If you worked hard earlier this month to avoid the gruesome Facebook photo Derek Medina posted of his just-murdered wife, beware: The death scene is now plastered across a tabloid in the supermarket aisle. The National Enquirer has reprinted the bloody shot of 26-year-old Jennifer Alonso that Medina posted to the web shortly after shooting her to death in their South Miami home.
As Medina heads to court today to be formally charged in Alonso's death, the Enquirer also presents a novel motive: that Medina snapped because Burn Notice had been canceled.
See also: Derek Medina Kills His Wife in South Miami, Posts Pictures and Confession on Facebook
Medina, who is 31, shot and killed his wife August 8 and then quickly posted a photo of her dead body slumped against a kitchen cabinet. Moments later, he posted a confession as a status update, writing, "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife."
Although the picture of Alfonso went viral on the web -- in part because it took Facebook hours to disable Medina's page -- most media organizations, including New Times, elected not to post the full photo out of respect for the victim and her family. (Buzzfeed was one notable exception, but it quickly backtracked and removed the photo.)
The National Enquirer, which is based in Boca Raton, had no such worries with its spread about the murder. (Riptide has again blurred out the center pic on this page, but it runs uncensored in the paper):
The paper also presents a novel reading of why Medina killed his wife. Most reporters have focused on Medina's bizarre online presence, including rambling self-published books about ghost hunting and YouTube clips of himself viciously kicking punching bags.
But the Enquirer claims Medina was furious that Burn Notice never called him back after he nabbed a nonspeaking extra role on the drama.
"He always dreamed that his one walk-on bit part, playing a street thug, would open a big acting career for him, but he was just some guy they grabbed off the street for an extra role with no lines," Amada Cooper, a friend of his wife, tells the paper.
Medina supposedly snapped after Alonso screamed at him: "You'll never be an actor!"
The South Miami man is due in Miami-Dade Court to be arraigned on second-degree murder and child neglect charges today, while a grand jury considers upping the case to first-degree murder. Medina, who reportedly admitted shooting Alonso six to eight times, might claim self-defense and argue that his wife was attacking him.
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