Madyson Middleton

Adrian Jerry Gonzalez is being charged as an adult in the death of Madyson Middleton. Police say Gonzalez lured Madyson into his family's apartment. An autopsy shows that she died of asphyxiation and stab wounds to the neck. 

He's also accused of sexually assaulting the girl.

Police say Adrian Jerry Gonzalez lured Madyson Middleton from a courtyard where she had been riding her scooter over the weekend into his family's apartment where he attacked and killed her.

Gonzalez remains in custody at the Santa Cruz County juvenile detention center, where he has been held since being arrested Monday evening near a recycling bin where the girl's body had been dumped.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel told reporters that Madyson Middleton was probably dead even before she was reported missing Sunday evening.

Federal and local law enforcement searched the area surrounding the complex Sunday night and throughout Monday before finding the girl's body that night.

The boy, who police say knew the girl as a neighbourhood acquaintance, was arrested on suspicion of murder, Vogel said.

The search for Madyson Middleton ended Monday night when a detective discovered the body at the artist community and housing center in Santa Cruz where the girl lived with her mother.

A 15-year-old boy, who also lives in the complex and knew the girl, was arrested on suspicion of murder, Vogel said. Madyson willingly went to the boy's apartment, where she was killed, Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said at a news conference. A motive has not yet been released.