Mom Of Slain Gables High Teen Speaks Out
CORAL GABLES (CBS4) -- The mother of a teenage boy who was stabbed to death during a fight on the campus of Coral Gables High School spoke out Wednesday, just one day after her son's attacker was convicted of second-degree murder.
Anais Cruz Peinado, who arrived from Cuba on a humanitarian visa after her son's murder in 2009, is grief-stricken over the death of her son Juan Carlos Rivera. She wept through much of the trial and she cried Wednesday as she reflected on her loss.
Speaking through an interpreter, Cruz Peinado said, "Juan Carlos was a great, great, person. He was my biggest love."
She thanked Judge Dava Tunis and the jury that convicted Andy Rodriguez. She also spoke about her feelings for Rodriguez.
"I feel sorry for him. I just feel sorry that such a young person has destroyed lives and committed such a violent crime."
Cruz Peinado spoke Wednesday at the offices of her civil attorneys. The family is suing the Miami-Dade County School Board.
"There were not reasonable steps to assess the violence that was going on in their school or to prevent it or to deter it," said attorney Todd Michaels. "On any given day, this tragedy could have happened and will happen again if the schools don't get their act together."
As the civil suit moves forward, so will the case against Andy Rodriguez. He's scheduled to be sentenced in October. He faces a possible life sentence.
"Andy Rodriguez has made me feel the worst thing a mother could ever feel," said Cruz Peinado. "Andy Rodriguez has amputated half of my heart." For that she said, he should spend the rest of his days in prison.
John Schuster, a spokesman for Miami-Dade schools declined to comment on the lawsuit saying, "The school district does not discuss pending litigation."
