The 52-year-old Cuban David de Jesús Contreras, accused of fatally shooting his 21-year-old son in the Kendall area last November, appeared in court this Thursday where his lawyers requested that he be released on bail.
The 52-year-old man is accused of second-degree murder for the death on November 3 of his son Eric Contreras, a student at the University of Florida.
During the hearing, known as the Arthur hearing, the father cried and collapsed upon hearing the call 911 which he did after shooting his son in the head.
In the call he is heard saying: “What have I done? I was fighting with my son… I lost my mind, he didn’t stop.”
The Arthur hearing is similar to a small quick trial that could end up granting bail to Contreras, the channel explained NBC News.
Before the crime, the family had traveled to Orlando to visit Disney, but Eric began to act differently and so he and his father returned to their home in Kendall.
On the day of the incident, a fight between the two intensified until it ended in a fatal outcome.
According to an arrest report, David Contreras shot his son several times “for unknown reasons” and then called police and told them he had shot his son, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 21-year-old was a student at Florida International University and a graduate of Christopher Columbus High School.
He suffered from mental health problems, was under treatment, and according to a report from the channel Telemundo 51 This would have had to do with the tragic event.
The defense assured in December that the accused was very depressed, so they would ask the judge to consider releasing him on bail even though he is accused of a serious crime.
According to authorities, it was the father himself who made the call to 911 to report the death of his son.
