US man charged over ‘Facebook murder’

Man hands himself in after posting photo of wife’s body on internet site, along with post that he faces death penalty.

Derek Medina accused of killing wife and posting photo on Facebook
Medina turned himself in to police on Thursday after his wife Jennifer Alfonso was shot dead [EPA]

A Florida man has been charged with murder after posting a photo of her dead body on Facebook along with a message that he faced the death penalty.

Derek Medina, 31, turned himself in to police on Thursday after 26-year-old Jennifer Alfonso was shot dead at the couple’s home in South Miami.

Medina had uploaded a picture on the social networking site showing his wife’s body, with the caption “RIP Jennifer Alfonso”.

“I’m going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys miss you guys take care Facebook people you will see me in the news,” Medina wrote on the site.

“My wife was punching me and I am not going to stand any more with the abuse so I did what I did I hope u understand me.”

 

The photo remained online for several hours before being removed.

A Facebook spokeswoman said: “The content was reported to us. We took action on the profile, removing the content and disabling the profile, and we reached out to law enforcement. We take action on all content that violates our terms, which are clearly laid out on our site.”

According to an affidavit, Medina said the couple became involved in an argument at home when he armed himself with a gun and pointed it at her.

Police found Alfonso’s body, as well as her 10-year-old daughter, who was unharmed.

Medina allegedly also told a neighbour that he was the neighbourhood watch patrol for the building and had a concealed weapons permit.  

Source: AFP