The man convicted of killing his wife and posting a photo of the bloody corpse on Facebook was denied a new trial Friday.
A Miami-Dade judge denied a motion for a new trial filed by the attorneys of Derek Medina earlier this week.
The motion claimed the judge was prejudiced against Medina before the trial even began.
Medina was convicted of second-degree murder last month in the August 2013 killing of 27-year-old Jennifer Alfonso at their South Miami home. Medina told police in a videotaped statement he shot his wife during an altercation in which she threatened him with a knife.
Medina, who did not testify in his own defense, admitted in the police statement taking a cellphone photo of his dead wife's body and uploading it on Facebook, along with a posting that said he expected to go to prison but was forced to kill her following years of physical abuse.
The second-degree murder conviction means that Medina, 33, faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. If he had been convicted of first-degree murder as initially charged, which requires proof of planning and premeditation, the life sentence would have been automatic.
Sentencing has been set for Jan. 11.
