Penalty phase begins in Orange death-penalty trial

An Orange County jury will likely decide this week whether a man convicted in the murder of an 83-year-old woman should be sentenced to life in prison or death row.

Juan Rosario, 30, was convicted in April of murdering Elena Ortega, as well as robbing and setting fire to her home in 2013.

The same jurors who found him guilty returned Wednesday to hear opening arguments regarding whether he should be put to death or get life in prison. All 12 will have to recommend a death sentence for him to be sent to death row.

The governor reassigned the case from Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala to Ocalabased prosecutor Brad King after Ayala announced she will not seek the death penalty for anyone. This is the first capital case being tried in the region since that announcement.

“There was a careful plan or prearranged designation by Juan Rosario to commit the murder of Mrs. Ortega,” prosecutor Kenneth Nunnelley said. “He went back to her house because she saw his face.”

On Wednesday, jurors wiped away tears as Ortega’s daughter, Elena Wilson, took the stand and talked about how much her mother meant to her.

“She was my cheerleader, my best friend, my guardian angel,” Wilson said, reading from a prepared statement as photos of her mother flashed on a screen behind her. “I truly don’t wish this on anyone. Until this day, I still repeat the word ‘mom’ many times every day, looking for her love, her attention, her guidance.”

The defense will get its chance today when jurors hear about Rosario’s childhood and family life, which defense attorney Luis Davila described as “dysfunctional, to say the least.”

Davila was one of five children raised by a single mother, Davila said. His mother’s live-in boyfriend shot and killed her, Davila said.