Murder in Santa Cruz

[Joe Guy]

This has been a big news story here in California for a couple of days. This is the first article I've seen that has details. What causes a young boy to even think of doing something like this? Videos? Television? Movies? Or is the kid just a psychopath?

Teen charged as adult in Santa Cruz girl’s slaying

By Henry K. Lee and Jenna Lyons Updated 3:25 pm, Wednesday, July 29, 2015

SANTA CRUZ — The 15-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting and strangling 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton in his family’s Santa Cruz apartment — after allegedly luring her there with promises of ice cream — was charged Wednesday as an adult with special-circumstances murder.

Adrian Jerry Gonzalez is scheduled to appear Thursday in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in the girl’s killing Sunday. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Prosecutors have charged Gonzalez with murder and the special circumstances of lying in wait, murder in the course of forcible rape, kidnapping and lewd or lascivious acts with a child, along with separate charges of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of forcible lewd act with a child and forcible rape of a child.

Although Gonzalez is being charged as an adult, the fact that he is a juvenile exempts him from the death penalty, authorities said.

At a news conference, District Attorney Jeff Rosell declined to discuss the details leading up to Madyson’s slaying. Rosell also would not say whether Gonzalez had any criminal history.

But court documents outline a chilling scenario: Madyson was tied up or bound during the attack. A source close to the investigation told The Chronicle that the teenager lured the girl to his apartment by offering her some ice cream and that he attacked her from behind as she was serving herself.

“We’re going to bring him to justice, and at this point, there’s no plea deal on anything,” Rosell said.

Asked about a motive, Rosell said, “People do things for lots of reasons. Sometimes we understand them, sometimes we don’t. The specifics of this case I’m really not prepared to discuss.”

He closed by saying, “We’re confident in the charges we filed. Justice demands the charges that we filed, and we filed them appropriately.”

As prosecutors prepared to build their case against Gonzalez, a picture of the defendant emerged on social media. Gonzalez, who acquaintances say is adept at the yo-yo, has an Instagram account with the handle @awkwardyoyoer. Pictures showed him standing outside the apartment complex and performing yo-yo tricks.

A video posted on what is believed to be his Instagram account on Sunday, the same day Madyson was killed, showed someone playing the Tears for Fears song “Mad World,” on the piano. The caption quoted from its lyrics: “The Dreams in which I’m Dying are the Best I’ve ever had.”

The source said the boy lured Madyson to his third-floor apartment at the Tannery Arts Center at 1050 River St. on Sunday afternoon with promises of ice cream, then subdued her from behind, sexually assaulted her and strangled her before dumping her body in a recycling bin in a first-floor garage of the complex.

Gonzalez allegedly disposed of the body only five minutes before the girl’s mother, Laura Jordan, called police shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday to report her missing, the source said.

The boy was caught on surveillance video dumping the body at the bin and then twice visiting the spot after officers arrived to look for Madyson, the source said. The boy repeatedly asked police if they were making any progress in the case, the source said.

Gonzalez was arrested Monday night, just as Madyson’s body was discovered at the apartment complex where she lived with her mother. Police had previously conducted a superficial search of the bin but investigated further and found the body after viewing the video showing him returning to the spot.

Madyson was sexually assaulted, strangled and also suffered trauma to the head, the source said.

As for a motive, the boy told police that he had been considering suicide and that he had wanted to see how people would react by killing the girl, the source said.

source

[Lord Jim]

Or is the kid just a psychopath?

Bingo...

[Long Run]

Has to be. What an incredibly sad story.

[Gob]

Psychopathic personality deffo.

[BoSoxGal]

Very sad. I hope someday we will be able to screen for such issues in early childhood and implement some of the strategies we already know to be effective in tempering the psychopathic personality.

But that would take a commitment to quality mental health services & intervention, which I am not hopeful we will see anytime soon.

[Lord Jim]

implement some of the strategies we already know to be effective in tempering the psychopathic personality.

Wow, that's great news...

You're aware of studies that have been done that show there are strategies that have been shown to be "effective in tempering the psychopathic personality"...

I've never heard of such a thing being possible...

Please provide a link; I look forward to reading all about it...

[MajGenl.Meade]

1.


2.


3.

[Lord Jim]

A full frontal lobotomy would probably do the trick...

[TPFKA@W]

Very sad. I hope someday we will be able to screen for such issues in early childhood and implement some of the strategies we already know to be effective in tempering the psychopathic personality.

But that would take a commitment to quality mental health services & intervention, which I am not hopeful we will see anytime soon.

Stick with practicing law.

[BoSoxGal]

What a bunch of azzholes, really. Do you not know how to Google?

Aside from medication, there is some evidence for the effectiveness of treatment in those with psychopathic traits, although findings have been conflicting. A study by Caldwell and colleagues (2007) showed that adolescents rated high in psychopathic features showed improvement following a forensic inpatient treatment which emphasized the development of appropriate interpersonal skills and relationships. Although youth who scored higher in psychopathic traits exhibited poorer behavior during the baseline period and at the time of release than youth low on psychopathy, all of the youth exhibited improved behavior during treatment, regardless of their level of psychopathy. Furthermore, psychopathy scores did not have a significant effect on treatment response, and youth who spent substantial time in treatment were less likely to commit additional violent offenses following release (assessed over a period of four years).

Of course there is research and work being done in treating psychopathic personalities. Yes, it's extremely difficult and results are tenuous but research and clinical trials are ongoing and patients are being treated.

I work in the fucking criminal justice system, you really think I don't know a thing or two about mental health issues???

The pathetic bullying from you idiots who don't like me is really sad. It used to bother me but doesn't any longer, because you really are just so stupid about it - ignoring reality in a lame attempt to personally attack me.

Azzholes.

[Gob]

I work in the fucking criminal justice system, you really think I don't know a thing or two about mental health issues???

I think most here believe you know a thing or two about mental health issues.

[BoSoxGal]

Go fuck yourself, Taff.

[rubato]

The perp had a very difficult family life. You can look it up, if you care. A world that does not treat children that badly will have fewer of these.


Yrs,
Rubato

[TPFKA@W]

The perp had a very difficult family life. You can look it up, if you care. A world that does not treat children that badly will have fewer of these.


Yrs,
Rubato

Not everyone who is treated badly is a psychopath in the end. Not every psychopath was treated poorly in the beginning of their life. Not every psychopath is murderous. Psychopaths are not curable and in fact it is not clear what makes them what they are in the first place.


And of course our board nutcase thinks everything she finds on Google is the definitive answer. I wonder if that how she has practiced law and how she wound up in the sticks running a boarding house.

Crazy as a shithouse rat.

[Econoline]

BSG, you shouldn't be reading shit like this while you're on vacation. Turn off the computer, have a great time, and get back to us in a week or so!

[Lord Jim]

The perp had a very difficult family life. You can look it up, if you care. A world that does not treat children that badly will have fewer of these.


Yrs,
Rubato

Once again rube is making noises by smacking his butt cheeks together; his knowledge base on this topic is every bit as broad and deep as his knowledge of history, economics, world events, contemporary politics, philosophy, religion, etc, etc, etc,....

Jeffrey Dahmer had a very normal upbringing...

Not everyone who is treated badly is a psychopath in the end. Not every psychopath was treated poorly in the beginning of their life. Not every psychopath is murderous.

This.

[Joe Guy]

If @W had balls, she'd be @M.

[BoSoxGal]

Actually, americuntwoman, the article I quoted is from a respected scholarly article and there are dozens more out there - many of which I've read because I like to remain educated on the newest developments in psychological treatments of various conditions that my clients may manifest.

Not surprised at all that your cuntness doesn't bother staying educated on newest developments in any medical field, which is doubtless why you pose a danger to your patients, the poor souls. Instead you'd rather put your energies toward denigrating people who are smarter than you, more successful than you, and making a more compassionate contribution to society. (Please, don't bother defending yourself on that point - nurse or not, nobody who behaves the way you do here toward me is remotely compassionate at heart. You're a mean-spirited cunt.)

And yes, CUNT, scholarly articles are included in Google's massive database.

[Lord Jim]

It seems to me that measuring and identifying "psychopathic traits" is extremely problematic, since most psychopaths have above average intelligence and try to conceal their lack of conscience and empathy. It's also not surprising that they would know how to "look" like they were actually "improving". (And it should also be pointed out that the article that BSG quoted reports the results as being mixed and inconclusive.)

Psychopaths are quite good at mimicking normal and appropriate behavior, (the most infamous ones that most people can name were superb at it; that's how they were able to get away with their crimes for so long.) and if they know what someone who is testing them or treating them is looking for they can provide the attitude or behavior.

In a sense we are all born as psychopaths, but most of us grow out of it at a very young age as our brain develops from infancy. For reasons we don't really yet understand, it appears that psychopaths do not experience this development. You can't "learn" organic brain development; you either experience it or you don't.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Unnecessary sexist language, bsg. Makes you look kinda bad. But don't let me get in the way of ... whatever it is.