MIAMI — A South Florida man pleaded innocent Wednesday to first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of his wife, whose bloody corpse was later depicted in photos he posted on Facebook.
The plea was entered during a brief hearing by an attorney for Derek Medina, 31, who also faces charges of illegally discharging a firearm inside their South Miami home and with child neglect without violence. The young daughter of Medina's wife, 26-year-old Jennifer Alonso, was in the home at the time, but was not harmed.
No decision has been made on whether the state will seek the death penalty, said Assistant State Attorney J. Scott Dunn. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Yvonne Colodny set a Jan. 29 status hearing to discuss the potential death penalty and scheduled a tentative trial date for March 17.