Irina Garcia Case: Evidence, Confession, and Plea Sentence

The Derek Rosa case ended on January 16, 2026, when the Hialeah teenager, then 15, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for stabbing his mother, Irina Garcia, 46 times as she slept beside his two-week-old half-sister. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Richard Hersch sentenced him to 25 years in a Florida state prison followed by 20 years of probation.¹

What Happened That Night

In the early hours of October 12, 2023, Irina Garcia, 39, was asleep in her bedroom at the Amelia Oaks apartment complex on West 79th Place in Hialeah. Her newborn daughter lay in a crib inches away. Her son Derek, 13 at the time, stabbed her 46 times with what he later described to detectives as “a big-sized kitchen knife.”² The infant was unharmed.³

Rosa then called 911. “I killed my mom,” he told the dispatcher.⁴ He added that he had not harmed the baby: “I did not touch her. I didn’t want to touch my sister.” He said he had originally planned to kill himself as well but did not go through with it.³ Officers arriving at the apartment found bloody footprints matching Rosa’s leading from the bedroom to the front door.⁵ He sat with Hialeah detectives and gave a recorded confession.

The Evidence Prosecutors Gathered

In the hours before the killing, Rosa searched Google for phrases including “Where is the best place to stab someone,” “The carotid artery,” “Is a small knife good for killing,” and “Can a knife cut through bone,” according to filings by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.⁶

Less than ten minutes after the stabbing, Rosa contacted a friend in another state, said photos were coming, and asked what the friend thought. He sent an image of Garcia’s body in a pool of blood, a photo of a handgun, and a selfie of his own bloodied hand. The friend, identified in court documents only as “C.G.,” first assumed the images were a joke.⁵⁷

Prosecutors also pointed to a pattern of Rosa circulating violent content. On September 30, 2023, he sent classmates a graphic video of an Army reservist’s suicide by group text, and showed the same video to his girlfriend hours before the attack.⁷ The state argued he had a fixation with the slasher character Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th films and that the timing was deliberate: the killing occurred just before Friday, October 13.⁶

Charged as an Adult

A Miami-Dade grand jury indicted Rosa on first-degree murder, and the case was moved into the adult felony court system despite his age. He was held without bond, first at the Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center and later transferred to Metro West County Jail, an adult facility. He initially pleaded not guilty. “It is important to remember that only two months ago Derek was a 12-year-old child,” a defense attorney said at the time.⁸

Judge Richard Hersch presided. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office prosecuted, with Assistant State Attorney Jonathan D. Borst handling filings.⁹ Rosa was initially represented by Jose Baez; Baez withdrew in November 2025, but attorneys Dayliset Rielo and Michelle Media of his firm remained on the case.¹⁰

The Fight to Suppress the Confession

Much of the pretrial litigation was about whether Rosa’s own words could be used against him. The defense sought to suppress both the 911 call and the recorded police interrogation. Audio of the 911 call was played in open court at a January 5, 2026, hearing.⁴ Judge Hersch denied the motions and ruled the statements admissible.⁹ The defense had also floated a potential mental health defense in March 2025, but never filed one; Rosa entered his plea before any insanity theory was presented.¹¹

The Plea and the Sentence

Four days before jury selection was set to start on the first-degree murder charge, Rosa pleaded guilty to the reduced count of second-degree murder. Judge Hersch imposed 25 years in state prison followed by 20 years of probation.¹ The agreement also barred Rosa from contact with his stepfather, Frank Ramos, or his younger half-sister.¹²

In court, Rosa said only, “I’m sorry.” Ramos addressed him directly: “Nothing justifies what you did.” Fernandez Rundle said in a statement, “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.”⁹

The Family Around the Case

Frank Ramos was out of state driving cargo the night his wife was killed. He had been in touch with Garcia by phone and monitored the home through a security system, and he told police he noticed Derek leave the apartment and caught part of the 911 call. He described the mother-son bond as “unconditional, the most loving thing in the world.” “She didn’t deserve that,” he said.¹³

Rosa’s biological father, José Antonio Rosa, learned of Garcia’s death from detectives during his police interview. “There’s no way, Derek loved his mom to death,” he said, describing his son as “good, caring and intelligent.” He also acknowledged Derek knew more about guns from video games “than from anybody telling him about it.”¹³ Rosa’s grandmother, Isabel Acosta, attended every court hearing and spoke with Derek by phone for 15 minutes each night after the crime. “I’m the same as I was in the beginning,” she told Telemundo 51. “I feel the same. This will never pass.”¹⁴

1
People. Boy 13 Sentenced After Stabbing Mom 46 Times
2
CBS News Miami. Police Video Shows Hialeah Teen Derek Rosa Confessing to Killing Sleeping Mom
3
NBC News. Videos From Night 13-Year-Old Fatally Stabbed Mother Show Mom Breastfeeding Before Attack
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CBS News Miami. Judge to Decide Whether Confession From Hialeah Teen Accused of Killing His Mother Can Be Used at Trial
5
People. Derek Rosa Murder: Mother, Bloody Selfie, Corpse Photo
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NBC Miami. Derek Rosa, Teen Charged in Mom’s Murder, Wanted to Be Jason From Friday the 13th, Prosecutors Say
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Court TV. Prosecutors: Teen Killer Sent Photo of Murdered Mom to Friends
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NBC News. 13-Year-Old Allegedly Stabbed Mother to Death in Front of Newborn Baby, Charged as Adult
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Local 10. Derek Rosa, the Hialeah Teen Accused of Stabbing His Mother to Death, to Appear in Court
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NBC Miami. Defense Attorney Withdraws From Derek Rosa Case
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NBC Miami. Hialeah Teen Accused of Stabbing Mom to Death Could Raise Mental Health in Defense
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NBC Miami. Derek Rosa Asks to Plead Guilty in Fatal Stabbing of Mother
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NBC Miami. Derek Rosa’s Father Reacts in New Police Video
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NBC Miami. Grandma of Hialeah Teen Accused of Killing Mom Says Her Pain Will Never Pass