MIAMI – Thirteen-year-old Derek Rosa wasn’t present for an arraignment hearing in Miami-Dade court Tuesday morning, in which his attorney pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on his behalf.
The Hialeah teenager is accused of fatally stabbing his mother, Irina Garcia, as she slept next to his 14-day-old half-sister on Oct. 12. The not guilty plea comes days after a grand jury indicted the honor roll student on an adult first-degree murder charge.
Police said Rosa called 911 just after 11:30 p.m. to report that he had just murdered his mother at their apartment at 211 W. 79th Place. An arrest report states that officers found Garcia, 39, lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds to her neck.
He told a 911 dispatcher he sent photos of the crime scene to an online friend. Police haven’t yet publicly identified a motive for the killing.
After Tuesday’s court hearing, family members advocated on his behalf, saying they disagree with the decision to charge him as an adult. One family member spoke to local media outlets in the courtroom hallway.
“He is not an adult at all,” a family member said in Spanish. “He is a child who still plays.”
That family member added, “Derek is a good boy. Affectionate, loving. This is not like Derek. No one knows Derek like we know him. And this is not Derek, so you know.”
Rosa’s loved ones, along with his attorney, are asking for him to be held in a juvenile facility while he awaits trial; as of Tuesday morning, he remained held in the adult Metro West Detention Center.
The judge will review the motion filed to have Rosa moved back to juvenile detention and is expected to give attorneys an answer in a Nov. 9 hearing.
Rosa’s murder trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in February; he could face life in prison.