Orange-Osceola

State Attorney Aramis Ayala misses the filing deadline to pursue her first death-penalty case, drawing the ire of Gov. Rick Scott.

The feud between Gov. Rick Scott and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala escalated Friday after she missed a filing deadline to pursue her first death-penalty case.

The governor issued an angry statement and said it’s “absolutely outrageous” that Ayala failed to “seek justice” in the case.

On Oct. 31, Ayala’s office filed to seek the death penalty for the first time in the case against Emerita Mapp, who is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a man in an Osceola County hotel room.

But the 45-day deadline between indictment and the death-penalty filing had already passed.

Attorneys for Mapp filed a motion Wednesday to stop the state from seeking the death penalty because of the missed deadline.

A judge has not yet ruled on the matter.

In a statement Friday night, Ayala said her office had “full knowledge” about the lapsed deadline.

“The decision to file the notice to seek death was made with the full knowledge and awareness that the 45-day time period had elapsed,” she said.

“Now that the defense has filed a proper motion we will litigate the issue and we feel confident that we will receive a favorable ruling.”

Scott disagreed.

“I have been clear that I stand with the victims of crime and their families and they deserve answers from the State Attorney’s Office on how this critical deadline was not met,” he said.

Ayala sparked controversy in March when she said she was not seeking the death penalty against accused cop killer Markeith Loyd — or in any other case — during her time in office.

The governor responded by taking 29 first-degree murder cases away from her office and assigning them to State Attorney Brad King of Ocala.

Ayala sued Scott, saying he didn’t have the authority to strip her of the cases.

The Florida Supreme Court sided with the governor.

Ayala then assembled a seven-member panel of attorneys to decide whether individual cases warranted the death pen-