A man who killed his wife and then posted a photo of the corpse on Facebook has been convicted on Wednesday of second-degree murder after he failed to convince the jury he shot her eight times in self-defence.
Derek Medina killed 27-year-old Jennifer Alfonso at their South Miami home before telling police in a videotaped statement that 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.
Prosecutors said Medina vowed to kill Mrs Alfonso if she tried to leave him, which she told friends she planned to do.
‘He planned to execute Jen, and he executed his plan,’ prosecutor Leah Klein told jurors in a closing argument. ‘He was angry and he wanted her dead.’
His attorney, Saam Zangeneh, said he plans to appeal.
‘We have to respect the jury’s decision. We just don’t agree with it,’ he said. ‘We think this is a self-defense case.’
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