Sex killer who raped and murdered girl, 8, when he was 15 after luring her with ice cream could soon be back on streets - just nine years after the attack

A California felon who raped and murdered a little girl after luring her with ice-cream could soon be back on the streets after just nine years in jail. 

Adrian Jerry 'AJ' Gonzalez was 15 when he attacked Madyson Middleton, eight, at the apartment block where they both lived on July 25, 2015.

He lured her into his mother's apartment at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz before raping her, choking her to death, and throwing her body in a dumpster. 

Gonzalez, now 24, was charged with the child's murder two days later. He pleaded guilty before being sentenced to juvenile prison in 2021. 

But under California law, criminals convicted in juvenile court are entitled to the possibility of parole once they turn 25. 

Since Gonzalez turns 25 this fall, hearings overseen by Judge Denine Guy are ongoing to determine whether he is fit for release. 

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ashley Mowrey gave grim details about her 2023 interviews with Gonzalez, who told her his crimes were sexually motivated. 

'Mr. Gonzalez said he was aroused … she was an object to satisfy his sexual needs,' Mowrey told the court.

The seasoned prison psychiatrist, who has worked with hundreds of sex offenders, said Gonzalez spoke about his crimes but did not mention the grisly details. 

But prosecutor Tara George, who is attempting to prove that Gonzalez is still at high risk of reoffending, gave grim details of the brutal killing as she grilled Mowrey.   

'Did he talk to you about the music he played as she was moaning, losing her breath in the garbage bag?' George posited

'When he was choking her, she looked at him in the eyes? He was aroused when he thought she was dead?' 

Mowrey responded, 'No.' 

The psychiatrist said in one test to determine the likelihood of Gonzalez committing another sexual offence, he scored 'above average risk'.  

In a second test, he was rated as 'moderate range of risk'. 

Chief Deputy Public Defender Athena Reis, who is representing Gonzalez, argued that the tests were designed for adult offenders and not people who committed sex crimes as juveniles. 

Mowrey said personality tests on Gonzalez also rated him as showing 'elevated scales' for schizophrenia, psychopathic deviance and paranoia. 

She described him as 'very isolated and alienated from the world'. 

'(He) has paranoid preoccupation with how other people perceive him and isolating behaviors come from that,' Mowrey added. 

A group of local people, including Madyson's family friends, staged a demonstration outside the courthouse calling for Gonzalez to spend the rest of his life in prison.