Chilling footage of the 'Facebook killer' who shot dead his wife then posted a picture of her body online and declared 'I'm going to prison' shows him calmly get his coat and phone and look at the body immediately after the shooting.
Derek Medina, 31, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder after he shot his wife Jennifer Alfonso, 26, six to eight times at their South Miami, Florida, home on August 8.
He confessed the shooting to police, but claimed that he killed her because he was tired of suffering abuse at her hands. He is expected to claim self-defense.
Smoke and debris: Clouds of gun smoke and debris can be seen on home surveillance footage in the Derek Medina murder trial, in which Medina, who has confessed to shooting his wife, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder
The home surveillance footage, released yesterday by prosecutors, does not show the fatal exchange which happens out of the frame.
But Medina claims he shot her in self-defence after she started hitting him 'several times with a closed fist,' according to police documents see by the Miami Herald.
The video shows Alfonso in the kitchen at the sink. When Medina enters, the couple move out of the frame, but at one point Medina's head is seen flinching backwards.
Medina claims his wife had grabbed a knife and he had disarmed her and put the knife back in a drawer, but then she started punching him.
Click to watch video:
Moments earlier, Jennifer Alfonso, far right, was seen at the sink close to the entrance of the kitchen
Medina is seen coming into the kitchen shortly after Alfonso moves away from the sink. A brief exchange is seen in the corner of the frame, before the debris flies past the camera lens
Several clouds of debris fly past the frame. Police documents reveal Medina shot Alfonso six to eight times
Then the footage shows Medina leave the kitchen and come straight back. He told police he went upstairs to get a gun, according to the Miami Herald.
Moments later white particles fly past the lens in several clouds, a sign of gunfire.
Medina then walks out of the kitchen, comes back holding his phone and pauses in the doorway.
As he walks away again the light from his phone is on. This is when, police say, he took the photo of the body. All the while Alfonso's ten-year-old daughter from another relationship was upstairs. She was unhurt.
He then walked away from the scene, and came back with his phone, paused in the doorway, before walking away again, his phone light on
After calmly putting on his jacket, Medina then left the property, captured on a different camera
He then gets a jacket and returns to the kitchen entrance and looks again in the direction of the body as he puts it on.
Calmly, he leaves the property. The next frame is of police and paramedics arriving at the couple's home.
A Facebook post from Medina read 'Rip Jennifer Alfonso' alongside a picture of her slumped backwards on the kitchen floor.
He wrote on his Facebook page: 'I’m going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife. Love you guys. Miss you guys. Take care. Facebook people you’ll see me in the news.'
A tattooed Derek Medina, pictured in court on Thursday, pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered his wife - despite posting pictures of her body on his Facebook page
It is thought that Medina could argue self-defense in the case, claiming that his wife cut him with a knife before he killed her
Turbulent relationship: According to Medina's father, Derek and his wife got a divorce after three years of marriage, but then tied the knot again
Prosecutors said they will ask a grand jury to upgrade Medina's charges to first-degree, premeditated murder - which could carry the death penalty.
Three South Florida attorneys are now representing him; they took over from the Public Defender's Office, which initially represented Medina.
Medina claims his wife was abusive. He wrote on Facebook: 'My wife was punching me and I am not going to stand anymore with the abuse so I did what I did I hope u understand me.'
Medina's lawyers have asked to photograph markings such as cuts and bruises on Alfonso's body. It is presumed Medina will claim the killing was in self-defence.
The diary of his late wife has also been been seized by police. Some entries are happy while others highlight the difficult nature of their relationship, the news service said.
She described the first day in their new home as 'beautiful'. She also wrote of their relationship: 'When we love each other it's GREAT. But when we hate each other we HATE each other,' according to the Miami Herald.
She admits she struggled with feelings of jealousy and believed he was looking at other women. Her entries also reveal how she struggled with her confidence and one one occasion 'negative thoughts and memories plagued her mind'.
Gruesome: Derek Medina was arrested after admitting to killing his wife on Facebook and posting a grisly photo of her body lying on the kitchen floor
According to the Miami-Dade affidavit the couple had been squabbling since they woke up on the morning of the shooting.
At about 10am, Alfonso was upstairs, and Medina threatened her with his .380-caliber pistol. The shooting happened later when Alfonso was in the kitchen.
Medina's father, Derek, to whom he confessed to shortly after the shooting, told the Miami Herald: 'They are making my son out to be a monster and it was the other way around. She pushed him to the point of insanity.'
The victim's family however, described Medina as controlling, claiming that he pressured her to leave her job.
One man, who would give his name only as Joe, said Medina was prone to violent outbursts.
Domestic abuse: There is speculation Medina's legal team will claim the killing was in self-defense
Denied: A Miami-Dade Circuit court judge denied Medina bail earlier this month after he allegedly admitted to murdering his wife on Facebook on August 8
He claimed he once saw Medina threaten a woman with a gun after she accidentally spilled beer, and said Medina used to stalk members of a softball team they both played on.
Medina was denied bail by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge.
In an interview with the local station WSVN, Medina's father, Derek Medina Sr., said that his son came to him at around 11am Thursday August 8 and admitted to shooting his wife.
‘He just said that his wife picked up a knife on him, and they had a big fight, and he shot her,’ said the father.
The elder Medina drove his son to a South Miami police station, where the 31-year-old turned himself in.
Police at scene where man kills his wife and posts Facebook...
Concerns: The unsettling post left several of Medina's friends puzzled, asking him for an explanation of what happened
Derek Medina Sr. said that the girl who was removed from the apartment wrapped in a blanket is Alfonso’s daughter from a previous relationship.
According to the father, his son had a rocky relationship with Alfonso. He said that the two had gotten a divorce after being married for three years, but then remarried last year.
Medina was a part-time extra on the USA Network show Burn Notice.
This image was taken from the Facebook page identified as belonging to Derek Medina
Tragic twist: when police arrived at the couple's home, they found Alfonso's 10-year-old daughter and led her out wrapped in a blanket
The wannabe star boasted online about his tiny bit-part appearances and dreamed of fame that he never quite attained. He appeared only as a background extra with his head-shaved and pouting in two episodes in 2010.
He has also self-published a number of self-help e-books, one titled: 'How I Saved Someone's Life and Marriage and Family Problems Thru Communication.'
Alfonso was a waitress at Denny's.
Last post: Jennifer Alfonso was last active on Facebook on August 7, changing her profile picture to a photo of her kissing a man believed to be Medina
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