Husband Who Shot Wife, Posted Photo of Her Body to Facebook Convicted of Second-Degree Murder
Derek Medina, who posted a photo of his wife’s bloody body to Facebook after shooting her eight times, has been convicted of second-degree murder, reports the Associated Press.
Back in 2013, Medina shot and killed his wife, Jennifer Alonso, in the kitchen of their home, then confessed to the crime and posted a photo of her body on Facebook. He claimed that Alonso had been punching him, and he’d killed her in self-defense.
Medina’s story got weirder as his trial neared: earlier this month his attorney said his client “lived in fear of her drug abuse, violent tendencies and even Satan worship.” He claimed Alonso “was an avid user of synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy, that she battered her husband and that she was deeply involved in the occult and Satan worship.”
The fight that ended with Alonso’s murder reportedly began because Medina didn’t wake Alonso up to watch a movie, as he’d promised.
Investigators testified that Alfonso threw mascara containers and towels at Medina, who pointed a gun at her in the bedroom but did not fire.
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Later, the altercation continued in the downstairs kitchen — some of it captured on one of the home’s interior surveillance cameras. Medina told police Alfonso pulled a large kitchen knife on him and that he was able to disarm her, then went back upstairs for the gun and shot his wife when she kept fighting with her fists.
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A medical examiner, however, testified that the eight shots were all fired downward toward Alfonso and that the position of her body on the kitchen floor indicated she had been cowering on her knees when killed.
Jurors were unconvinced by Medina’s self-defense story. They deliberated for six hours before delivering their verdict. Medina faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 11.
