Sep 12, 2008 11:10 am US/Eastern
Tearful Testimony Opens Michael Hernandez Trial
Michael Hernandez Is Accused Of Killing A Schoolmate At Southwood Middle School Four Years Ago
ORLANDO (CBS4) ―
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Michael Hernandez in Orlando as jury selection got underway on Sept. 8, 2008.
CBS
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Jamie Gough was stabbed to death in the bathroom of Southwood Middle School in February, 2004.
CBS4 News
Nelson was just one of six witnesses who took the stand. Jurors also heard from law enforcement officers and former classmates - but not before the teenager again rejected a plea deal that could have seen him avoid possible mandatory life in prison without parole.
Hernandez, now 18-years-old, was 14 at the time of the alleged murder. He faces life in prison if convicted of the 2004 killing of Gough in the bathroom of the school. Gough was stabbed more than 40 times.
Miami-Dade assistant state attorney Carin Kahgan said in her opening statement that Hernandez killed Gough as part of a plan to become a serial killer. She described how he committed the crime and then went to his first period class.
''His life was literally ebbing away with the blood that was cascading from him onto the bathroom floor,'' she said during a brief opening statement. ``Until he died. Alone.''
A journal later recovered by police showed that Hernandez carefully planned the slaying and had a "hit list" that included another student and his older sister.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty because of insanity. Defense attorney Richard Rosenbaum said the evidence will show "this is a classic case of insanity."
In testimony Thursday, former classmate Maylin Espinosa said she shared a computer class with Hernandez in which he displayed a morbid fascination with grisly websites depicting "decapitated corpses" and vampire figures. Hernandez smiled once or twice and nodded his head as Espinosa testified.
Lawyers for Hernandez turned down a plea deal offered by prosecutors that would have given Hernandez a 40-year prison term. The attorney's turned down the offer because they were seeking a prison term of no more than 30-years.
Instead, Hernandez will go forward with an insanity defense that is viewed as a long shot by many observers. Even his own attorney had advised him earlier to take the plea bargain.
When asked how he made sure that Jaime was dead, the prosecutor said Hernandez told detectives that "I took my knife and I poked him in the face."
Defense attorney Richard Rosenbaum told jurors that defense experts will testify that Hernandez was "crazy" at the time of the killing.
Rosenbaum said Hernandez had a fascination with serial killers, heard voices in his head, even sought and took advice from "the family dog."
"This is a classic insanity case," the defense attorney said.
"His heroes weren't G.I. Joe or Batman," Rosenbaum said. "They were Hannibal Lecter" and Son Of Sam.
The defense attorney told jurors they will hear from state experts who disagree with the notion that Hernandez was legally insane, that while the boy may have been mentally ill, he was able to determine right from wrong.
"You will have to decide which opinions you find more credible," he told the jury.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Double Homicide In NW Miami-Dade
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