Judge Decides Evidence Jurors Will Hear In Facebook Murder Trial
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A Miami-Dade judge spent most of the day Monday deciding what evidence jurors will be allowed to see and hear in the first-degree murder trial of Derek Medina.
Medina is accused of shooting his 27-year-old wife Jennifer Alfonso on August 8, 2013, and then posting a photograph of her dead body on Facebook, with a caption that read, in part: "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife."
Medina's attorneys plan to argue self-defense and have said they plan to prove he suffered from "battered husband syndrome."
However, prosecutor J. Scott Dunn, asked the judge to be able to balance that testimony by showing jurors videos posted to YouTube, which portray Medina boxing in what appears to be a training studio.
"If he alleges that he was in fear of Ms. Alfonso and under the state's theory that she was unarmed and punching him, according to his statement, then the court will find that one video can be used. I will ask the state choose that video and let the defense know," Judge Yvonne Colodny said.
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Immediately after the shooting, Medina gave police a 30-minute interview, which was captured on video. In the interrogation video, Medina tells police Alfonso pulled out a knife, and when he disarmed her, placed the knife back in the kitchen drawer. And that's when he claims she attacked him again.
State prosecutors raised concerns about dragging the victim's name through the mud in the course of the trial, including allegations that she was a devil-worshipper and had disturbing spiritual beliefs.
Colodny told defense attorneys they could only bring it up if they could prove it was relevant to the moment that led up to the shooting. Otherwise, she said, she would consider it irrelevant.
"The defense has to lay a proper foundation before anything related to the decedent's Jennifer Alfonso's religious or spiritual beliefs or evidence of such can come in," Colodny ruled. "Until such time, obviously her religious or spiritual beliefs are irrelevant."
