Trial Set For Gables High Murder Suspect
MIAMI - (CBS4) - Andy Rodriguez, the former Coral Gables high school student accused of stabbing a classmate to death in a school yard, will be facing trial soon.
On Monday, a judge set July 18th as the trial date as Rodriguez sat expressionless in the courtroom.
Rodriguez is charged with second degree murder in the 2009 death of 17-year-old Juan Carlos Rivera.
Rivera was stabbed five times; the fatal wound punctured his heart, in the crowded high school's courtyard during a break between classes.
Classmates have said Rodriguez was angry that Rivera had accepted rides to school from Rodriguez's girlfriend.
In his confession, police say, Rodriguez denied having fought with Rivera because of jealousy.
He told detectives he and Rivera shoved against each other as they passed in the school yard, a scuffle ensued, and he stabbed Rivera in self defense.
He told investigators he did not even know Rivera's name.
