July 29--SANTA CRUZ -- Residents at the newly-built Tannery Arts Center, a large campus built to provide housing and performance space to keep low-income artists in Santa Cruz, were in shock and tears Tuesday after a 15-year-old boy was arrested in the killing of an 8-year-old girl.
On Tuesday afternoon, residents and employees embraced each other, deeply hurt by the unfolding tragedy involving the boy and girl, who lived in the complex. Madyson "Maddy" Middleton was lured by the teen into his parents' apartment, where she was killed, Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said at a news conference.
The boy then carried Madyson's body to a garage, placed her body in a blue recycling bin and concealed her, he said.
"It is my belief she was killed before we even got the phone call Sunday night," Vogel said, referring to the call reporting Madyson missing.
Yasmina Porter, 44, a resident, and a dance professor at Cabrillo College, said her two young children, ages 11 and 13, played with both the victim and the suspect.
"It's really hard," she said. "These are two children from our community and we're just trying -- a lot of us are avoiding the news. We just don't want to get caught up in the stories until we know really, really what happened.
"These are our babies and one is dead and the other is taken away, and it's awful," Porter said, tearing up. "We're a close-knit community. Right now, I think the residents are trying to stay together to prepare one another."
Maddy loved to ride her scooter, climb up on the jungle gym and talk to her girlfriends, Porter said. Her dog is a Chihuahua terrier.
"These are kids that played with my kids. Maddy's lovely. She's like sunshine. She's just this sunshiny girl, very smart and thoughtful. She had a little dog named Lucy, and her and her mom would walk their dog and her dog plays with my dog. Just a sweet, smart, charming little girl," Porter said.
The suspect was known as a sweet boy, Porter said.
"He's thoughtful and quiet and would skateboard around. Play with his yo-yo," Porter added.
Those in the community, an affordable enclave for artists in a city where housing prices have skyrocketed, appeared stunned and saddened.
"It feels devastating. It feels horrible. And I'm not seeing a lot of anger, but just disgust and sadness, and wanting healing. ... there's something really wrong and we're willing to stick together and figure it out and try to get support to heal it," Porter said.
Vogel said they were waiting for forensic results and did not know if Madyson had been sexually assaulted.
Madyson was last seen about 5:05 p.m. Sunday on surveillance video, riding a white scooter at the 8.3-acre artist complex in the 1000 block of River Street. Her disappearance prompted a frantic search.
Police believe Madyson willingly went to the boy's apartment, where they were alone. The pair knew each other, Vogel said.
"She was 8 years old," he said. "I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him."
Her disappearance prompted a massive search of nearby woodlands, the Tannery Arts Center complex, and the San Lorenzo River. Hundreds of community members handed out fliers while others searched for Madyson.
Then at 7:55 p.m. Monday, a little more than 24 hours after she disappeared, a Santa Cruz police detective found Madyson's body inside the dumpster. Her body was concealed in a way that wasn't obvious or apparent, Vogel said.
The boy was standing near the dumpster, immediately drawing the attention of investigators. He was quickly detained and later arrested in connection with her death.
Police believe the teenage boy was watching investigators as they searched the dumpster, Vogel said.
"We have evidence that ties our suspect directly to Maddy," he said.
The boy could now face several charges, some of which can be filed against him as an adult, Santa Cruz Dist. Atty. Jeffrey Rosell said. The boy's identity was not released because he is a minor, officials said.
Detectives interviewed the boy early Tuesday and believe he acted alone.
"There is no risk or threat to our community at this point," Vogel reassured community members. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
"This has just been absolutely devastating for me personally and for my staff," Vogel said in the news conference. "My staff was so hopeful that we were going to find her alive. And when the news came last night that she was not alive, it was horrific. It was horrible."
Hours earlier, residents in the coastal community just two miles from Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, one of the oldest existing amusement parks, scoured neighborhoods looking for Madyson and made themselves available to police "for whatever they needed," Vogel said.
"We couldn't do something like this without the support of our community, and our community really showed up in force after Maddy disappeared," he said. "I think the message here is how this community really comes together when we are in a time of crisis like we have in the last 36 hours."
Authorities received thousands of tips about Madyson's disappearance from the public.
The last-known image taken from surveillance footage showed the girl on her scooter, wearing a purple dress, black tights and a helmet. She gripped the handles of her scooter, hair scooped to the side in a braid.
The image was shared and distributed to neighbors, friends and strangers.
On Monday, more than 50 FBI agents arrived in Santa Cruz to look for clues. Within hours, they knocked on doors and established a command post. Watercraft and helicopters were deployed as police combed the coastal community for signs of Madyson.
Police dogs tracked Madyson's scent from the apartment complex to nearby beaches. But after that, the trail went cold.
Now, police are helping residents of the tight-knit artist community cope with the loss of one of its youngest members. Residents posted a somber message on Facebook, thanking police and requesting privacy to grieve.
On Tuesday afternoon, a memorial had formed near where Madyson's body was found. Mourners formed a heart made of bouquets of white roses and orange Gerber daisies, and stuffed animals.
One by one, people came by -- some brought flowers, others carried a card or a candle. An assortment of balloons fluttered near a band of yellow police tape that said, "Crime scene. Do not cross."
In the shrine to the slain child was a drawing from Nancy which had a note scrawled in crayon, "Purple flowers for you Madyson."
Another note had careful cursive, in purple, pink and aqua markers, with small hearts and flowers.
"Rest in peace Madyson," it read. "Angel of Santa Cruz."
Lin reported from Santa Cruz and Rocha from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
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UPDATES
4:28 p.m.: This article was updated with details from the memorial at the arts complex.
3:14 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from a resident at the arts complex.
1:51 p.m.: This article was updated with details from police.
11:58 a.m.: This article has been updated with new details throughout from a police news conference.
July 28, 6:21 a.m.: This article was updated with details about the arrest.
11:22 p.m.: This article was updated with police confirming the girl was found dead and a suspect was arrested in connection with her killing.
11:21 a.m.: This article was updated with new details from a news conference held by police.
This article was originally published at 5:54 a.m. July 27.
