The second attempt at sentencing a convicted Orange County killer to death could be delayed for another year.
Bessman Okafor's longtime lawyer, Dean Mosley, who is running for Ninth Circuit judge, stepped down from the case.
Okafor killed 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar and injured two of his friends in 2012 during a home invasion in Ocoee.
He was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty in 2015. But the jury was not unanimous and a change in Florida law is forcing prosecutors to convene a new jury to try the sentencing a second time.
State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced her opposition to the death penalty last year. Gov. Rick Scott reassigned the case to State Attorney Brad King.
The victim's father, Rafael Zaldivar, said he's concerned that the motivation for the delay is political, and that the move was done with the hope that Scott’s executive orders will expire and the case would go back to Ayala.
“That's the power play they've been doing. They've been doing it all year. I mean, it's a smart move from their part, but for us victims, it's horrific that we have to deal with this," Zaldivar said.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Read: Murder victim's father tells killer 'You're dead' during sentencing
A representative for Ayala said the state attorney will not speculate about the future of Okafor's case.
The judge is planning to announce the new timeline for the case at a hearing in two weeks.
FWIW, a spokesperson for @DonellAyalaEsq tells me "that's a lot of what-if's" and says Ayala will not speculate on the future of Okafor's case. #WFTV https://t.co/BTBCXZc7IJ
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) August 3, 2018
Cox Media Group
