Derek Rose, the Cuban teenager accused of murdering his own mother in front of his newborn sister in an apartment in Hialeah, appeared in court this Tuesday for the first time since he was arrested on October 12.
In images released byTelemundo 51 The minor could be seen very serious and restless, looking around nervously. At another time he was seen listening attentively to one of his lawyers, who was speaking to him privately.
Today, Judge Richard Hersch was expected to decide whether 13-year-old Derek Rosa will be able to return to the Juvenile Detention Center, as requested by Rosa's attorneys, or whether he will have to remain there.Metrowest Detention Center, with adult criminals.
However, Judge Hersch decided to allow an evidentiary hearing on Friday morning before deciding whether or not to transfer Rosa.
On November 9, Judge Richard Hersch had determined thatThe minor would currently remain in an adult prison, this despite the sustained efforts of lawyers and the family to have Derek Rosa transferred from the adult prison to a juvenile center.
The judge then indicated that staying in an adult center is what the law stipulates due to the charge of first-degree murder that the young man faces, although he said he would study other alternatives.
Regarding the request of the minor's defense toinspect the crime scene, Hersch decided to carry out the examination on Thursday afternoon with police presence outside the apartment.
The judge said the crime scene inspection will take place in three hours and will include the presence of a lawyer, a forensic examiner and a photographer.
On Wednesday, November 22, Rosa's lawyers asked Judge Hersch for access to the Hialeah apartment where Irina García was found dead.
The minor's stepfather, Frank Ramos, opposes the inspection. He said that he will deliver the apartment at the end of the month and that family members, including Rosa's biological father, have already entered the home and taken personal belongings from the accused and the victim.
Meanwhile,Derek Rosa's family continues to support the minor to the fullest, for whom they ask the authorities for clemency.From the beginning, the entire family has totally disagreed with the prosecution's presentation of the case.
At the end of October a grand jury determined that Derek Rosa will be tried as an adult and will face a charge of first-degree murder.
In November, the teenager's relativesThey sent twenty letters to the judge to try to reverse the decision that the teenager remain in an adult prison.
"His mother, from heaven, would like him to be saved because mothers always forgive, and she loved her son," could be read in a fragment of the letter from the maternal grandmother, Isabel Acosta.
"My grandson is the best child in the world," said the minor's maternal grandmother, visibly affected, in statements to the local press after the hearing in which thethe teenager's not guilty plea.
"This is not Derek. He is a good, affectionate, loving boy... Nobody knows Derek like we know him and this is not Derek. He is not an adult at all, he is a child who still plays," said another relative before the press gathered at the scene.
On the night of October 12The teenager stabbed his mother to death while the woman was sleeping. He did it in front of his little sister, a 14-day-old baby. Thencalled the 911 line and gave details of what happened inside the apartment, located at 211 West and 79 Place in Hialeah.
After the crime, Derek Rosatook photos of his mother's corpse, sent them to a friend and told him that he had killed his mother. When the authorities arrived, the minor came out with his hands up. The body of her mother, Irina García, 39, lay stabbed next to the baby's crib, which has now been left in the custody of the maternal grandmother.
"It is a very difficult thing to understand why these things happen. The boy has not said why he did it, the investigators cannot believe it, it is very sad for our community," said Eddie Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Hialeah police.
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