By The newspaper
16 Jul 2024, 08:22 AM EDT
The hearing in the case against Derek Rosa, a minor accused of stabbing his mother to death in Florida, has been postponed again.
Yesterday, 11th Circuit Court Judge Richard Hersch canceled the hearing in Miami for unknown reasons, NBC 6 reported.
Hersch moved the court date to 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to case information on the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s website.
The docket in the case also notes that a motion for reconsideration memorandum was filed for Rosa. It is unclear to what end. The juvenile’s attorneys have previously filed motions to have their client moved to a juvenile detention center instead of remaining at the Metrowest adult prison in Doral.
Discovery must be submitted in writing, Hersch had instructed the parties at a previous hearing, NBC 6 reported.
The start of the trial against Rosa, 13, in the case of the murder of Irina Garcia, 39, has been delayed for months. The initial date proposed by Hersch to move to that phase was February.
However, problems with the evidence have complicated the picture. The defense claims that prosecutors have not provided them with all the evidence they have against their client.
This is essential for the defense to prepare for trial. Prosecutors insist they are ready for trial.
At a previous hearing in April, more than 50 family members and supporters of Rosa packed the courtroom to show their support for the boy. They theorize that the stepfather had something to do with the murder.
At the moment, the evidence that the authorities are handling points to Rosa being the only suspect in the events.
Rosa is being tried as an adult and faces first-degree murder charges in the death of his mother reported Oct. 12 in the apartment they shared in Hialeah.
Rosa has confessed on at least two occasions that, at around 11:30 pm on the aforementioned date, she wounded her mother more than 40 times with a kitchen knife while she was sleeping and cut her throat. Rosa’s half-sister, barely two weeks old, was in a crib in the room. The little girl was not injured in the attack.
After the attack, the teenager called a gaming friend, whom he had not met in person, to confess what he had done and sent him three photos. Two showed the victim, and the third showed him posing for the camera with his bloody hand.
In a subsequent call the young man made to the 911 system, Rosa said he was the person who killed Garcia. In an interview with two detectives on the case, he also admitted responsibility.
Keep reading:
Derek Rosa’s 911 call after his mother was murdered: “She’s dead, young lady”
The four photos of the crime scene in the Derek Rosa case released by the authorities
Derek Rosa’s lawyers insist on request for him to be transferred to a juvenile detention center