Derek Rosa, a 15-year-old from Hialeah, Florida, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on January 15, 2026, for fatally stabbing his mother, Irina Garcia, 39, over 40 times (reports specify 46 wounds) on October 12, 2023.
Incident Details
At age 13, Rosa stabbed Garcia as she lay in bed next to her 14-day-old daughter’s crib in their apartment. He called 911 at 11:30 p.m., confessing immediately and admitting he photographed her body and sent it to an online gaming friend. Surveillance showed Garcia holding the infant at 10:23 p.m., then Rosa standing over the darkened bed at 11 p.m.; a bloody selfie with a “shaka” sign emerged later.
Legal Proceedings
Prosecutors charged him as an adult with first-degree murder, facing life if convicted at trial set for the following week. Defense sought to suppress his videotaped confession, arguing his youth impaired Miranda comprehension, but Judge Richard Hersch ruled it admissible, citing his intelligence. Rosa switched to the plea mid-hearing, receiving 25 years in prison (with credit for over two years served) plus 20 years probation, accepted by the judge.
Reactions and Context
Rosa, an honor-roll student with no prior mental health or family violence record, said only “I’m sorry.” His stepfather called Garcia “a loving mother” whose loss “destroyed our family.” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle emphasized the brutality: “The pain… could only have been surpassed by the knowledge that the person killing her was her own young son.” Despite his father’s pleas for leniency as “a child,” and some community doubt, evidence including the 911 call and confession sealed the outcome.
