The murder of Jennifer Alfonso
The murder of Jennifer Alfonso
This chapter analyses the murder of Jennifer Alfonso by her husband Derek Medina in Florida on August 8, 2013. Jennifer's murder was what criminologists call an intimate partner homicide (IPH). International media reports of the case followed a well-established pattern that devalued IPH, treating the homicide as a one-off event where an otherwise ‘normal’ perpetrator ‘snaps’ and loses control in a moment of madness. The fact that Derek had posted on Facebook was at the very the centre of the story, if not the story itself. The chapter first describes the background of Derek and Jennifer's relationship, Derek's media practices, and his attempt at identity management after his arrest before examining his Facebook homicide confession. It also contextualises the murder in relation to the relevant literature on intimate partner abuse and IPH.
Keywords: Jennifer Alfonso, Derek Medina, intimate partner homicide, media, Facebook, homicide confession, identity management, media practice, murder
Policy Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
