Judge to decide if 13-year-old accused of stabbing mom to death should stay in adult jail
For the past five weeks, 13-year-old Derek Rosa has sat mostly alone in a cell at an adult jail in West Miami-Dade. To keep the teen safe from violent adults in the Metro West detention center, Derek has been separated from the general population for up to 23 hours a day, his attorney said.
But that could change Friday, when attorneys for the teen accused of the gruesome stabbing death of his mother in their Hialeah home argue before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Richard Hersch, that for Derek’s safety, he should be transferred to a juvenile facility. Under Florida law, if a juvenile is charged as an adult, he or she must await trial in an adult jail. But Hersch said he’s open to a constitutional challenge.
“I think I need an evidentiary hearing,” the judge said earlier this week, before advising attorneys to prepare for the hearing with a psychological evaluation of Derek. He also recommended attorneys provide witnesses to evaluate safety concerns surrounding Derek at the jail that county records show has more than 2,500 inmates, including about three dozen juveniles.
With family and friends seated in pews and Derek in the courtroom jury box handcuffed and wearing a brown jumpsuit, Hersch made reference to the 2011 case of 12-year-old Cristian Fernandez. The child was charged as an adult after beating his 2-year-old brother to death in Jacksonville and held in an adult jail. But a circuit court judge, citing the child’s constitutional right to remain safe, ordered him transferred to a juvenile facility.
Outside the courtroom after the judge’s decision and with Derek’s father and grandmother nearby, the young teen’s attorney Jose Baez argued his client needed to be transferred to a safer place as quickly as possible. The belief is that Derek could rehabilitate in a juvenile facility instead of being kept in an adult jail.
“That’s a situation that even the strongest adults would find challenging,” Baez said. “This is a child who is just two months past his 13th birthday.”
Almost two dozen friends and family members have written letters to the judge petitioning the court to move Derek, who has been staying at the Metro West facility since he was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by a grand jury in mid November.
Gruesome murder made international headlines
Though Derek’s alleged violent act has made international headlines, police and prosecutors have yet to say why they believe the teenage honor student killed his mom. What they have said is they learned of the chilling crime just before midnight on Oct. 12 when Derek called a 911 operator.
When police entered apartment 201 at 211 W. 79th Pl. five minutes later, they found a scene that even startled hardened detectives. Derek’s mother Irina Garcia lay dead on the floor of her bedroom covered in blood with multiple stab wounds from a kitchen knife, including one that sliced an artery in her neck. Police believe she was sleeping when the attack occurred.
Next to Garcia’s lifeless body: Derek’s 14-day-old sister, still nestled — safely — in a crib.
Derek told police that after he killed his mother, he found two guns owned by his stepfather and wanted to commit suicide. But he couldn’t follow through, police said. Instead, Derek took pictures of his dead mother and shared them with a friend on social media. After taking the pictures, police said Derek asked the dispatcher if that was “bad.”
Upped the charge to first-degree murder
Police said the eighth grade iMater Middle/High Charter School honor student confessed to the murder to the 911 operator. He didn’t put up a fight when police arrived.
Derek was initially charged with second-degree murder and transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center. But five weeks ago, a Miami-Dade grand jury found enough probable cause to indict the teen as an adult and upped the charge to first-degree murder. Hersch ordered the teen held without bond and moved to the Metro West adult jail.
Derek has no known prior mental health issues and police said they have no record of visiting the family’s home in the Amelia Oaks apartment complex before the stabbing. If convicted, Derek could spend life in prison. First-degree murder is a capital crime in Florida, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the death penalty is unconstitutional for juveniles.
