Hialeah Teen Gets 25 Years for Stabbing Death of Mother

A Hialeah teenager pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Friday in the 2023 stabbing death of his mother and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Richard Hersch imposed the sentence after the teen accepted a plea deal in the case that shocked the Hialeah community last year.

The teenager was charged as an adult in the stabbing death of his mother in 2023. Details of the crime emerged during court proceedings, but the family’s tragedy reflects broader concerns about domestic violence cases that prosecutors handle throughout Miami-Dade County.

Under the plea agreement, the teen avoided a potential life sentence that could have resulted from a first-degree murder conviction at trial. The 25-year sentence means he will serve decades behind bars for the killing.

Judge Hersch presided over the sentencing hearing, where the plea deal was formally accepted. The case moved through the Miami-Dade court system over the past year as prosecutors built their case against the teenager.

The stabbing occurred in Hialeah, a city of more than 220,000 residents northwest of Miami. The community was shaken by the domestic violence case, which involved a son killing his own mother.

Prosecutors in Miami-Dade regularly handle serious violent crimes, but cases involving family members often draw particular attention from the community and local officials.

The teenager’s name was not released in court documents, likely due to his age at the time of the crime. Florida law allows juveniles to be charged as adults in serious felony cases, including murder.

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison in Florida, but plea agreements often result in reduced sentences in exchange for guilty pleas that avoid costly trials.

The case represents one of several high-profile violent crime cases that have moved through Miami-Dade courts in recent months. Local prosecutors continue to handle a steady caseload of serious felonies across the county.

The 25-year sentence means the teenager will likely serve most of his adult life in state prison. Florida’s sentencing guidelines require defendants to serve at least 85 percent of their prison terms for violent felonies.

Hialeah police investigated the stabbing death and worked with Miami-Dade prosecutors to build the case that resulted in Friday’s plea agreement and sentencing.

The case concludes with the lengthy prison sentence, bringing some resolution to a tragic incident that claimed the life of a Hialeah mother and will send her son to prison for decades.