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Prosecutors in Miami-Dade County, Florida, have released disturbing evidentiary pictures regarding a teenage boy who allegedly stabbed his mother to death.
In a still image from surveillance footage dated Oct. 12, 2023, the victim, Irina Garcia, 39, is in bed holding what appears to be her 14-day-old daughter. The lights were on. It was 10:23 p.m. In another still, timed at 11 p.m. that night, a male figure stands, arm outstretched over the bed in the now-darkened room.
Derek Rosa, 13, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder for allegedly killing Garcia in her sleep near the baby. The arrest affidavit states the victim sustained multiple stab wounds to the neck.
A surveillance footage screenshot shows Irina Garcia holding what appears to be her infant daughter. Authorities said her son, Derek Rosa, stabbed her to death near the baby. (Prosecutors in Miami-Dade County, Florida, released this screenshot of surveillance footage from the bedroom of murder victim, Irina Garcia. (Image: Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney)
Prosecutors in Miami-Dade County, Florida, released this screenshot of surveillance footage from the bedroom of murder victim, Irina Garcia. (Image: Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney)
The majority of photos that prosecutors released concerned the murder weapon: a kitchen knife missing the tip, and covered in blood and hair (warning: the images are bloody).
One of the pictures released by prosecutors shows Rosa as he makes a shaka sign with a hand covered in red. Authorities said he sent this image to friends. Law&Crime is requesting more information on the timing of this photo.
Prosecutors released this image of murder defendant, Derek Rosa. His hand appears to be red. Prosecutors said he sent the pictures to friends. (Image: Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney)
At one point, Rosa allegedly grabbed two guns belonging to his stepfather and planned to die by suicide, but in the words of the affidavit, he “could not carry it out.”
Lt. Eddie Rodriguez of the Hialeah Police Department told Law&Crime in October that Rosa called 911 at 11:30 p.m. that night. The teenager allegedly told dispatch that he stabbed his mother to death.
Rosa was “so polite” even on the 911 call, Rodriguez said. Everything was “Yes, ma’am; no, ma’am,” he said.
Officers say that’s the teenager speaking to dispatch in released 911 audio.
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“Miss?” Rosa said in the call.
“Yes?” the dispatcher answered.
“I took pictures and I told my friends about it,” Rosa said. “Was that bad?”
When the dispatcher asked for elaboration on who received the pictures, Rosa simply said it was his friend.
“I don’t know his real name because he’s an online friend who I play with a lot,” he said.
Mother, son, and daughter were the only people home at the time, according to authorities. Cops said that the stepfather, a truck driver, was out in northern Georgia.
Cops did not immediately suggest a motive. Describing Rosa as an honor roll student, Rodriguez acknowledged the murder “left everybody dumbfounded.”
In an email to Law&Crime in October, defense lawyer Kristen Jackwin said her client has strong support from his entire family.
“It is important to remember that only two months ago, Derek was a 12-year-old child,” she said. “We have full faith in the criminal justice system and due process of law.”
That support included his biological father, Jose Rosa, who was seeking his release, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG in an Oct. 27 report.
“He’s a child,” he reportedly said. “Nobody in the house, in the family, sees him as a grown man.”
