MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 13-year-old boy who is accused of fatally stabbing his mother inside their Hialeah apartment last year is expected to appear in court on Monday for a status hearing.
Derek Rosa was arrested on Oct 12, 2023, after police said he stabbed his mother, Irina Garcia, 39, as she slept next to his 14-day-old half-sister.
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It happened at the Amelia Oaks apartment complex, located at 211 W. 79th Place.
Police said Rosa stabbed his mother 46 times. He’s since been charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
Moments after this, police said the teen would fatally stab his mother with his newborn sister just inches away in her crib.
Video of Rosa’s interrogation by a detective at the police station shows him confessing to the crime.
Rosa did not attend a scheduled hearing in April, but his family was at the courthouse during the hearing.+
During a hearing on April 3, Rosa’s defense attorney questioned why they were still waiting for some evidence to be turned over to them, including all of the bodycam footage from the police department, as well as the results from physical evidence gathered at the scene, including the murder weapon, a fragment of the knife that had broken off, and the clothing Rosa was wearing at the time.
The prosecutor in court said she believed the knife, knife fragment and clothing were just recently sent to the lab, so they did not have the results yet.
“You’ve had this stuff for six months,” Miami-Dade County Judge Richard Hersch said.
“I didn’t have this stuff at all,” the prosecutor responded.
“When was it sent to the lab?” Hersch asked.
“I think it was only sent to the lab this week,” she responded.
She said Rosa’s phone was just returned from the Secret Service, although three tablets and an XBox remain in the police department’s property room.
When the judge asked why the other electronics were not also handed over to the Secret Service, she said one of the tablets belongs to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and they believe the XBox also did not belong to him.
A motive for the stabbing remains unclear.
Rosa is being charged as an adult and was held without bond as he awaits his trial.
Local 10 viewers can watch the status hearing in the video below.