Jury decides fate of brothers accused of brutal murder in Hialeah Gardens – NBC 6 South Florida

Two brothers are standing side by side in court five years after police say they brutally beat a man in Hialeah Gardens.

Zadiel Rivero and Zandy de la Osa are charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of 31-year-old Frank Canet, with whom the brothers did business. Prosecutors said Rivero called Canet that night in February 2019 to inspect a trailer but ambushed him instead.

“You will see Zandy take the pipe and press it to the victim's neck so his brother can get behind him and brutally stab him in the heart,” said Assistant District Attorney Kevin Betancourt as he described the case to jurors in his opening statements.

Surveillance video shown to jurors shows Rivero stabbing Canet numerous times. At one point, de la Osa runs in with a metal pipe and holds the victim for his brother, police said.

“He pinned him to the ground with his foot and the pipe,” said Dilaxy Madruga, describing how the brothers beat and stabbed her friend in front of her eyes.

Madruga called 911 and screamed for help, but at some point Rivero allegedly took the phone away from her.

Canet and his girlfriend managed to escape, but the man succumbed to his injuries.

The defense does not deny the murder, but claims that the brothers acted in self-defense.

“Frank was totally high,” said Jonathan Jordan, Rivero's attorney. “Frank had a meth problem.”

Jordan said the victim's toxicology test tested positive for meth. According to Jordan, the victim showed up uninvited and threatened Rivero, saying he was going to “rape Rivero's wife and daughter.”

Bruce Lehr, a lawyer representing de la Osa, said his client never touched a knife, only the pipe. He added that de la Osa only came to separate Rivero and Canet.

“He had to stop that crazy, drugged-out Superman from killing his brother,” Lehr said.

On the other hand, in another case from 2019, Rivero is also accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl.

Records show that Rivero and his wife, Yaisel Faya-Guinea, sexually abused the teenager in their home and subsequently recorded the incident on their surveillance cameras.

Faya-Guinea pleaded guilty in 2022 and was sentenced to four years probation, according to records.

Rivero has pleaded not guilty to assault charges.

The murder trial is expected to continue on Wednesday.