MIAMI – A 13-year-old boy from Hialeah who is accused of stabbing his mother to death in October appeared in court Thursday in Miami-Dade County.
Derek Rosa’s attorneys were expected to call six witnesses as they made their case about how they say his rights are being violated by being held at the adult Metrowest Detention Center in Doral.
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The hearing was ultimately reset for Dec. 13, however, as the defense team had requested a jail call log, which was apparently inaccurate.
Earlier this week, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released crime scene photos related to the case.
Multiple photos showing the murder weapon – a knife with its tip cut off – were released, along with surveillance images showing the victim, Irina Garcia, 39, holding her newborn daughter, and also of her son later standing over her.
Rosa is accused of fatally stabbing his mother as she slept next to his 14-day-old half-sister on Oct. 12.
He has pleaded not guilty after a grand jury indicted the honor roll student on a first-degree murder charge.
Police said Rosa called 911 just after 11:30 p.m. on the night of the killing 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 lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds to her neck.
Rosa told a 911 dispatcher that he sent photos of the crime scene to an online friend and told him “goodbye.”
One crime scene photo released by the state attorney’s office pictures Rosa with his tongue sticking out, which they said he sent to a friend after the killing.
Police haven’t yet publicly identified a motive for the murder.
Relatives said Rosa did not have a history of mental illness and got along with his family.
He is currently being held without bond at the Metrowest Detention Center in Doral.
He is being represented by attorney Jose Baez, whose previous high-profile clients included Casey Anthony, Aaron Hernandez and Harvey Weinstein.