MIAMI (WSVN) - A judge has not yet reached a decision as to whether Derek Rosa, a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering his mother, will remain at an adult jail facility or will be transferred to a juvenile detention center pending his trial.
Meanwhile, never-before-seen pictures show some of the evidence connected to the crime, including the weapon that, police said, in the Oct. 12 slaying.
Rosa is being charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Metro West Detention Center, an adult facility that opened a juvenile wing in October. He is one of 34 young inmates at the facility and is the youngest.
The other 33 inmates are between 16 and 17 years old.
During the hearing on Friday, Rosa’s attorneys made their case to have the teenager moved to a juvenile-only facility. His attorneys spend most of the afternoon asking questions about every aspect of his life while he was behind bars at the Metro West.
Friday’s hearing comes as previously unseen pictures related to the fatal stabbing come to light.
A selfie that Rosa allegedly sent to a friend shows the teen wearing glasses and sticking his tongue out as he posed for the camera, his hand appearing to be stained with blood.
Pictures obtained by 7News showed the knife that, investigators said, the suspect used to stab his mother, 39-year-old Irina Garcia, in the neck.
According to police, Rosa stabbed his mother to death inside Apt 201, along the 200 block of West 79th Place in Hialeah at around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.
Detectives said Rosa was home that night with his mother and newborn sister.
The baby monitor captured Garcia and her baby at 10:23 p.m. A half-hour later, the monitor captured a person leaning over Garcia’s bed.
Not long after the killing, Rosa called 911.
Police released the 911 call Rosa made admitting to the crime.
“I took pictures, and I told my friends about it. Was that bad?” Rosa told the dispatcher.
Other pictures showed an evidence marker alongside a ruler identifying just how long the knife was.
On Tuesday, one of his attorney’s talked about their request to have Rosa moved out of the jail.
“We don’t believe that Metro West has the capabilities to house Derek right now,” said defense attorney Dayliset Rielo. “Metro West is housing juveniles as about the 26th of October, which happens to be the day that Derek was transferred. We do not believe they are equipped right now to do that for him, and we think they are doing him a disservice.”
Rosa’s family was also present during Friday’s court hearing.
It remains unclear when the judge will reach the decision concerning where Rosa will remain. If the defense has no more evidence to present, a ruling is expected on Tuesday. If more evidence is presented, a decision is expected on Thursday.
Rosa’s murder trial is expected to begin in February or March.
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