ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The first case removed from State Attorney Aramis Ayala’s office by Gov. Rick Scott will go to trial Monday.
Scott appointed neighboring State Attorney Brad King as special prosecutor on more than 20 possible death-penalty cases.
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King said Wednesday that he intends to seek capital punishment for Juan Rosario, 29, who is accused of killing 83-year-old Elena Ortega in 2013, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
It took almost two years before Orange County detectives arrested Rosario in the death of Ortega, whose body was found on Sept. 18, 2013 in her burning Orlando home.
Deputies said Ortega, 83, was found with serious injuries before her attackers set fire to her home to cover up the crime. She died of blunt-force trauma to the head, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Rosario is charged with first-degree murder and arson.
An Orange-Osceola circuit judge ruled Wednesday that there was no lawful reason to stop King from trying the case, according the Sentinel.
Scott removed Ayala from 23 death penalty cases in the Orange and Osceola district after she said she would not pursue capital punishment for any murder cases while in office.
Ayala filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the governor saying that Scott violated the U.S. Constitution and “deprived voters in the Ninth Judicial Circuit of their chosen state attorney,” by removing Ayala from the cases.