New gruesome details emerged late Wednesday about the murder of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, among them how her suspected killer allegedly duct taped, raped, strangled and stabbed the child before throwing her body in the trash.
Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, 15, of Santa Cruz, California, has been charged as an adult in connection to the child's death at the Tannery Arts Center housing complex over the weekend.
Middleton, known to everyone as ‘Maddy,’ was reported missing Sunday night and was found dead in a recycling bin at the apartment complex Monday night.
Gonzalez, Maddy’s neighbor, is expected in court later today to face a half-dozen felony charges, including murder with special circumstances, kidnapping with special circumstances, and four counts of sexual assault.
One of the assault counts mentions use of a deadly weapon as an aggravated circumstance, reported the station
KRON4.
A search of Adrian’s now-defunct Instagram account painted a portrait of a disturbed young man, possibly suffering from depression, who may have been harboring suicidal thoughts.
In recent weeks, Gonzalez posted a series of cryptic messages hinting at his inner turmoil, according to reporting by the
New York Times.
'Wears all black to try and look powerful and hide the crippling anxiety,' he wrote of himself in one post. 'Towards the future and the constant worry that I’ll never find someone who loves me.'
The last message appeared on the page Monday, the day Maddy was discovered dead. The post included a video showing what appeared to be Gonzalez's fingers on a keyboard playing the song 'Mad World' by the band Tears for Fears.
The clip was accompanied by a post that included lyrics from the song’s refrain: 'The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had.'
Mad World famously appeared on the soundtrack of the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko, which tells the story of a troubled teenager who is tormented by visions of a giant rabbit that manipulates him into committing a series of crimes.
Since Gonzalez's arrest Monday, more information has emerged about his behavior during the search for Maddy.
Neighbors said the 15-year-old, who was known in the area for his prowess with a yo-yo, showed unusual interest in the case and kept asking searchers about the missing girl.
Neighbor Setorro Garcia told
San Jose Mercury said that Gonzalez seemed obsessed with Maddy's disappearance.
At one point, Garcia recalled that he told the teenager: 'Dude, you're the only one asking me.'
Other residents in the tight-knigt artist's community were taken aback by both the child's brutal murder and Adrian's arrest.