Facebook murder suspect says he posted photo of dead wife online 'to notify her family'

A man who shot dead his wife and then posted grisly photos of her corpse on Facebook told police that he had posted the photos online to notify family members about what had happened.
Derek Medina made the bizarre claim regarding the shooting of 26-year-old Jennifer Alfonso in his August 8 videotaped statement to Miami-Dade County Police detectives.
He claimed that he killed her in self-defense after she threatened him with a knife, following many previous abusive episodes.

Derek Medina claims he fatally shot his wife in self defense and posted photos of his dead wife on Facebook to notify family members about what had happened

But a police detective testifying on Tuesday contradicted that claim by saying that Ms. Alfonso was likely cowering and trying to defend herself before she was killed.
In his hearing testimony, Detective Jonathan Grossman said an autopsy and the position of Alonso's body indicates she was on her knees with one arm raised in front of her face when she was shot on Aug. 8 during an argument. 
The trajectories of the 380-caliber bullets indicate they were fired from above her, he added.
‘The victim was very low to the ground at the time she was shot,’ Grossman testified. ‘The victim appeared to be in a cowering position.’

At a bail hearing on Tuesday, Medina sat silently in the courtroom wearing a red jail jumpsuit and a full, dark beard

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

Grossman also said friends and family members told him that Medina had vowed to kill his wife if she ever cheated on him or attempted to leave him. 



Medina himself told police in his sworn statement that Alonso had threatened to leave that day and that she had told a friend the same thing earlier.
The testimony came at a bail hearing for Medina, who sat silently in the courtroom wearing a red jail jumpsuit and a full, dark beard. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm.
Circuit Judge Yvonne Colodny did not immediately rule on the bail request; murder suspects in Florida typically don't qualify for bail, but there are exceptions.
Medina's attorney, Saam Zanganeh, brought up several pieces of evidence indicating that Alonso could have been the aggressor in their fight.

Medina claimed that he killed his wife in self-defense after she threatened him with a knife, following many previous abusive episodes

Her diary, which she titled 'The Diary of the Insane Women,' had several violence-laced entries, including one in which she said she thought about ripping Medina's eyes out because he looked at other women.
'The diary chronicles her thoughts and buttresses our position that she had violent thoughts against Mr. Medina,' Zanganeh said.
Grossman testified under cross-examination that police had no previous domestic violence reports from the home.
But he also said Medina had trained briefly at a mixed martial arts center and had boxed with the center's veteran instructor after challenging him.
Assistant State Attorney J. Scott Dunn asked the detective whether, with Medina's apparent fighting abilities, it seemed plausible that he feared violence from his wife enough to fatally shoot her in self-defense.
'That's what he indicated. According to his statement, she was punching him,' Grossman replied.

An autopsy has shown that Jennifer Alfonso, right, was shot at point-blank range while kneeling

This image was taken from the Facebook page identified as belonging to Derek Medina