Florida 'Facebook Killer' goes on trial for wife’s murder
By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man accused of shooting his wife and posting an image of the bloody crime scene on Facebook, murdered her as she cowered on her knees in the corner of the kitchen, a prosecutor told a Miami court at the opening of his trial on Tuesday. Derek Medina, 33, a former front desk supervisor at a Miami condominium, has pleaded not guilty to premeditated, first degree murder and is expected to claim he acted in self-defence. He faces life in prison if convicted of the August 2013 shooting. In an opening statement on Tuesday Assistant State Attorney Leah Klein said Medina was an amateur boxer with a 25-0 record who should not have been afraid of his 27-year-old wife, Jennifer Alfonso. During an argument Medina disarmed her of a knife and she started punching him in the chest and arms, Klein said. "That's when he shot her," she added. "He wasn't going to lose to his wife after she called him a pussy," Klein said. Prosecutors say Medina fired eight shots, emptying the clip on his weapon. A medical examiner's report released in 2013 found Medina shot Alfonso at a downward angle at point blank range. "He had just killed his unarmed wife and what did he do? He took a picture of her bent backwards from being on her knees cowering in the corner of the kitchen," Klein told the court. Before turning himself in Medina posted the photo on Facebook and wrote: "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife. Love you guys." He added: "My wife was punching me, and I am not going to stand any more with the abuse so I did what I did." The defence opted not to give an opening statement, reserving the right to do so later. During the trial, expected to last two weeks, defence attorney Saam Zangeneh said he will introduce evidence that Medina's wife used drugs, regularly fought with her husband, and may have been involved in Satanic worship. Medina, who cut his long black hair and beard ahead of the trial, authored six online books on topics that include marriage counselling. The couple married in 2010, divorced in early 2012, then remarried a few months later. (Editing by David Adams and Andrew Hay)
