Lawyers for the man convicted of killing his wife and posting a photo of the bloody corpse on Facebook are asking for a new trial. Derek Medina’s defense attorneys submitted three motions Monday night in his case, including one for disqualification of the judge for prejudice.
Lawyers for the man convicted of killing his wife and posting a photo of the bloody corpse on Facebook are asking for a new trial.
Derek Medina's defense attorneys submitted three motions Monday night in his case, including one for disqualification of the judge for prejudice.
His attorneys are expected to go before a judge Friday on the motions.
Medina was convicted of second-degree murder last month in the August 2013 killing of 27-year-old Jennifer Alfonso at their South Miami home. Medina told police in a videotaped statement he shot his wife during an altercation in which she threatened him with a knife.
Medina, who did not testify in his own defense, admitted in the police statement taking a cellphone photo of his dead wife's body and uploading it on Facebook, along with a posting that said he expected to go to prison but was forced to kill her following years of physical abuse.
The second-degree murder conviction means that Medina, 33, faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. If he had been convicted of first-degree murder as initially charged, which requires proof of planning and premeditation, the life sentence would have been automatic.
Sentencing has been set for Jan. 11.
