The Cuban-American teenager Derek Rosa pleaded guilty on Friday to the murder of his mother, Irina García, which took place in October 2023 at their home in Hialeah, in Miami-Dade County.
Rosa, who was 13 years old at the time of the crime, was facing a charge of first-degree murder, reported the channel Telemundo 51.
During the hearing, the experienced judge Richard Hersch directly asked him if he accepted to plead guilty, to which the young man responded affirmatively.
Later, he listened to the conditions of his statement and, at the end of the session, he uttered just two words: “I’m sorry”.
The teenager’s stepfather, Frank Ramos, was present in the room and addressed him with a brief but powerful message: “You must face the consequences of your actions, as the law dictates.”
Rosa’s supporters have tried to link Ramos to the crime; however, the prosecution proved that he was not in Miami that night.
The decision to plead guilty comes after a judge authorized the prosecution to use Rosa’s initial confession as evidence in the trial.
In that recording, the minor admitted to stabbing his mother more than 40 times inside his bedroom.
The prosecution argued that the confession was obtained legally and without coercion. According to the prosecutors, Rosa had enough time to calm down before speaking with the agents and showed that she fully understood the situation, both during the interview and in the 911 call she made after the crime.
“His first response was: ‘I’m fine.’ He didn’t ask for help, nor did he show distress. This clearly reflects his mental state,” declared one of the prosecutors during the hearing.
The defense has insisted that Rosa suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and was on the autism spectrum. According to her lawyers, the young person was not in a position to understand her actions or their consequences.
The defense attorney recalled that during the 911 call, the teenager expressed suicidal thoughts and stated that he did not want to continue living after what had happened. “This demonstrates a profoundly altered mental state and a limited understanding of what he had done,” she asserted.
The case shocked the Hialeah community due to the brutality of the crime, the young age of the accused, and the fact that his mother was sleeping next to a baby only 14 days old, whom he did not harm.
It has also been closely monitored by local media and child mental health organizations.
Rosa remains detained awaiting the determination of her sentence. Given the seriousness of the crime, she could face life imprisonment, although her age at the time of the homicide may influence the final verdict.