MIAMI. – Separated by almost three years, two videos show the before and after of a tragedy that forever changed the life of Frank Ramos.
In one of them, recorded a few hours after the murder of Irina García, Derek Rosa’s stepfather tries to answer questions while assimilating a reality that seems impossible to understand. In the other, recently disclosed by Ramos himself, a man appears who still bears the consequences of what happened, but who has dedicated his efforts to raising the daughter he had with the victim.
The recent release of recordings obtained during the case, along with Ramos’ first public statements since the crime occurred, has put the story back into the public conversation from a different perspective: that of those who have had to move on after that night.
The images recorded during the first hours after the event show a man still trying to reconstruct what happened inside the family’s apartment in Hialeah, where Irina García was murdered on the night of October 12, 2023. During the conversation, Ramos talks about the family dynamic and tries to process the information he receives in the midst of a situation that seemed impossible to explain.
That moment contrasts with the reflections he recently shared in an audiovisual material published on his YouTube channel and later disseminated by various media in South Florida, where he spoke for the first time at length about the consequences of the crime and the path he has taken since then.
“He did something wrong, he shouldn’t have done it and he has to pay,” he said, referring to Derek Rosa.
Ramos’ words are known months after the teenager accepted an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office. Rosa, who was 13 when he was arrested, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his mother and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, followed by a period of probation under conditions set by the court.
However, most of his story does not revolve around the judicial process. His attention is focused on the life he had to rebuild after losing his wife and the responsibility of raising Ashley, the daughter he had with Irina García.
When the murder occurred, the girl was just a few days old. Ramos recalled that for months he practically took care of her alone while facing grief and the intense public exposure that accompanied one of the most talked about criminal cases in recent years in Miami.
He also recounted how family and friends became an indispensable support network to go through a stage marked by uncertainty, emotional difficulties and the need to move forward despite the pain.
The reconstruction of his life was not free of family fractures either. Ramos also addressed the bond with Ashley’s maternal family, a topic that, as he explained, continues to be one of the most difficult consequences left by the crime.
“After a year, the grandmother contacted me via message asking me about the girl and two years later she congratulated her, she asked me for photos of the girl and I sent them to her. They had the opportunity to approach the girl, but they did not decide. They decided to take another path and approach Derek,” he stated.
Her words reflect how the differences that arose after the homicide ended up affecting some family ties and add to the challenges she has faced while trying to raise her daughter.
Likewise, he assured that he had to deal with rumors and accusations that arose after the crime, a situation that, as he explained, increased the suffering of a family environment already affected by the loss.
In the police recordings, a man appears looking for immediate answers in the midst of confusion. In his most recent words we can see someone who, although he recognizes that the wounds are still open, tries to focus on the minor’s future and on the construction of a new normality.
The recently released materials allow us to observe a different dimension of history. Beyond the judicial process and the sentence, they reflect the impact that that event had on those who were left trying to find a new normality after that early morning.
For Frank Ramos, time has not erased the absence of Irina García. Between the images recorded in 2023 and his most recent reflections there is a distance of almost three years, a judicial conviction and a completely different reality. What remains is the challenge of raising a girl who will one day ask for the mother she lost when she was just beginning to live and for the brother she barely got to know before tragedy forever changed the course of the family. Beyond the sentence and the headlines, the consequences of that night continue to be present in the lives of those left behind.
