Unspeakable horror.
When tragic and senseless events such as the murder of an 8-year-old occur in our town, the first reaction is to try and find a cause. Someone or something to blame.
This has been a recurring quest in recent years. And truly, there are numerous societal villains afoot. Guns. Untreated or unrecognized mental illness. The breakdown of traditional family structure. The unpinning of moral values from the community fabric.
In this case, this time, this place, the death of Madyson Middleton seems all the more puzzling, all the more unanswerable because a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of killing the girl — luring her into the Tannery Arts Center apartment he shared with his mother at the complex set aside for artists, then dumping the girl’s body into a recycling bin in a nearby parking structure.
Neighbors described the teen suspect as, at least outwardly, “kind” and “nice.” And, in an after-the-awful-fact banality, as a young man who kept to himself, known to be skilled at handling a yo-yo.
And yet, if we find what led to this tragedy, what thoughts or even fantasies swirled through the perpetrator’s mind, what would it change? The happy girl on the scooter will still be gone and lives will still be shattered, perhaps unalterably.
These days, we’re almost conditioned to fear the worst in every perilous situation. The heart is desperately wicked.
When the child was first reported missing, Tannery residents and many others in the community rallied to search for her and spread the word about her disappearance.
There were thoughts that drug and transient camps along the nearby San Lorenzo River might have harbored a kidnapper. Or perhaps it was a random abduction — something most parents fear like few other monstrous invaders when it comes to their children.
And even though it appears, based on the arrest, that the assailant was someone this little girl knew, a boy who gave no outward signs, apparently, that something could go terribly wrong — still, is there a parent or grandparent in this community who isn’t going over a checklist right now about how to keep their kids safe and how to keep tabs on them?
There is, of course, no fail-safe system of protection. As best we can, we look out for one another. One such example came from the volunteers who gathered Sunday evening and Monday to look for Maddy.
And while we don’t want to make our children live in fear of everyone outside their immediate family, experts advise that as their protectors and teachers, parents and guardians must impart the following to them:
Never get in a car with a stranger. Or go to a location with someone you don’t know — or to a place your parents or guardians are unaware of. Never keep secret what you have been asked to do, or where you are going. Always let your parents know where you are.
Parents: Never leave your children alone, even for a moment, particularly when they’re young.
The truth is that most abductions or crimes against children are not completely random. So teach them strict procedures on such things as going to and from school and where to go after playing with others or engaging in recreational activities. If your child is a latchkey kid, reinforce basic safety routines with her or him.
Your children should know their home telephone number, parents’ cell phone numbers, their home address and how to call 911. They should be taught early in life basic self-protection and what to do when someone they don’t know — or know — asks them to do something or go somewhere that is outside the boundaries you’ve established.
Listen to your kids and know who is talking to them and what they’re being told. And yes, their Internet use should be monitored, since predators lurk in dark online corners and can spend considerable time establishing a relationship there with potential victims.
Teach them the clear difference between right and wrong and the moral value of obedience.
And learn yourself that if something looks or feels wrong, it almost always is.
Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial — July 29, 2015
Reprinted with permission