Lawyers for convicted Orange County murderer try to prevent execution

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A California psychiatrist blames a convicted Orange County killer's brain damage for the murder he committed five years ago.

Lawyers for convicted murderer Juan Rosario were in court again Friday for the second day of testimony, trying to convince a judge that he’s intellectually disabled and should not be executed.

Rosario was convicted last April of beating 83-year-old Elena Ortega and then burning her alive inside her home.

READ: Orange County convicted killer dodging death penalty for now

Last June, a jury recommended the death penalty in his case.

Ever since, there have been multiple delays over claims that Rosario is intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution.

On Friday, doctor Joseph Wu went through one brain scan after another in court, pointing out all the ways Rosario's brain is damaged.

The doctor said cables between parts of Rosario's brain have been damaged by traumatic brain injuries. And he said the damage is in critical areas that control things like the potential to respond violently to things.

The doctor said Rosario's brain was damaged like that before he was even born.

"This is something that you do not normally see in individuals with brain injuries,” Wu said. “But I see this kind of abnormality all the time in individuals who've had significant in-utero exposure to alcohol. Individuals whose mothers were drinking heavily while they were pregnant with the patient."

The doctor said Rosario's brain damage explains most of what we know about him: that he's practically illiterate and his IQ is at least somewhat low.

Rosario refused to show up to court on Friday. On Thursday, he was removed from the courtroom because he was talking over people and causing a scene. Then he came back in and complained again.

During Thursday’s hearing, Ortega's daughter tearfully told the judge how difficult her mother's murder was to deal with.

The state is scheduled to have a rebuttal witness on the stand Friday afternoon.

"No one who hasn't gone through such a tragic loss like I have never will understand all the pain and the feelings, the good and the bad, that goes through your mind and how your soul changes," Elena Wilson said.

Follow reporter Field Sutton on Twitter for up-to-the-minute developments. And tune into Eyewitness News at 4 p.m. for updates.

Cox Media Group