Preliminary Hearing Set For Teen Accused Of Killing Maddy Middleton

SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- A judge set a Feb. 29 preliminary hearing for the teen accused of killing 8-year-old Maddy Middleton in Santa Cruz.

On Thursday, Superior Judge Timothy Volkmann said the case involving Adrian Gonzalez, 16, will be delayed because attorneys need to review forensic tests.

"Besides gathering all the police reports we are gathering local school records, medical records, interviewing witnesses at the Tannery and throughout the county in efforts to the extent possible to get the back story," said public defender Larry Biggam. "There's a lot of material and a lot of work to be done. But throughout the process we remain mindful of the tragic loss suffered by Maddy Middleton's mother and father."

Gonzalez allegedly killed Maddy on July 26 at the Tannery Arts Center's housing complex at 1030 River St., where they both lived with their families, police said.

He allegedly lured her into his apartment, according to police. Maddy was last seen around 5 p.m. that day riding her Razor scooter outside around the complex and was reported missing an hour later, police said.

Santa Cruz police officers, county sheriff's deputies, FBI personnel and other agencies searched for Maddy until the night of July 27, when the girl's body was found in a large recycling bin in a first-floor parking garage at the complex, according to police.

Investigators quickly detained Gonzalez, who lives in a unit above the garage.

He was then arrested in connection with Maddy's murder and booked into the county juvenile detention center.

An autopsy on Maddy showed she died from asphyxiation and stab wounds to her neck, sheriff's officials said.