08-03-2025
Juror speaks out after trial for Maddy Middleton's killer
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — A Santa Cruz County juror who served for the trial of Madyson 'Maddy' Middleton's killer says the case's outcome fails to ensure justice for the 8-year-old murder victim's family.
Adrian Gonzalez, 25, was 15 years old when he raped and murdered the little girl. Since the shocking 2015 killing, he has served nearly a decade in juvenile detention centers.
Joan Hoyt, also known as 'Juror No. 5' during the trial, was one of twelve jurors who decided that Gonzalez is still too dangerous to be released from custody. The jury reached a verdict in February, blocking Gonzalez's release until 2026. Under California's juvenile justice law, Senate Bill 1391, he will have a new chance for freedom every two years.
After listening to more than three months of testimony about Gonzalez's crime, rehabilitation history, and psychological profile, Hoyt said California's political leaders need to reform SB 1391 to keep offenders like Gonzalez locked up for life.
'The spirit of the law was probably in a very good place. I don't think we should be over-prosecuting juveniles as adults. However, the fact that there are zero exceptions to this law, is flawed. I think it's really obvious that this law is flawed. The state legislature, I'm calling for them to say hey … let's change it,' Hoyt told KRON4.
SB 1391 specifies that, under no circumstances, can a 14 or 15-year-old offender be put on trial, punished, and incarcerated as an adult. When he murdered Maddy, Gonzalez was four months away from his 16th birthday.
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell told KRON4 that SB 1391 'is the worst piece of legislation I have ever seen.' Gonzalez's case is a stark example of why California's law must change, the district attorney said after the jury's verdict. 'There needs to be changes in the law. I think we've seen, for the first time, that citizens of our community … are outraged,' Rosell said.
Judge Denine Guy said Gonzalez will be transferred from Santa Cruz County to a Sonoma County juvenile detention center.
'I can't believe that's where he's going,' Hoyt told KRON4. 'This is a 25 year old man, who we just said is very dangerous to the community, (and) we are now sending him back to a juvenile facility with teenagers?'
Cases as exceptionally severe as Gonzalez's case should be excluded from falling under SB 1391, Hoyt said. 'A 15 year old …. who kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered an 8 year old, that's clearly an exception,' Hoyt said.
For his trial, Gonzalez took the stand and retold, in grisly detail, why he decided to rape his young neighbor in their apartment complex at the Tannery Arts Center. He lured the 8-year-old girl into his mother's apartment with promises of ice cream.
Gonzalez testified, 'She was serving herself (ice cream) on the kitchen counter. I grabbed her, picked her up, put duct tape on her mouth. She was screaming, resisting. She was kicking her legs, trying to get up, and trying to fight back. I had my hand on her mouth and neck to choke her.' Maddy was choked until she fell unconscious.
After the sexual assault, 'I decided to kill Madyson because I wanted to hide what I had done to her,' Gonzalez testified. 'I put her in the garbage that we had in the apartment to hide her body. I grabbed a knife in the kitchen to stab her in the neck.'
Deputy District Attorney Tara George said sex offender treatment programs and therapy sessions that Gonzalez received in custody fell far short. Juvenile centers are unfit to deal with someone like Gonzalez, George said.
During closing arguments, George said Gonzalez wore a 'mask' that was 'meant to trick us into believing he's safe … into believing he's rehabilitated. Secrets, callous, lack of empathy — that's all innate in him. He hid who he was (in 2015), and he's hiding who he is now.'
One reason why Gonzalez is still dangerous, according to George, is his lack of empathy and remorse. 'He hasn't shed one tear,' George said.
Maddy's mother attended the lengthy trial.
Hoyt said serving on the jury was 'one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. You can't un-see these things. From a mental health standpoint, I'm hurting. I can't even imagine Maddy's mom having to sit through this, and then having to do this in two more years.'
Jurors were barred from conducting their own research into the history of Gonzalez's case and SB 1391 during the trial.
July 26, 2015: Gonzalez kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered Maddy at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. He joined volunteer search teams pretending to look for the missing girl and he passed out fliers. He was arrested a day later when police found the girl's body.
July 29, 2015: District Attorney Jeff Rosell made the decision to charge Gonzalez as an adult.
2018: The California State Legislature drafted and voted in favor of Senate Bill 1391, requiring all offenders between ages 14-15 to remain in the juvenile system. Despite opposition from district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and victims' rights groups, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1391 into law that year.
February 2021: The California Supreme Court ruled that SB 1391 was constitutional and upheld the law.
One of the bill's co-sponsors, Michael Mendoza of the National Advocacy Anti-Recidivism Coalition, said in 2021, 'Youth have a unique capacity for transformation. Youth should be treated as youth by our justice system. Healed communities are safer communities, and we know firsthand how individuals can change their lives and future trajectories if allowed age-appropriate care.'
Frankie Guzman of the National Center for Youth Law said in 2021, 'California honors the value and potential that all 14- and 15-year-old children possess to learn from their mistakes and grow to become healthy, productive members of our society.'
May 2021: Gonzalez pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping, and murdering Maddy. He entered the Department of Juvenile Justice.
2023: DJJ closed and Maddy's killer was sent to a Secure Youth Treatment facility in Sonoma County.
2024: Gonzalez aged out of the juvenile system when he turned 25 in October. The Santa Cruz County Probation Department asked the district attorney to file a petition to extend Gonzalez's time in custody, believing that he would be physically dangerous to the public if released.
November 2024: The jury trial began.
February 2025: Jurors reached a verdict declaring Gonzalez would be too dangerous if he was freed from custody.
Deputy District Attorney Tara George, said, 'The entire community felt the loss of Maddy Middleton in 2015, and the effects of the crime are still felt. Adrian Gonzalez poses as much danger to our community today as he did the day the crime was committed. The verdict of the jury demonstrates that members of this community will not permit him to be released until he no longer poses a danger.'
Gonzalez was transferred back to Sonoma County where he is currently living in a Secure Youth Treatment facility with teenagers.
2026: Under SB 1391, Gonzalez will either be freed from custody, or the entire legal process will be repeated every two years with a new trial.
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