Bartolo Gelsomino’s daughter, who did not want to use her name, said he abused her mother Ana for years. Judge Cristina Miranda and a public defender spoke during Bartolo Gelsomino’s initial court appearance Tuesday.
A judge on Tuesday ordered an elderly Miami man held without bond after authorities said he stabbed his wife to death after she wouldn’t cook him a hamburger.
Judge Cristina Miranda found probable cause against Bartolo Gelsomino, 78, during his initial court appearance on a second-degree murder charge Tuesday morning.
Gelsomino's daughter, who did not want to use her name, said he abused her mother for years.
“He was verbally abusive and sometimes physical, and apparently, very physical this time," the daughter said.
According to police, Bartolo Gelsomino grabbed a knife from a kitchen drawer and stabbed his 71-year-old wife Ana Gelsomino to death after their dispute.
"That's what he told the police – that the argument started because she didn’t want to cook," said his daughter, who said she found her mother's body on the floor at 10700 Southwest 146th Court. "That day it could have been a hamburger, cook me a hamburger, and her reply probably was cook it yourself."
He was arrested Jan. 21, online jail records said.
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“No, I don’t work,” Bartolo Gelsomino told the judge through an Italian interpreter Tuesday.
He also said he doesn’t have any money in the bank, leading Miranda to appoint a public defender to represent him. The public defender noted that Gelsomino has no prior arrests.
Gelsomino said in court that the house in West Kendall belongs to his daughter. The judge ordered him to stay away from her.
His daughter said that Ana Gelsomino endured the abuse because she sought to keep the family whole, while adhering to her faith.
"She was afraid for her children, she wanted to keep the family together, and we’re Catholic and divorce is not an option," the daughter said.
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