MIAMI — The Hialeah teen accused of stabbing his mother to death at their apartment when he was just 13 years old appeared in Miami-Dade court on Monday for a hearing as his defense team seeks to get evidence thrown out of his upcoming first-degree murder trial.

Derek Rosa, 15, covered his ears as a portion of his videotaped confession played in court.

The defense is asking the judge to prevent a jury from considering the police interrogation as evidence, arguing their client — who investigators said told a 911 dispatcher and police he stabbed and killed his 39-year-old mother, Irina Garcia — was barely 13 at the time of the Oct. 12, 2023 killing and had no experience with the criminal justice system.

The defense claims that, in its view, his statements during the interrogation signaled a lack of “experience and intelligence.”

During questioning, Rosa’s defense attorney asked Hialeah Police Department Detective Joseph Elosegui, “Based on him being barely 13 years old, did you do anything different?”

The detective responded, “What I did (was) take extra care, making sure he knew his Miranda rights.”

Elosegui also testified about what he said he learned from the teen’s father that night, telling the court, “He said he was very intellectual, family-oriented, got along great with (his mother).”

The detective added that the father described Rosa’s academic background, saying he “had no learning disabilities whatsoever.”

“I think he said that he was an ‘A’ student,” Elosegui said.

The testimony is part of a pretrial hearing as prosecutors work to convince the judge to deny the defense’s motion to suppress the recorded police interrogation.

Prosecutors argue that a review of the video shows Rosa had no difficulty speaking with detectives, showed understanding and comprehension and was alert and coherent.

“I saw no indication he was tired or anything,” Elosegui testified. “He was communicating well, he was speaking, he was wide awake.”

Arguments for the motion to suppress are set to continue on Tuesday.

Defense attorneys have also sought to exclude graphic crime scene photos and have, so far unsuccessfully, tried to get Miami-Dade Judge Richard Hersch off the case.

Rosa is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 20, though court records indicate that his defense team is again seeking a delay, arguing that November’s withdrawal of prominent attorney Jose Baez ― best known for defending Casey Anthony ― and the addition of a new lawyer mean the defense needs more time to adequately prepare for trial.

Prosecutors have opposed moving the trial date.

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