A 13-year-old Florida boy accused of fatally stabbing his mother as she was sleeping has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
Derek Rosa, 13, allegedly killed his mother on Oct. 12 in their Hialeah apartment in front of her newborn baby, according to authorities. Rosa was indicted for first degree murder by a Miami-Dade grand jury, which places his case in the adult felony court system, NBC Miami reported.
Rosa’s first court proceeding was at a bond hearing on Friday where he was ordered to be held on no bond and remanded to the Miami Dade Juvenile Detention Center, online court records show.
In that Friday hearing, Rosa’s father and grandmother testified on his behalf hoping the judge would release him on house arrest.
Hialeah police said the deadly incident unfolded around 11:30 p.m. on Oct 12 and officers responded after receiving a call from the teen saying he’d murdered his mother, NBC Miami reported. Officers found the 39-year-old mother dead in her bedroom next to a crib where a 14-day old baby was found unharmed.
Audio of Rosa’s 911 call to police, obtained by NBC News, revealed that he took photos of his mother’s body and sent it to a friend on social media.
In the call audio, which was redacted, Rosa is heard asking dispatch to send police to his home, but he did not know the address.
His voice was noticeably shaky in his responses. Dispatch is heard asking, “I need to know if your mom is breathing” to which he responded, “Ma’am she’s dead,” adding there’s “blood all over the floor.”
He said that his newborn sister was sleeping in her crib. When asked if he harmed her, he replied: “I did not touch her, I didn’t want to touch my sister.”
Rosa noted that his stepfather has two guns, one he took with him out of the house and one left in the home. The teen said that he wanted to kill himself and loaded the gun, but couldn’t and left it on the sofa.
“Miss I took pictures and I told my friend about it, is that bad?” the teen is heard saying at one point.
He said he didn’t know this friend’s real name but he’s a friend he played games with online.
“I didn’t delete the pictures off my phone, but I sent them to him and I told him I was sorry and said goodbye to him,” the boy said.
Dispatch asked him why he killed his mother, but his response was redacted. At one point dispatch said “You stabbed her neck? Where else did you stab her besides cutting her neck?” and his response was once again redacted.
Officials said that the baby is the teen’s half-sister and the mother’s husband is the teen’s stepfather, who was out of state when the slaying unfolded.
In letters to the court, Rosa’s father described his son as a respectful honor roll student who was a good kid well loved by his friends. His father acknowledges that he did not know what led to the stabbing but said that as a military man, he had taught his son good values, NBC Miami reported.
His arraignment is set for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
An attorney for Rosa said Sunday: “My client Derek has strong support from his entire family. It is important to remember that only two months ago Derek was a 12-year-old child. We have full faith in the criminal justice system and due process of law.”
Rosa faces life in prison if convicted as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional for juveniles.
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