusive, and on one occasion drove Factor and Gonzalez to San Leandro where he held them against their will for five days, and on another occasion put a gun to Factor’s head and threatened to kill her. While mother and son were eventually able to get away from him, it affected Gonzalez’s behavior at school, said Johnson. He had a spotty attendance record and struggled academically at nearly every level of schooling.

“His kindergarten teacher at the time was very concerned, he seemed to be increasingly visibly upset and emotional,” she said. “He would cry easily and seemed to be frightened.”

Johnson added that Child Protective Services (CPS) came to Gonzalez’s residences on four different occasions throughout his childhood, but that he would cover for his mother: “Maybe he would say one thing to one of his teachers, but when CPS showed up, he would deny that anything had taken place.”

Deputy chief district attorney and prosecutor Tara George cross-examined Johnson and asked whether her findings were the product of searching for “mitigating factors,” or information regarding Gonzalez that could result in reduced charges or a lesser sentence, since she was working on behalf of his defense team. Johnson said that finding those factors is not the sole purpose of tracing one’s social history but “if it’s there, then yes.” Johnson also said that out of probably “thousands” of cases she worked on, she compiled a social history in only 11.

“I do believe they were all homicides, and we would love to do a more thorough social history on all of our cases, but because of the amount of effort and time it takes, that’s just not practical,” she said.

George pointed to several discrepancies and omissions between Johnson’s testimony and official records Johnson had made nearly a decade ago when she was working on the case. Specifically, George pointed to the fact that only one of the four CPS reports was ever substantiated, and that Factor told her in a past interview that Joel did not actually hold her and Gonzalez against their will, and had simply miscommunicated because English is not her first language.

Johnson had also testified that Factor would go through periods of time when she would be in bed for weeks while using drugs, but records show there was one instance where she stayed in bed for weeks, and still, no evidence that she used drugs in front of Gonzalez. George also pointed to interviews with others in which they said that Factor did appear to do the best she could for Gonzalez, even with her personal struggles.

While George and Johnson argued multiple times as to the correct record, Johnson denied any attempt to mislead or misdirect the jury.

“Quite the contrary. I don’t want to say I remember something clearly if I don’t,” she said. “I don’t want to misrepresent something if I don’t remember it clearly, and I have no problem being honest about that.”

The trial returns to the courtroom on Thursday morning with more defense witnesses.

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