HIALEAH, Fla. – A status hearing was held Wednesday for Derek Rosa, 13, who is accused of fatally stabbing his mother last year.
According to police, Rosa murdered his mother, Irina Garcia, 39, as she slept next to his 14-day-old half-sister on Oct. 12 at the Amelia Oaks apartment complex, located at 211 W. 79th Place in Hialeah.
Recommended Videos
A detective would later testify that the middle schooler stabbed his mother 46 times.
During Wednesday’s hearing, 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.
The next court hearing is scheduled for April 19.