A group of women from all over the country have converged on a South Florida courthouse to stick up for a teenage boy charged with murdering his own mother.
Derek Rosa, 14, allegedly admitted to police that he stabbed his mother Irina Garcia, 39, over 40 times in their Hialeah apartment on October 12, 2023.
Despite the apparent confession and other evidence against the boy, the women, many of them unrelated to Rosa, held a protest in and outside the Metro Justice building in Miami, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
They traveled all the way from Illinois, California, Kentucky and Texas to proclaim Rosa is innocent.
They traveled all the way from Illinois, California, Kentucky and Texas to proclaim the innocence of Rosa. who was is innocent.
Ariana Reyes is from Chicago and was at the protest. She said it was her ninth trip to Miami for Rosa, who faces a first degree murder charge.
‘We want Derek Rosa’s freedom. We want justice for Irina Garcia. We want the real person who committed this passion crime to be charged fully. Derek Rosa did not do it. He’s a child,’ Reyes said in front of news cameras.
Rosa is currently in Miami-Dade jail as he awaits trial, where he’ll be tried as an adult despite being 13 when he allegedly committed the crime. He has pleaded not guilty.
Reyes said she is not related to Rosa but got involved after reading about ‘this case on social media.’
Ariana Reyes of Chicago, along with a number of other out-of-town moms, showed up in Miami to express support for Derek Rosa, a 14-year-old boy who has been charged with murdering his mother
Rosa (left) allegedly stabbed and killed his mother, Irina Garcia, 39 (right) before sending photos of her body to a friend on social media
‘I got really really touched about the case of Derek Rosa and what happened to his mom,’ she said.
The other women who were at the protest were reportedly chanting ‘free Derek,’ outside the courthouse, WSVN reported.
This certainly isn’t the limit to Rosa’s support, as a Change.org petition arguing that he is innocent has 26,671 verified signatures.
On the night of the murder, Rosa called 911 to report that his dead mother was lying in a pool of blood.
When the dispatcher asked if Garcia could be helped, Rosa responded: ‘Miss, she’s dead.’
‘I took pictures and I told my friends about it. Was that bad?’ he then asked the dispatcher.
‘You sent pictures to your friends of what you did?’ she confirmed with Rosa.
‘Yeah,’ he replied.
Just hours before this, Ring doorbell footage showed Rosa talking with his mom like nothing was wrong, as she sat in a chair with her two-week old baby.
The 13-year-old allegedly sent this smiling selfie to a friend immediately after stabbing his mother, displaying a sign with what appears to be blood covering his hands
Hours before the 911 call, Rosa was seen casually chatting to his mom as if nothing was wrong
Crime scene photos, released in December, showed Rosa standing over his mother’s bed at 11pm, before he allegedly killed her. His newborn baby sister’s crib is by her bed
In December 2023, prosecutors released baby monitor footage showing Rosa standing over his sleeping mom in her bed, moments before he allegedly murdered her.
The time stamp on the static image was 11pm. Rosa called 911 to report the murder around 11:30pm.
When officers arrived at the home, they found Garcia on the floor with dozens of knife wounds, including a slashed artery in her neck. The baby was found in her crib unharmed.
Rosa is also accused of taking a smiling selfie that he sent to a friend directly after the killing, where he was sticking his tongue out with what appears to be blood smeared on his hands.
Investigators claim they have pictures Rosa took of his mother’s lifeless body on the floor following the stabbing.
Rosa also allegedly claimed that he found two guns owned by his stepfather after the stabbing and planned to commit suicide but didn’t go through with the plan.
After Rosa was apprehended and brought in for an interview, he was heard telling detectives: ‘I woke up, I grabbed one of the kitchen knives and I went to her room… I killed her.’
He was also seen nodding ‘yes’ when detectives asked if he killed Garcia.
Footage released by police showed Rosa calmly nodding his head yes when a detective asked him whether he killed his mother
Prosecutors nor police have ever offered up a possible motive for Garcia’s murder. Rosa is pictured with his pregnant mother and stepfather
Prosecutors nor police have ever offered up a possible motive for Garcia’s murder, with Rosa’s shocked loved ones saying he displayed no outward signs of mental health struggles.
Outside a court hearing in October 2023, a family member told the media in Spanish that Rosa ‘is not an adult at all’ and that ‘he is a child that still plays.’
‘Derek is a good boy. Affectionate, loving. This is not like Derek. No one knows Derek like we know him. And this is not Derek, so you know,’ the family member said.
His family has long been advocated for Rosa to be held in a juvenile facility instead of an adult prison, a request that has so far been denied.
Rosa’s trial is expected to start in February. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He will be spared the death penalty because of his age.
