ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A pretrial conference hearing was held Wednesday morning in the case of a man convicted of murder in Orange County.
That man — Bessman Okafor — was found guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder in the killing of a trial witness during an Ocoee home invasion three years prior.
Okafor was put on death row following his conviction, though that sentence was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court in 2017.
However, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law last year that reduces the jury requirement needed to impose a death sentence. This is the law that Okafor is now being resentenced under.
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A mistrial was declared during Okafor’s resentencing in October after a juror involved in the case was charged with contempt of court.
According to a statement from Rafael Zaldivar — the father of 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar, whom Okafor killed — that juror told the judge she had discussed the case with a friend, prompting Okafor’s attorneys to call for the mistrial.
Wednesday, no action was taken as to the defense’s motion to exclude victims’ impact statements.
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