Prosecutor grills Maddy Middleton's killer on the stand

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) -- Adrian "AJ" Gonzalez said he's not the same person as he was at age 15 when he sexually assaulted and murdered 8-year-old Madyson "Maddy Middleton" in Santa Cruz. During his years in juvenile custody following the 2015 murder, Gonzalez received sex offender treatment and therapy to develop social skills and improve his mental health, according to trial testimony.

On Monday, a prosecutor hurled hundreds of questions at Gonzalez for cross-examination during his fourth day on the stand. Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Tara George asked about his history of lying and manipulating people around him to get what he wants. Gonzalez answered her questions politely in front of a jury that will decide if he is too dangerous to be released from custody.

"Right now, do you think you're a good liar?" George asked.

Gonzalez answered, "I have the capability of lying. It's something I actively work on ... and address in therapy."

"Do you think you are still manipulative?" George asked. Gonzalez paused for a long time before answering, "That's a really difficult question to answer. I try not to, but it does come up. In working through treatment, I've had to work ... to not have manipulative behavior."

The prosecutor asked questions about Gonzalez's friends, behavior, sexual interests, and rule breaking during his years in custody at Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall, Sonoma County Juvenile Hall, and the adult jail in Santa Cruz.

Gonzalez admitted that he regularly called people -- including several sex offenders -- whom he was not permitted to talk to. He found a loophole around the rule by making three-way phone calls from Sonoma County Juvenile Hall.

"How many times did you ever tell anybody you'd been doing three-way calling from Sonoma?" George asked.

"I didn't tell people," Gonzalez answered. "You hid it?" George asked. "I would not say 'hid.' It was something I didn't share," he answered.

Multiple women have sent Gonzalez money or helped him buys things that he wanted in custody, including one woman named Savannah. She set up a Cash App account for him. He also testified that he had "phone sex" with another woman.

Gonzalez relied on a convicted sex offender, "Mr. McGill," to send him racey magazines and photographs of women posing in lingerie, he admitted during cross-examination. The prosecutor held up magazine covers to show the jury salacious images Gonzalez had requested.

The prosecutor repeatedly referred to McGill as "your sex offender friend."

Gonzalez said he became friends with McGill while they received sex offender treatment in Sonoma County Juvenile Hall. Gonzalez said they shared the same sense of humor and had a lot in common. After McGill was released from custody and became an adult, he was arrested for possessing thousands of images of child pornography, the prosecutor said.

After McGill was released from custody again, he sent Gonzalez money, photographs of nearly nude women, and erotic novels. The two men talked via frequent video phone calls, and exchanged text messages that included crude jokes about male anatomy.

The prosecutor held up 14 phone numbers on a list that Gonzalez created just before his trial began in November 2024. He testified that he created a list of people whom he wanted to stay in contact with. If jurors sided with the defense in reaching a verdict, and he was released from custody, Gonzalez wanted to ensure that he still had his friends' phone numbers, he testified.

George asked, "This phone list of 14 numbers, half are sex offenders. And these are the people who are going to be your support network when you get out?"

Gonzalez answered, "Yeah. I'd like to continue speaking with them."

"Do you talk to them about having an interest in children? Non-consensual sex? Murder? Kidnapping?" the prosecutor asked. "No," Gonzalez answered.

Gonzalez testified that his list contains initials, instead of full names, to maintain "privacy" for his friends. George grilled Gonzalez on every set of initials.

"W.L. is Wilson L., someone you met in the sex offender program at DJJ (Department of Juvenile Justice)? Wilson was tried and convicted of gang rape and kidnapping a woman in her 20s?" the prosecutor asked. Gonzalez admitted he made 3-way phone calls with W.L., including after Gonzalez's trial began.

George asked Gonzalez about his interactions with 8-year-old Maddy before he decided to murder her in the summer of 2015. They lived in the same apartment complex at the Tannery Arts Center.

The prosecutor asked, "You knew Maddy was half your age, you would see Maddy play around the Tannery right? Maddy liked to ride her scooter. Were you the camp counselor when Maddy went to the art camp at the Tannery?"

"Yes," Gonzalez answered. Gonzalez said his Instagram accounts were named "Awkward YoYoer" and "Awkward Adrian" because, as a teenager, he had an awkward personality and he enjoyed performing yo-yo tricks. He said he saw Maddy around the Tannery hundreds of times, was one of her counselors at art camp, and performed new yo-yo tricks for her.

Between the ages of 12-15, Gonzalez said he viewed pornography online for hours every day and he was interested in sex.

The prosecutor asked, "July 26, do you remember that day? When you woke up, did you know you were going to rape and murder a child? Do you remember posting a video (on Instagram) of you playing the piano?" Gonzalez answered, "No."

"When is the first moment you knew you were going to rape somebody?" the prosecutor asked.

Gonzalez answered, "I was planning to have sex with someone, that's what I called it. That speaks to my beliefs at that time at 15 years old. I didn't have an idea of raping someone."

"Did you ever try to find a consensual partner for sex? There were lots of teenagers at the Tannery. You never asked any of those teenagers?"

Gonzalez testified that he never attempted to sexually engage with someone his age.

"So you were triggered by seeing an 8 year old girl? You saw Madyson on her scooter, she had tights, and a dress, and flip flops on. Was that the moment you knew?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes," Gonzalez answered.

The convicted murderer will return to the witness stand on Tuesday morning as cross-examination continues.