Supporters gathered last week for a 13-year-old Florida boy who allegedly murdered his mother in October.
Derek Rosa was expected in a Miami-Dade County courtroom on Friday, but the hearing was canceled and rescheduled for next month. Rosa remains housed in a juvenile wing at an adult prison, and his lawyers told WTVJ that they are not associated with protestors who have come to court to support their client.
“We do get a lot of correspondence from people in Australia, from people in South America, all over the world. However, we do want to make it clear that we are not affiliated with any one organization,” defense attorney Dayliset Rielo said.
Rosa was charged as an adult with first-degree murder after allegedly admitting to stabbing Irina Garcia, 39, more than 40 times as she slept near her newborn daughter. After killing his mother, Rosa allegedly sent a friend two photos of his mother and a selfie which apparently showed blood on his hands.
The teen allegedly told a 911 dispatcher that he sent pictures of his dead mother to someone he met online. He went on to tell the dispatcher that there was blood all over the floor.
“I took pictures and I told my friend about it,” he allegedly said in the 911 call. “Was that bad?”
A motive has not been disclosed. Meanwhile, some of Rosa’s supporters have disagreed with the court’s decision to charge Rosa as an adult and to keep him in an adult jail as he awaits trial.
“You know what a lot of kids can be manipulated, and I think he was manipulated. This is why I’m here,” a mother who traveled from Chicago to attend Friday’s canceled court hearing told WTVJ.
“I think he’s innocent.”
Rielo revealed to the news outlet that Friday’s hearing was canceled because the jail had provided Rosa’s activity logs from December.
The judge is expected to declare Rosa indigent during a February 2 hearing. As a result, the state will pay for costs associated with his case. His trial is tentatively scheduled to begin on February 26.
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[Feature Photo: Derek Rosa/Miami-Dade Prosecutor’s Office]
