A jury will decide whether Adrian Gonzalez will be released this fall upon aging out of California’s juvenile justice system, after a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors had shown probable cause for a trial over their argument that he still poses a danger to the public. Gonzalez, 24, has been held as a juvenile since raping and murdering his 8-year-old neighbor, Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, when he was 15 years old.
Crime
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Watsonville woman found dead in Corralitos day after police reported her missing
The body of 25-year-old Lizbeth Arceo Sedano was found in Corralitos on Sunday morning, just about 12 hours after the father of her child was shot by police in an altercation near the Watsonville police station. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Sedano’s death as “suspicious.”
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Watsonville volunteer sports coach accused of child sex abuse
Watsonville police say Humberto Reyes-Palacios, 24, faces charges of child sex abuse while he was a volunteer coach in 2022 at a middle school. Officers arrested him Tuesday and he’s being held in Santa Cruz County Jail.
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Court weighs release of Madyson Middleton’s killer, Adrian Gonzalez
Convicted in 2021 of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, Adrian Gonzalez returns to a Santa Cruz court this week for a hearing to help determine whether he remains a danger to society or if he can be released from prison later this year. The hearing continues Monday.
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Burke sentenced to 56 years to life in 2022 downtown Santa Cruz parking garage stabbing
Following a guilty verdict in late March, 65-year-old John Frederick Burke was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison for first-degree murder with enhancements for prior convictions on Tuesday morning.
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Santa Cruz serial killer Ed Kemper denied parole again
Serial killer Edmund Kemper was denied parole at a hearing Tuesday at California Medical Facility state prison at Vacaville. The 75-year-old Kemper was convicted of murdering eight women and girls while living in Santa Cruz County in the 1970s.
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Consultant charged with child sexual assault had ‘interactions’ with PVUSD community, district clarifies
Monterey County officials arrested and charged the founder of a Salinas-based art nonprofit with seven felony counts alleging child sexual assault. PVUSD Superintendent Heather Contreras said Joshua Alfaro briefly worked for the district last month but the contract had been terminated.
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Man held to answer to murder charge in DeLaveaga Park-area stabbing
Joseph Young, 31, will face trial for murder, Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel ruled Friday. Young is accused of fatally stabbing Todd Kolibas, 44, at George Washington Grove in the DeLaveaga Park area in April.
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Man charged with death of UCSC student at Seabright Beach to face trial for murder
Samuel Stone, 21, will face a murder charge in the February death of Zainab Mansoor. “If he walks away, still, I lost my daughter,” Mansoor’s father, Mansoor Naseem, said after a preliminary hearing Tuesday. “If he gets a full sentence, I still lost my daughter. She meant everything to me.”
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Santa Cruz police make arrest in DeLaveaga Park-area stabbing
The Santa Cruz Police Department has arrested a 31-year-old man in a fatal stabbing on Friday at George Washington Grove in the DeLaveaga Park area.