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Miami Teen Convicted Of Killing Friend In School Bathroom

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The Associated Press

Published: September 24, 2008

ORLANDO - A jury on Wednesday convicted a South Florida teenager of first-degree murder in the 2004 stabbing death of his 14-year-old friend in a middle school bathroom.

The jury deliberated for about 3 1/2 hours before convicting Michael Hernandez in the slaying of Jaime Gough and the attempted murder of another classmate, Andre Martin.

Defense attorney Richard Rosenbaum had argued that Hernandez, now 18, was not criminally responsible for the murder at Miami's Southwood Middle School because he was insane at the time and still is.

Prosecutors argued Hernandez meticulously planned to kill Gough, Martin and even his own sister in a widely reported case that was moved to Orlando because of pre-trial publicity in Miami.

When the verdict was read, Hernandez showed no reaction but was nervously moving his foot under the defense table. He left the courtroom flanked by deputies and never looked back at his parents, who sat two rows behind him.

His mother, Kathy, held her head in her hands and openly wept when she heard the guilty verdict. The parents of the victim, Jorge and Maria Gough, cried and hugged one another. Then Jorge Gough hugged the lead prosecutor, Assistant Miami-Dade State Attorney Carin Kahgan.

Hernandez faces life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 7 in Miami.

During closing statements earlier in the day, Rosenbaum said his client dramatically changed from being a happy kid in the summer following seventh grade.

"At the end of seventh grade, his life was spiraling out of control," Rosenbaum told the jury. "He was going crazy. He was losing it. Michael Hernandez, a 13-going-on-14-year-old, was going insane."

Hernandez lured slit Gough's throat and stabbed him at least 42 times, prosecutors said. Hernandez, who turned 14 the day before the stabbing, later confessed to Miami-Dade police detectives.

Kahgan, the prosecutor, disputed the insanity claims from Rosenbaum and defense mental health experts. She said Hernandez was a smart student who carefully planned Gough's death, wearing a red windbreaker and latex gloves in an attempt to keep blood off his clothing.

Kahgan also said Hernandez lied to his teacher and police about blood stains on his clothing. But when other students identified Hernandez in the bathroom that morning before class - and police found his book bag with a bloody glove and knife inside - Hernandez then changed his story to say that a gang member named Sangre committed the murder while Hernandez held Gough.

But eventually, Hernandez confessed after realizing he made several mistakes by leaving an evidence trail leading to him, Kahgan said.

"The defendant literally went for Jaime's jugular (vein)," Kahgan said. "Every one of those marks to Jaime's body speak out to you that the defendant intended to kill him. Stupid mistakes don't make a person legally insane."

Two defense mental health experts said Hernandez was a paranoid schizophrenic. And a third defense expert said he was delusional. All three said he was obsessed with becoming a serial killer and met the legal definition of insanity.

A prosecution psychiatrist, however, said although Hernandez had a personality disorder and had mental problems, he was able to function normally and made a "career choice" to be a killer.

In the months leading to the killing, Hernandez was engaging in bizarre, obsessive-compulsive and ritualistic behaviors such as repeatedly turning over silverware, staring at the inside of a refrigerator and a grandfather clock daily, riding his bike in circles every night despite inclement weather, and a strict bodybuilding regimen, his defense attorney argued. He also kept a hand-scrawled journal detailing his plans to kill Gough, fellow student Andre Martin and his own sister.

Hernandez then began visiting psychology web sites to investigate his own behavior, and decided he was schizophrenic and had obsessive compulsive disorder. Rosenbaum said his client then made a "disturbing, irrational, crazy leap" that he "must be a serial killer."

"This was not Serial Killer 101," Rosenbaum said. "This was and still is a serious mental illness."

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