Unexpected Delay In Day 9 Of 'Facebook Murder Trial'

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Day 9 of the murder trial of the man dubbed the "Facebook Killer" began with an unexpected delay after defense attorneys told the judge an expert witness was in the hospital.

Derek Medina shot and killed his 27-year old wife, Jennifer Alfonso, in their South Miami home on August 8th, 2013, while Alfonso's daughter was upstairs, according to police. He then posted a photograph of her body on Facebook, with a caption that read, in part: "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife."

Monday morning South Miami Police Detective Jose Lopez recounted how Medina came to the police station the day he shot his wife.

"The gentleman had come in and said he just killed his wife," Lopez testified.

"He stated that he had got into an argument with his wife, the argument escalated, she grabbed a knife, he got his gun and he shot her," the detective quoted Medina as saying.

In his sworn interview with detectives later that day, however, Medina said he took the knife away from his wife but she continued to pummel him and he shot her in self defense.

The defense has tried to show that Medina was verbally and physically abused by his wife on a regular basis. For the first time, a defense attorney used the term "battered spouse syndrome" during arguments outside the presence of the jury.

The defense is hoping to put on a crime scene expert who will testify that shadows in home security video - that did not capture the actual confrontation - show Jennifer was in an aggressive posture when she was shot.

The expert witness, however, is in the hospital. The state hopes to take his deposition at his bedside this afternoon and he could testify Tuesday afternoon after being released from the hospital if Judge Yvonne Colodny permits the testimony.

The day's proceedings wrapped around 1 p.m. due to scheduling conflicts, according to Judge Colodny. Trial will resume Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Last week, defense attorneys played pre-recorded testimony from Alfonso's friend Kelly Harwood, who worked with her at Denny's. Alfonso had been text messaging her through Facebook, expressing how angry she was at Medina because he didn't wake her up at 1 a.m. to watch a movie with her. The defense said this was the moment when she realized she had lost her power over him.

Jurors were allowed to see a stream of text messages between the two of them that also included a text by Alfonso that said she wanted to rip his face off. In another text message, Alfonso wrote, "I need to calm down. I feel like I'm about to explode."

The also played recorded testimony from Alfonso's daughter who was 10-years old at the time of the shooting.

Medina faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. Medina told police in a videotaped statement that he posted a photo of his dead wife on Facebook to tell family what happened and explain why.