Defense attorneys for a Hialeah 13-year-old accused of brutally stabbing his mother to death last month were examining the crime scene Thursday.
Following an emergency motion granted by a judge, defense attorneys for Derek Rosa were revisiting the apartment where the 13-year-old confessed to killing his mother, Irina Garcia, back on Oct. 12.
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One person who appeared to be an attorney entered the apartment shortly after 1 p.m. with another person who appeared to be a photographer.
What is Derek Rosa accused of?
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Hialeah Police officials said the incident happened at an apartment complex at 211 West 79th Place.
Officers responded to the address after receiving a call from the teen telling them he'd just murdered his mother, police said.
When officers arrived, they found the 39-year-old woman dead in her bedroom next to a crib with a 14-day-old baby that was unharmed.
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The teen later told detectives he stabbed his mother while she slept, according to an arrest report. He took photos of his mother's body and sent them to a friend on social media, and told the same friend over the phone that he killed her, the report said.
Rosa, an 8th grader at iMater Academy in Hialeah, was arrested on a murder charge. He's being charged as an adult.
Why do Derek Rosa's attorneys want to inspect apartment 201?
It’s unclear what defense attorneys for the teen facing first degree murder are looking for inside apartment 201 at the complex. Because of client-privilege, Rosa’s attorneys did not go into much detail in open court but gave some hints.
"There are measurements of the closets, of how far that is from the bedroom. Where the weapons were located," said Armando Luis, one of Rosa’s attorneys. "Would assist us in getting into the defense’s theory and state of mind at the time."
Whatever information is gathered from inside the apartment will be kept private since it "is necessary to defend against the allegations."
What’s currently inside apartment 201?
Prosecutors were against the inspection. State attorneys highlighted how they handed over 700 crime scene evidence photographs to defense attorneys. Rosa’s stepfather, Frank Ramos, Garcia’s partner at the time of the murder, is also against the inspection.
In Spanish, Ramos told Judge Richard Hersch he wasn’t in favor because family members, like Rosa’s biological dad and others, cleaned out the apartment. Ramos, in an effort to try and move on after his partner was murdered, will be turning in the apartment at the end of the month.
From conversations from Rosa’s hearings, the scene is tainted and almost cleaned out because Ramos is terminating the lease at the end of November.
Who was allowed inside?
Judge Hersch, while balancing Ramos’s privacy rights and defense attorney’s needs, granted the inspection. According to his order, only three people will be allowed inside.
“The order will allow a 3-hour block this Thursday afternoon. There will be police presence outside the front door. They will not be entering while you are inspecting the apartment. Persons allowed in the apartment 1 attorney, 1 forensic examiner, 1 photographer," Hersch ordered.
The Hialeah Police Department and state attorneys are not allowed inside.
