Derek Rosa, the Hialeah teenager who at 13 allegedly stabbed and killed his mother, could raise his mental health status at trial, attorneys said Friday.
Derek Rosa, the Hialeah teenager who at 13 allegedly stabbed and killed his mother, could raise his mental health status at trial, attorneys said Friday.
Rosa, now 14, faces a charge of first-degree murder and is currently being held at Metro West County Jail, an adult facility, awaiting trial.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREIn 2023, the teen allegedly called Hialeah police to confess that he had stabbed his mother, 39-year-old Irina García, to death with a kitchen knife.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
For the past two years, defense and state attorneys have been preparing for a trial that could happen in June, including interviewing witnesses like other minors connected to the case, according to records. Their roles in the case remain unclear.
In preparation for trial on Friday, state attorneys questioned if Rosa's defense would be bringing in mental health experts as witnesses.
In response, defense attorneys stated they were not ready to provide names of the mental health experts, but will soon.
Judge Richard Hersch wondered if Rosa's attorneys would be raising a defense of insanity, why they waited almost two years to do so.
According to Florida law, a defense to a criminal prosecution could be that "the defendant had a mental infirmity, disease, or defect; and because of this condition, the defendant: Did not know what he or she was doing or its consequences; or although the defendant knew what he or she was doing and its consequences, the defendant did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong."
Hersch urged defense attorneys to submit the proper motions if they plan to go the insanity route as soon as possible, adding that they've had ample time with their client.
Hersch also denied Rosa's request to reconsider his December 2023 denial of transferring the teen from an adult jail to the juvenile detention center.
For the past two years, Rosa's defense attorneys have tried to claim that the adult jail was violating their clients' rights, by allegedly not giving him enough time of out of his cell nor enough school hours.
The teen is mostly in solitary confinement at the jail. Records obtained by NBC6 showed that in March of 2024, he was only out of his cell for about 119 hours, and only five of those hours were for educational purposes.
Prosecutors have always been against moving him to juvenile detention because they say Rosa is a major threat and needs to be treated as an adult prisoner. And on Friday Hersch reiterated that he believed there was not enough evidence that Rosa's rights were being violated at the adult jail.
Hersch once again reminded attorneys he wants Rosa to head to trial as soon as possible and set June as a tentative date.
However, attorneys are still trying to interview witnesses like a former Hialeah officer that has denied showing up to his deposition, according to state attorneys. Despite prosecutors stating they wouldn't need this officer for trial, defense attorneys highlighted they do not feel the same way and want to sit down with the former Hialeah officer for questioning.
