Derek Medina Update: Confessed "Facebook wife-killer" claimed to head Fla. neighborhood watch

(CBS/AP) SOUTH MIAMI - Derek Medina, the South Florida man who authorities say killed his 26-year-old wife and apparently posted a photo of her corpse on Facebook, told residents of his townhouse complex that he possessed a concealed weapon permit and belonged to a neighborhood watch patrol.

PICTURES: Fla. man posts pic of dead wife, confession on Facebook

The 31-year-old Medina turned himself in to police on Thursday after Jennifer Alfonso was fatally shot inside the couple's home in South Miami, a suburb of Miami. When officers responded to the home, they found Alfonso's body, as well as her 10-year-old daughter, who was unharmed. The child is reportedly now in the custody of her biological father.

Medina was charged with first-degree murder and ordered held without bond at his arraignment Friday.

The public defender's office was appointed to represent Medina, who initially appeared confused when an attorney instructed him not to discuss the case with anyone.

According to CBS Miami, Medina appeared in court wearing a black protective vest reserved for psychiatric inmates and those on suicide watch. He is scheduled to re-appear in 21 days.

Medina's case captured national attention when he posted the following public confession to the alleged murder on his Facebook page, along with a a gruesome photo:

The photo showed what was apparently Alfonso's body, slumped on the floor.

One of Medina's neighbors, 33-year-old Yoshi Dade, said Medina approached him more than a year ago while Dade was working out at the apartment complex. Dade said Medina told him he was the neighborhood watch patrol for the building and that he had a concealed weapons permit. Those claims could not be confirmed immediately.

"He would walk around here and kinda patrol the area. He was always telling me there was a lot of stuff going on around here," Dade said.

He said he thought the incident was bizarre and had only a few other interactions with Medina after that.

"He was just different," Dade said.

Neighbor Anne Swary told CBS Miami she always believed her next door neighbor was "off," and wasn't completely shocked that he snapped.

"As soon as I heard the headline, I had a feeling it was probably Derek," said Swary. "He would tell me that he thought he had been attacked by demons in his apartment."

According to the affidavit, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Medina said the couple became involved in a heated argument in an upstairs bedroom when he armed himself with a gun and pointed it at her. He said Alfonso left the bedroom, returning later to say she was leaving him. He says he went downstairs and confronted her in the kitchen, when she began punching him. He claims he went back upstairs to get his gun and confronted her again, at which time she grabbed a knife. Medina said he was able to disarm her and put the knife in a drawer, but that when she began punching him again, he shot her several times, the affidavit says.

The post about the slaying on a Facebook page identified as Medina's went out to friends at 11:11 .a.m. Thursday.  The next and final post - also at 11:11 a.m. and titled "Rip Jennifer Alfonso" - was a gruesome photograph showing a woman in black leotards slumped on the floor. She looked like she had fallen backward from a kneeling position, with her legs bent to her sides and blood on her left arm and left cheek. The photo was up for more than five hours before Facebook removed the page late Thursday afternoon.

Facebook spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg said in an email to The Associated Press that she could not comment on a law enforcement investigation but could provide a general comment from the company.

"The content was reported to us," Feinberg wrote. "We took action on the profile - removing the content and disabling the profile, and we reached out to law enforcement. We take action on all content that violates our terms, which are clearly laid out on our site."

Police declined comment on the Facebook posts and said they would have no statements on the case at this time.

YouTube videos linked to Medina's Facebook page earlier this week show him working out in a martial arts studio, punching and kicking a heavy bag.

Public records show that Medina and Alfonso first married in January 2010, divorced in February 2012 and then remarried three months later. Medina bought the condominium unit where the couple lived in March 2012 for $107,000.

Police said in the arrest affidavit that Medina never called 911, only turning himself in to police after going to see family and confessing.

Complete coverage of Derek Medina on Crimesider