A man charged in the 2008 killing of his mother in their Hialeah home is finally heading to trial.
An emotional Ariel Castro, who is facing second-degree murder charges for stabbing mother Maria Hernandez to death, was in court Monday as his trial began.
"I remember him saying that his mother did not deserve what he did to her and that he had a lot of anger built up in him," homicide detective Barbaro Hernandez testified Monday.
Castro's stepfather found his wife in a pool of blood and on Monday he broke down as the audiotape of the police interview continued to play in court.
It was with a kitchen knife that Castro stabbed him mother in the heart and lungs, according to authorities. He also stabbed himself in the neck.
"In the left chest cavity it was about a half cup of blood approximately," medical examiner Dr. Emma Lew testified.
Castro's defense attorneys are claiming he was insane when he killed Hernandez. Castro has been in a psychiatric hospital since his arrest in 2008 awaiting his trial.
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He was diagnosed with schizoid affective disorder with bipolar features. But prosecutors pointed out that Castro had told detectives that he was sorry for what he did and seemed to know what had happened.
Castro's attorneys opted out of a jury trial so now a Miami-Dade judge will decide the case. Castro could face up to 25 years in prison or in a psychiatric hospital.
