MIAMI – Opening statements began Tuesday in the murder trial of a South Florida man who claims he shot his wife in self-defense before posting a photo of her body on Facebook.
After five days of questioning candidates, a jury was seated late Monday in the trial of Derek Medina and sworn in before Miami-Dade County Judge Yvonne Colodny.
Medina is accused of fatally shooting Jennifer Alfonso, 27, in the kitchen of their South Miami townhouse in August 2013. Police said Medina uploaded a photo of Alfonso's body on Facebook after the shooting.
During opening statements, assistant state attorney Leah Klein told the jury that Alfonso's killing was premeditated.
"According to the defense, even though she had just been disarmed of a weapon that she was using to protect herself, by his own admission, she started punching him in the chest and the arm, and that's when he shot her," Klein told jurors.
Klein said Medina didn't shoot her just once but "emptied the clip."
In a surprise move, defense attorneys opted not to present their opening statements, instead reserving their right to do so after the state rests.
The state's first witness was Alfonso's mother, Carolyn Knox, who testified that she found out her daughter was dead after seeing the Facebook post.
"Her best friend, Daisy, called me and alerted me to it, and I looked it up online and saw," Knox testified.
Among the others called to testify were Medina's former boss, a South Miami Police Department dispatcher who was in the lobby of the police station when Medina turned himself in and a Miami-Dade police officer who found the body.
The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday.
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Derek Medina is accused of killing his wife and then posting a picture of her body on Facebook.