Cops: Teen Killer Lured Young Victim to Apartment

She trusted him. Police say an 8-year-old girl murdered in Santa Cruz, California, willingly went to the apartment of her teenage killer, reports USA Today. The unidentified 15-year-old suspect lives in the same complex and even helped in the search for Maddy Middleton. He was standing nearby when detectives found her body in a recycling bin, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “She knew him," says police chief Kevin Vogel. "She was 8 years old. I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him. I don’t think she was taken against her will."

Maddy was last seen on surveillance video riding her scooter about 5pm Sunday at the Tannery Arts Center, described as a housing complex for local artists. She lived there with her mom. About an hour later, she was reported missing to police. "It's my belief she was killed before we ever got the phone call," says Vogel, who provided no details on how she was killed. Autopsy results were pending, and the suspect may be charged as an adult. (More child murder stories.)