The Hialeah teen accused of brutally stabbing his mother to death more than two years ago plead guilty during a hearing on Friday.
Derek Rosa was facing a first-degree murder charge in the killing of his mother, Irina Garcia, who was found slain at the family’s apartment.
On Friday, he asked to change his plea and plead guilty to a second-degree murder charge in exchange for a sentence of 25 years.
Judge Richard Hersch asked Rosa a series of questions before the change of plea was made official.
Rosa’s stepfather also gave a statement in Spanish through a translator in which he spoke directly to Rosa. He said Rosa was like a son to him, and that his mother’s killing “destroyed” their family. He became emotional, as well as other family members who had to leave the room.
To his family in the courtroom, Rosa said only: “I’m sorry.”
Rosa, now 15, was just 13 when he was arrested in the murder of Garcia, who police said was stabbed over 40 times on Oct. 12, 2023.
Last week, Hersch denied a motion by Rosa’s attorneys to suppress the teen’s confession, saying it can be used at the trial, which was scheduled for later this month.
In a statement, Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said:
“With today’s guilty plea Derek Rosa admitted what he had previously told a 911 operator and what he had confessed to police detectives, that he murdered his mother. The pain Elina Garcia suffered from the 46 stab wounds could only have been surpassed by the knowledge that the person killing her was her own young son. The conclusion of this criminal case does not diminish the deep tragedy of Derek’s actions. When he stole his mother’s life, he also stole so much of his own future.”